Marsh decided it would join with the Goss Group after it learned both were developing similar programs, said Kevin Youngs, managing director at Marsh in Detroit. He said Marsh's role would continue to be that of a broker finding the best coverage available for clients.

One of the driving forces behind the effort was the knowledge that there are few minority-owned insurance agencies involved in commercial insurance, and the Goss Group saw this as a prime niche area for them to enter, he added. “We are very excited with this relationship,” said Mr. Goss, noting that having Marsh and GMAC on board gives the program more credibility.

GMAC Risk Services will provide a supportive role in the venture, said Art Raschbaum, managing director of GMAC Re. Mr. Raschbaum said GMAC has been there from the start with the Goss Agency, supporting development of the program.

The coverage includes property, inland marine, crime, product recall, manufacturers liability, errors and omissions, workers compensation, business auto, commercial general liability, umbrella liability, environmental liability, employment practices liability, directors and officers liability, political risk, kidnap and ransom, e-business coverage, and group benefit products.

The program has been writing policies since January and has already attracted $3 million in premium, said Mr. Goss.

Tom Goss, chairman of Goss LLC, said the program is open to all agencies and brokers, and has already attracted other brokers including Aon of Chicago.

The Goss Group of Detroit will own 51 percent of the new company. Marsh, based in New York, and GMAC Risk Services Inc., a subsidiary of GMAC Insurance in Detroit, will own 34 percent and 15 percent, respectively.

The Michigan Minority Business Development Council certified Goss LLC as a minority enterprise–an important aspect of the initiative, said the ventures representatives. Under that designation, insurance premiums remitted to the company can be applied as credits to meet the requirements of U.S. auto manufactures to obtain a percentage of their raw materials, equipment and services from minority-owned firms.

Reproduced from National Underwriter Property & Casualty/Risk & Benefits Management Edition, August 20, 2001. Copyright 2001 by The National Underwriter Company in the serial publication. All rights reserved.Copyright in this article as an independent work may be held by the author.

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