Around the P&C insurance industry: April 22, 2020

Strategic Agency Partners insurance network has launched to support independent agents in New Jersey and Eastern Pennsylvania. The founding agencies, located in southern New Jersey, include BCA Group of Northfield, The Stanton Insurance Group of Cherry Hill, J.S. Braddock Agency of Medford and The Barclay Group of Riverton. “The impact of the Coronavirus is going to be significant on the economy, independent insurance agents and their clients,” said John Latimer, managing partner of SAP and president of The Barclay Group, in a statement. “We think now more than ever, agency owners need to consider joining an agency network.”

One80 Intermediaries, a national wholesale insurance broker and program manager, has acquired International Excess Program Managers, a wholesale insurance brokerage and program manager operating in all fifty states. Established in 1998 and headquartered in Beachwood, Ohio, IEPM provides access to a full range of insurance products and specializes in property, liability, inland marine, errors and omissions, directors and officers, commercial auto and umbrella coverage.

Keenan, a California-based insurance brokerage and consulting firm, created an online microlearning center on working remotely to share timely information during this period of sheltering at home due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The center is designed to share a wide range of information and best practices for working at home or in other environments outside the office under social distancing while continuing to maintain workflow and interaction with others. Resources on physical, mental and environmental issues are presented in a variety of formats, including short videos, archived webinars, checklists and more.

Arbella Insurance Group announced its “Here. For Good.® Give Back Program,” which will provide a refund to personal auto customers. The “Here. For Good. Give Back Program” will provide Arbella private passenger auto customers with a 20% discount on their auto premiums for three months, April, May, and June 2020. The savings would result in an estimated average of $60 per vehicle, and customers with multiple vehicles on their policy could see significant savings.

NJM Insurance Group announced details of the NJM Policyholder Relief program, which will return a portion of auto policy premiums to its personal auto insurance policyholders due to the unprecedented decline in driving during the coronavirus pandemic. As part of the program, policyholders will receive a 15% refund on the equivalent of three months of annual premium. In total, NJM will return $41.7 million in relief funds to assist customers during this time.

U.S. Rep. Pramila Jayapal issued a letter to chief executives at several insurance companies seeking justification for their refusal to cover business interruption losses and other claims related to COVID-19 on policies held by small and mid-size businesses. CEOs have been asked to provide by April 21 the language of any provision used to deny claims filed for “business income” and related coverages, the number of acceptances and denials, and profit figures.

Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara and the Department of Insurance issued a Notice requiring insurance companies and other Department licensees to comply with their contractual, statutory, regulatory, and other legal obligations and fairly investigate all business interruption claims caused by COVID-19.

Acuity Insurance will make a special, $300,000 financial contribution equally distributed among three charitable organizations, including the Sheboygan County Food Bank, the Salvation Army and Feeding America, to support those groups’ COVID-19 relief efforts.

Sedgwick announced the expansion of the company’s disability and absence solutions for mid-size employers in the market. Sedgwick can now take the disability, leave of absence and compliance services it has historically offered to the largest employers and extend that same level of expertise to employers with fewer cases or covered lives. The expanded service uses state-of-the-art technology, allowing Sedgwick clients to access one unified system and obtain all necessary information along the continuum of employee absence. This wealth of data enables employers to discover underlying reasons for excessive absenteeism and develop appropriate interventions, from wellness to organizational development.

Liberty Mutual and Safeco Insurance are giving agents a platform to support the causes that hit closest to home. Through a new program, the organization is putting $1 million in nonprofit giving into the hands of agents. The funding is being made available through the Independent Agent Giving initiative, which will distribute nearly 150 individual emergency grants by the end of May to nonprofits nominated by independent agents.

Matt Masiello, CEO of SIAA; Tony Caldwell, CEO of One Agents Alliance; and Eric Blue, president of Pennsylvania Insurance Agents Alliance created a new “COVID-Proof Your Agency“ e-book and online resource guide to provide independent insurance agents across the country with simple steps and actions to protect their businesses now and uncover new opportunities to power their growth beyond the current COVID-19 crisis.

Related: Around the P&C insurance industry: Apr. 15, 2020 ALM