Our weekly column of items of interest from in and around the insurance industry…
The Hanover Introduces SafeTeen Program to Educate and Reward New Drivers
The SafeTeen driving program, is a new educational program The Hanover aimed at reducing the risks of distracted driving associated with new drivers.
“Sending a new driver out on his or her own can be a stressful experience for parents, but adding them to insurance policies shouldn’t be,” said Daniel Halsey, president, personal lines at The Hanover. “We wanted to create a comprehensive program that offered both education and discount opportunities for parents and teens, to help promote and reinforce responsible driving habits well into the future.”
In addition to offering education, rewards, and savings for both new drivers and their parents, the program also offers The Hanover’s agent partners a full suit of education and discount options to agent’s customers adding teen drivers to a policy.
The Hanover’s SafeTeen program helps agents and their customers reward good driving behaviors by educating, coaching and protecting new drivers via the following three initiatives:
- Educate: The Hanover’s SafeTeen driver safety course is designed to help inexperienced drivers improve their driving skills and is proven to help reduce accidents by up to 30 percent once completed. Through its partnership with ADEPT Driver’s teenSMART® Program, The Hanover offers customers discounts on their auto policies, once teen drivers have successfully completed the program.
- Coach: With The Hanover’s SafeTeen mobile app, powered by TrueMotion, parents can monitor their teen’s driving behaviors. Teens will receive an overall driving score based on distracted driving, speeding, hard braking and time of driving activities, and parents can coach their teens on safe driving habits. By participating, parents receive a discount on their auto policy and teens that demonstrate safe driving behaviors may qualify to receive Amazon rewards.
- Protect: The Hanover’s SafeTeen deductible offers parents the opportunity to add a $2,500 deductible to vehicles not usually driven by their teens, reducing the premium payment on their policies. If a teen gets into an accident in one of the cars with the SafeTeen deductible, the additional deductible will be applied.
Agent partners interested in learning more about The Hanover’s new SafeTeen program can access more information here: www.hanover.com/safeteen.
AM Best Upgrades PURE to an “A”
Privilege Underwriters Reciprocal Exchange or (PURE) has had its Financial Strength Rating (FSR) upgraded. AM Best has given the policyholder-owned property and casualty insurers an “A” (Excellent) along with a “Stable” outlook based on the company’s detailed balance sheet.
In particular, the rating agency’s cited as its rationale for the upgrade Pure’s “…risk-adjusted capitalization, specifically enhancements to its reinsurance program and the solid growth in policyholder surplus.” The company’s operating performance and loss ratios were also major factors contributing to the upgrade.
Over the past twelve years, we have built PURE on a foundation of purpose. We believe that we will thrive if service is our first priority and we commit ourselves to enabling our membership to pursue their passions with greater confidence,” said Ross Buchmueller, President and CEO of the PURE Group of Insurance Companies. “This rating upgrade is an important recognition that will only add to the confidence that our membership and our business partners have in PURE.”
At the end of the second quarter, statutory surplus for the PURE Group of Insurance Companies was $504 million. The growth in statutory surplus also moved the PURE Group into A.M. Best Size Category “X”.
Liberty Mutual Launches Global Transaction Solutions Unit
Liberty Mutual’s Global Risk Solutions strategic business unit has lanched a new Global Transaction Solutions Group aimed at consolidating the company’s vast mergers & acquisitions insurance solutions expertise into one entity.
The creation of GTS will enable Liberty Mutual to provide innovative solutions in the rapidly emerging global transactional risk insurance solutions market by making it easier for brokers and buyers to access a range of effective M&A products from a financially strong partner. GTS will operate as a global, stand-alone business unit, providing its brokers and clients with centralized M&A expertise across a global platform backed by expert, dedicated M&A claims handling.
Rowan Bamford, President, GTS Global M&A, will lead GTS, which offers representations and warranties/warranty and indemnity, tax liability, tax credit and contingent risk insurance and will thoughtfully expand capacity to better serve the global transactional risk market.
The M&A insurance market is growing quickly as brokers and buyers increasingly turn to insurance solutions to better manage a range of transactional risks and to effectively take deal-blocking issues off the table,” notes Rowan Bamford, President, GTS Global M&A. “We brought our M&A experts from across our Ironshore and Pembroke platforms together to create a single integrated unit providing innovative solutions backed by unparalleled service and financial strength. With a diverse global team, who collectively closed more than 400 deals in 2017, it is one of the largest and most experienced global M&A teams in the market.”
Included within GTS under Bamford’s leadership are:
- Tom Cartwright, GTS Head of Tax
- William Lewis, GTS Head of Asia Pacific
- Gareth Rees, GTS Head of Europe, Middle East and Africa
- James Swan, GTS Head of Americas
The creation of GTS does not change the current contacts M&A brokers and buyers have at Liberty Mutual. Effective January 1, 2019, GTS will write M&A business on behalf of Liberty Mutual’s Lloyd’s of London Syndicate 4472 and Liberty company platforms. Until that time, GTS will continue to write M&A business on behalf of Pembroke Syndicate 4000 and Ironshore company platforms.
