In today's edition of the Daily NewsFlash, we are featuring new Ryan began his insurance career at Arrowhead General in 1996 where he was instrumental in launching
the Arrowlink system, which helped agents bind business on-line. In 2007, Ryan was appointed CMO of Arrowhead where he served in this position until 2012 after leading the firm's sale to Brown & Brown. He later joined Personable Insurance Agency as Senior Vice President, Sales & Marketing, where he helped grow the firm's written premium from $15 million to $105 million by 2015 via strategic acquisitions and organic growth. He led the sale of Personable to Confie Seguros and Abry Partners, a Top 18 Global Insurance Broker according to A.M Best.
"Independent agents and brokers need an advocate to help them grow their business, particularly in today's competitive landscape marked by emerging, disruptive technologies and new players in all facets of their business," explained Ryan. "As their champion, Prospect General will challenge the status quo of how insurance is created and lead the way by developing customized products that fit the evolving needs of policyholders. To this end, we have formed our Agency Council where we meet with agents and producers to receive insight into what their policyholders are asking for and why. From there, we collaborate and develop creative coverage options that insureds prefer and will purchase."
The first of these innovative products includes Prospect General's Equity Protector Insurance program and its Real Estate Investor Insurance program.
"Our Equity Protector product is geared to first-time home buyers who want to protect their property against earthquake damage and for those who are looking to supplement their existing earthquake coverage," said Ryan. The product offers a 1% deductible rather than the typical 5%-10% deductibles available with today's earthquake insurance. An insured can either purchase $50,000 or $75,000 worth of coverage.
"Typically, if an insured has $300,000 under the Coverage A portion of his or her homeowners policy, an earthquake product with a 10% deducible won't kick in unless you have more than $30,000 worth of damage," noted Ryan. "With Equity Protector, once there is $3,000 of damage, our policy will respond. This is key, as more than likely an earthquake will cause damage to the stucco, chimney or driveway. Now an insured will have the resources to manage the out-of-pocket expenses involved in these types of repairs. If there is a total catastrophe, the insured will be covered up to $50,000 or $75,000 with our policy. Think of it as the first layer of coverage. For those that do have earthquake coverage, it will help fill in the gap that exists with their current deductible."
The product, available in California, was developed to help the 90% of homeowners who don't carry earthquake insurance. "Usually, people don't purchase earthquake coverage because they believe it's too expensive or they mistakenly think they don't need it," noted Ryan. "We are providing a product that isn't as costly as a typical earthquake policy so that if you don't have any coverage at all, you at least will have some type of protection."
Prospect General's Real Estate Investor Insurance program is designed for investors who own multiple homes as rental properties and are looking to protect them with a single policy.
Available on a national basis, the product provides for property and liability insurance. Target classes include 1-4 unit dwellings, small habitational, condo units and light commercial. The product was designed with flexibility in mind. Not only are there multiple deductible options, there are also three different payment options. The coverage has been built in order to react to the needs of the individual investor, including those who have taken loans on their properties and are thus subject to the insurance requirements of the lender.
When asked about Prospect General's Agency Council, Ryan explained that its genesis was borne out of the need to truly learn what customers want.
"Agents and producers are the individuals out there selling, who have their pulse on what the buyer wants. Through our Agency Council meetings, we plan on finding out what people like and don't like about products," explained Ryan. "If agents/producers had their own insurance company, for example, what products would they like to offer to customers? We want to offer something beyond the main-street products available, such as your typical commodity-based auto or property coverage. What we are really trying to do is develop innovative products that people need - whether it is insurance coverage for cell phone data or for breweries in San Diego. What are people asking about and can we develop a product for it? We will then work with our agents and producers to design a product based on the feedback provided."
To get appointed with Prospect General and begin a dialogue about designing and crafting new products, please visit the website at www.prospectgeneral.com. You can also contact Jorge Martinez at 619.597.1274 or via email at jlm@prospectgeneral.com.