Empire News

Tampa, Florida – Empire Underwriters, a leading National Insurance Wholesaler, Excess and Surplus Lines facility and Program Manager announced today the launch of a new High Value Commercial Property Program backed by a National A++ XV carrier.  Empire’s new program focuses on High Value Commercial Properties with a limit of up to $50 Million per location.

“We are excited with the expansion of our Commercial Property offerings.  For years our producers have been telling us about the lack of viable options when it came to finding property coverage for high valued commercial properties.  Our agent partners nationwide, from New York, to California, are telling us they need solutions and capacity, and speed” said the CEO of Empire Underwriters.  “We wanted to pass the power of a Nationally Recognized A++ Rated Carrier along to our producers and their customers.  Just as important, as (take out) we are providing our agency partners with an (take out) Online Indications on several of our Property programs, and our Technology department is adding more products to our Online Platform each month.   We are fully committed to technology that gives our agents the power and capability to obtain quotes and indications quickly and at their fingertips,” said CEO.

Accommodating a wide range of classes including vacant buildings, rental dwellings, restaurants, hotels, warehouses and many more, Empire Underwriter’s new program provides coverage with options like deductible buy downs, no max number of locations and the capability for agents to get an Indication by answering a few quick questions Online, right on our Empire website.

“Empire is aggressively appointing new producers to market our growing lineup of solutions.  We are looking for producers in every state, which are looking to expand their offerings and accommodate their already growing book of business.  Empire Underwriters is growing at an exponential rate and our mission is to add value and service to our offerings for our producers that want to grow with us,” noted Rusty Ellis, Vice President of Property and Casualty at Empire Underwriters.

Along with the expansion of High Value Commercial Property Coverage, Empire Underwriters is expanding its offerings into the standard, as well as “Difficult to Place” Commercial Property market.

About Empire Underwriters:

Empire Underwriters is a National Insurance Wholesaler, Excess and Surplus line facility and Program Manager serving Producers in 46 states.  Empire’s executive team has over 100 years of combined experience to bring agents and brokers aggressive account management and superior service.  Whether you are writing a Niche Account or a Main Street business, Empire strives to make the process easier and faster to help you keep your business.  For more information about specific risks, contact an Empire Underwriters Advisor at 1-800-758-8113 or visit our website at www.EmpireUnderwriters.com.

Tampa, Florida – Empire Underwriters, a leading National Insurance Wholesaler, Excess and Surplus lines facility and Program Manager, today announced the launch of a new product focused on the mandated Affordable Care Act of 2015 for companies with 100 or more employees.

Beginning in 2015, the Affordable Care Act requires companies with 100 or more full-time or full-time equivalent (FTE) employees to either offer minimum essential coverage to at least 70 percent of full-time employees or pay a penalty tax.

“Companies face a huge expense in 2015, either for health insurance or in penalties.  Our new solution provides agents and their clients with an affordable health care option, while staying compliant with the Affordable Care Act Mandate,” says Greg Brittain, Vice President or Workers Compensation and Alternative Programs.

Empire Underwriters’ new Affordable Care Act solution features 7 top national health care providers, including Blue Cross, Aetna and Keiser.  Empire’s product gives agents and their clients the best possible carrier for their business needs and the region they are in.

“The process of finding affordable health insurance while also keeping compliant with current regulations can seem overwhelming.  We partner with agents and their clients to make sure each individual need is met and the client is compliant with the new mandate.  Our new solution is tailored to find companies the most affordable plans possible while also being a go to resource when questions arise,” says the CEO of Empire Underwriters.

About Empire Underwriters:

Empire Underwriters is a National Insurance Wholesaler, Excess and Surplus line facility and Program Manager serving Producers in 46 states.  Empire’s executive team has over 100 years of combined experience to bring agents and brokers aggressive account management and superior service.  Whether you are writing a Niche Account or a Main Street business, Empire strives to make the process easier and faster to help you keep your business.  For more information about specific risks, contact an Empire Underwriters Advisor at 1-800-758-8113 or visit our website at www.EmpireUnderwriters.com.

Imagine your agency has an account with 500 employees and a workers’ comp premium approaching $2.5 million.  What if their workers’ comp carrier terminates coverage or issues a notice of non-renewal? What if the account has tough class codes and multi-state exposure? Are your only options the state “assign risk pool” or “insurer of last resort?”

Instead, you find them a tailored alternative workers comp program that delivers superior loss-control services; aggressive claims management and a 20 percent savings on their premium. In this case, Empire helped you save your client several hundred thousands dollars a year.

Empire Underwriters LLC, of Tampa, is a wholesaler and Managing General Agent dedicated to the success of agents, brokers and their insureds.  The human element is evident at Empire with brokers taking inbound calls in real-time and a “no voice mail allowed” policy.  With these efforts, Empire’s staff is able to have an indication for a “difficult” account, within 48 hours on average. “No account is too large or too small,” notes Greg Brittain, Senior Underwriter, “we have dedicated departments to handle accounts from 2 employees to 5,000.”

Success Starts With Great People

Empire Underwriters may only be five years old, but over 100 years of experience from its core executives has lead it to become a nationwide leader in alternative workers comp.  The CEO has served on the board for several regional agencies, while consulting on marketing and distribution systems for agencies and carriers.  Senior Underwriter, Greg Brittain, has experience at major firms such as Liberty Mutual and Willis and particular expertise in working with large books of workers’ comp business and aptly, large and complex accounts.

Tough Accounts … No Problem

Empire Underwriters can handle a wide array of coverages, from property and casualty to excess and surplus, with particular success in alternative workers’ compensation.

“We can really place the toughest of accounts in workers’ comp,” CEO says.  “Very few companies have the latitude or capacity to underwrite an employer with multiple risk factors, including high X-Mod and tougher class codes.”

Other Risk Factors Include:

• Non-renewal or cancellation
• Lapses in coverage or no prior coverage
• A High Experience Modification
• Tough class codes, multi-state exposure or adverse underwriting criteria
• Being in a state fund, assigned risk pools or insurers of last resort
• Combinations of the above factors

Agents with accounts such as these can expect Empire to tailor an alternative workers comp product to help their clients save money, and in some extreme cases, stay in business. Empire works with facilities providing coverage from more than a dozen highly rated, brand name carriers such as Hartford, AIG and Zurich.

Creative Distinction

“It is all about the policyholder.  What are their strengths and deficiencies? Where can we step in to shore up loss control and reduce their workers comp?  The strength of our programs is the collaboration between all parties,” assures Brittain.  “Empire’s difference is our ability to provide our agents and the policyholder with a plan that truly helps to improve their bottom line.”

Alternative workers’ comp products may provide solutions including the assistance of a professional employer organization (PEO).  Empire has special contracts with top PEOs due to volume and proficiency.  With these greater underwriting boxes, Empire has the ability to take more risk.

Whether through standalone carriers, PEOs, high-deductible programs, retro or other features, Empire can deliver superior savings and service in the alternative workers’ compensation arena.

“Such capabilities is what our agents are looking for,” CEO says. “They don’t want a cookie-cutter approach.  Whether standalone, retro or bundled services, it has to benefit the policyholder by reducing their risk and saving them money. But they need answers and they need them quickly. That’s what our goal is on each and every account.”

Tampa, Florida – Empire Underwriters, a leading National Insurance Wholesaler, Excess and Surplus lines facility and Program Manager, today announced the appointment of Greg Brittain as Vice President of Workers Compensation and Alternative Programs. While leading the Workers Comp Underwriting Team, Brittain’s responsibilities shall include Large Workers Comp underwriting with emphasis on difficult risks, high deductible programs, multi-state exposures and placements in programs ranging from guaranteed cost to Loss Sensitive and Retroactive Plans. Brittain also oversees the Alternative Risk Department, which includes bundled and unbundled solutions with a particular emphasis on risk mitigation and loss control. Brittain will report to Empire’s CEO.

“Greg’s experience in hard-to-place classes, high deductible programs, multi-state exposures and placements in programs, will help strengthen Empire’s already strong position as an industry leader. With a proven track record of development, underwriting and production, Greg’s leadership skills are well suited to lead Empire’s Workers Compensation and Alternative Program development efforts,” said the CEO of Empire Underwriters.

Greg Brittain brings more than 30 years of experience from numerous management roles across the commercial insurance industry. Throughout his three decades of insurance industry experience, Brittain has been intimately involved with the property casualty and workers’ compensation program development at such firms as Liberty Mutual and Willis, as well as the development, management and control of a very large book of business with several carriers in the Southeastern States.

About Empire Underwriters:

Empire Underwriters is a National Insurance Wholesaler, Excess and Surplus line facility and Program Manager serving Producers in 46 states. Empire’s executive team has over 100 years of combined experience to bring agents and brokers aggressive account management and superior service. Whether you are writing a Niche Account or a Main Street business, Empire strives to make the process easier and faster to help you keep your business. For more information about specific risks, contact an Empire Underwriters Advisor at 1-800-758-8113 or visit our website at www.EmpireUnderwriters.com.

Empire Underwriters, a Program Manager, Managing General Agent and Excess and Surplus lines Broker is expanding its reach into New York State and surrounding states providing P&C Agents with Workers Comp coverage for Preferred, Standard and Hard-To-Place accounts. With over four decades of experience Empire sought to provide producers affordable Workers Comp programs with an a wide selection of class codes for preferred policyholders, standard risks and even employers that have High X-Mods, multi-state operations or perform work in hazardous industries. Empire also features special programs for policyholders which have previous claims histories, have cancelled or non-renewed coverage, and for those looking to get out of the state pool or fund.

“We are excited with the expansion into the New York market. Our New York producers have been telling us for some time that they had a lack of viable options when it came to finding Workers Compensation coverage for their tougher to place clients. Our New York and Northeastern states partners are telling us they need solutions and capacity. We wanted to create a robust selection of offerings for agents that they can pass along to their customers.” said the CEO. “These are offered by several of our National “A” Rated Carriers as well as our highest rated regional partners that have been successful with us in other US Regions for some time including the West Coast. Now it is time we bring these solutions to the great State of New York and throughout the Northeast.”

Accommodating over 500 White, Gray, and Blue collar classes, many of Empire Underwriter’s new programs will provide a wide range of useful options including Monthly Payroll Reporting, aggressive claims management and loss control assistance. Some products may also offer HR assistance and Affordable Care Act compliance services for those employers who are seeking such services.

“We are aggressively appointing New York Agents and Brokers and those in the surrounding states with policyholders that operate in the States of New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Connecticut. These producers must be aggressively seeking to expand their offerings and ways in which to better accommodate their already growing book of business. Empire Underwriters strives to make the process easier, faster and to help the producer keep more business.” Noted Senior Underwriter, Greg Brittain.

Along with the expansion of hard-to-write markets into New York, Empire Underwriters brings access to a wide range of product and services offerings including Alternative Workers Compensation, Commercial Property, Builders Risk, High Value Homeowners including Coastal Property and many more.

About Empire:

Empire Underwriters, based in Tampa, Florida, aims to help Producers to write more business. Whether the most difficult account or Main Street business, Empire has a team of experts to provide access to the market needed to be competitive, bind business and keep it.

For more information, visit http://www.EmpireUnderwriters.com

Empire Underwriters, a Managing General Agent, Program Manager and Excess and Surplus lines Broker now offers Workers Compensation Insurance programs to Agents and Brokers within the “Tough” “Hard to Place” or “Non-Standard” marketplace. Empire, with over 40 years experience in handling “Difficult to Place” Workers Compensation, specializes in providing producers with access to affordable Workers Comp programs with an emphasis on risks that have High X-Mods, are in hazardous industries, have previous claims history, multi-state operations, or even cancelled or non-renewed coverage.

“We are excited to be expanding our already popular offering of Alternative Workers Comp programs to New York State and other Northeaster State Producers. Agents and Brokers in the region have been telling us for some time that they have a lack of options when it comes to meeting the Workers Comp needs of their tougher to place clients. With the opening up this product to the Northeast US, we are now offering agents the solutions and the capacity they can pass along to their customers,” said the CEO. “These offerings come with the backing of several carriers all which are “Rated A” or higher by A.M. Best. We have had exceptional success with policyholders who are looking to get out of the state pool. We have had remarkable results utilizing this model with our carrier partners in other regions of the US, so now it is time we take this offering to New York and its surrounding states.”

Accommodating over 467 White, Gray, and Blue collar classes, Empire Underwriter’s already successful Alternative Workers Comp program will provide a wide range of useful options to help its policy holders in much needed areas of aggressive claims management and exceptional loss control assistance. Additional products such as HR services and assistance with compliance with the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is available for employers who seek such administrative relief.

“We are aggressively searching for agents in New York State and the Northeastern corridor that are seeking to expand their offerings to better serve their growing book of business. Empire strives to make the process easier, faster and to help the producer keep more business,” noted Senior Underwriter, Greg Brittain.

Along with the expansion of hard-to-write markets, Empire Underwriters brings access to additional products and services offerings including Standard and Preferred Workers Compensation, Commercial Property, Builders Risk and High Value Homeowners including Coastal Property.

About Empire:

Empire Underwriters, based in Tampa, Florida, aims to help Producers to write more business. Whether a Niche Account or the Toughest of Work Compensation challenges, Empire has the team of experts to provide access to the market needed to be competitive, bind business and keep it.

For more information, visit EmpireUnderwriters.com

To help independent agents better meet the Workers Comp needs of their Marine accounts and other water related risks, Empire Underwriters has expanded their offerings to cover the Longshore and Harbor Workers Compensation Act (USL&H).

Empire’s new USL&H product provides coverage to a broad range of industry classes that perform work on, over or adjacent to water.  These include Marine exposures, Marina operations, Commercial Boaters and Fisherman as well as resort and recreational risks.   Other risks include boat repair, artisan contractors and service and building contractors as well.  The new product will also be open to coverage for risks that have previously had trouble obtaining coverage or have had claims frequency problems.

“We are excited to partner with a national “A” rated carrier to provide specialty USL&H coverage to over 100 industry classes.  We work with independent agents everyday that are looking to expand their book of business. This partnership is just a small step towards providing a complete
package of offerings for our agents,” said the Chief Operations Officer.

Empire’s new USL&H program offers aggressive pricing options, along with sensitive rating plans and first dollar options with minimum premiums starting at $25,000 in most states.

“We are actively appointing agents in every state to work with us to expand our USL&H program.  When talking with our agents we recognize the need for a comprehensive program to cover those clients that require this type of coverage,” noted Senior Underwriter, Greg Brittain.

Not only is Empire Underwriters expanding their Workers Comp offering to feature USL & H, they also offer Difficult to Insure, Hazardous and High Ex-Mod Workers Compensation, Alternative Workers Comp, General Liability, Builders Risk, High Value Homeowners, and many more.

For more information, contact Greg Brittain at 800-758-8113 or greg@empireunderwriters.com

About Empire:

Empire Underwriters, based in Tampa, Florida, aims to help Producers to write more business.  Empire thrives to make the process easier, faster and to help Producers write and keep more business.  Whether a Niche Account, Main Street business, or the “most difficult to risks” Empire has a team of experts to provide access to the market needed to be competitive, bind business and keep it.