Good afternoon, everyone.

I’m excited to welcome you to our new monthly e-newsletter format – where you’ll find information unique to your territory, business wins, more detail around our appetite, as well as other timely content. As we work together, I look forward to sharing valuable information with you.

In case you missed the email a few weeks ago, Dave Dietz, our Senior Vice President of Core Lines, announced some significant underwriting changes that are effective immediately, as well as changes that are coming soon. If you missed his email, you can view it here.

As you are aware, Hurricane Laura made landfall on Aug. 27, near Cameron, Louisiana, as a Category 4 storm. For the GuideOne Property Claims team, their work began several days before the storm approached land. Our Catastrophe Claims Manager, Kirk Jenni, tracked the storms potential path and pulled PIF counts to develop our plan for where to deploy the CAT Claims team. By Aug. 30, we had six field adjusters and our Catastrophe Manager in Alexandria, Louisiana, ready to respond. By Sept. 4, this team had inspected close to 100 claims! As claims were being reported, this team triaged several large losses in the Lake Charles, Louisiana area. Our Large Loss team began working with our construction partner, GC3, to respond to these large losses and to provide assistance to the insureds working to secure their buildings, prevent further damage and begin the rebuilding process. As of Sept. 20, we received 326 claims from Hurricane Laura: 296 in Louisiana; 19 in Texas; and, the balance in Arkansas, Mississippi and Tennessee.

Helping you meet the needs of your customers and grow your business is my priority. If you would like to schedule a quick 20 to 30 minute Webex call with your team to review GuideOne’s appetite and identify where we can work together more closely, please email me to schedule some time.

As always, please feel free to contact me with any questions at 636-688-4216 or BCarriger@guideone.com .

Thank you for your continued partnership. I look forward to working together to grow your business.

-Brad

GuideOne Expands BOP for Small Churches

Further demonstrating our commitment to supporting small churches, we are expanding our Business Owner’s Policy (BOP) eligibility with three enhancements for small churches. These enhancements will be available in the BOP Portal on Oct. 17, 2020 for policies with effective dates on or after Nov. 1, 2020.

Enhancements include: 

• Increase property Total Insured Value (TIV) less than/or equal to $5 million per building (building value + contents value)
• Allow for up-to five locations
• Ability to write property in all protection classes, including 8, 9 and 10

By selecting a BOP for small churches, you have the ability to rate, quote and bind eligible policies quickly and easily. In addition, a BOP is a great option for a small church that is looking for a more economical suite of coverages to meet their unique needs – especially during these turbulent times.

Watch for additional coverages in early 2021 that will create eligibility for church headquarters and daycare operations, as well as expanded property and inland marine coverages.

Coming Soon: New Policyholder Billing Center

As part of our effort to be easy to do business with, GuideOne is implementing digital premium payment capabilities through its new BillingCenter – set to launch in fourth quarter 2020 for new business and first quarter 2021 for renewal business.

Using BillingCenter for inbound and outbound payments processing, our policyholders will be able to quickly send and receive payments with ease and confidence. Expanded premium processing capabilities will include credit and debit cards, instant digital payments and ACH, as well as checks. The new system also allows for real-time, event-based messaging and comprehensive security and compliance across all payment channels.

We are excited to offer these options and efficiencies to our policyholders that are aimed at improving their user experience and ease of doing business with GuideOne.

Watch GuideOne Monthly for more information as we get closer to implementing BillingCenter. 

GuideVantage in Focus

Preferred Claims & Risk Mitigation Vendors

We know that the best laid plans can be turned upside down in a split second. Severe storms, frozen/bursting pipes and water leaks, electrical fires, and injuries on premises are all examples of unplanned events that can result in significant damage to property and people, resulting in costly insurance claims. Through GuideVantage’s Preferred Claims & Risk Mitigation Vendors, your customers have access to top risk management vendors who offer free or significantly discounted services and resources when the unexpected occurs.

Here are just a few of these resources focused on helping your customers stay-claim-free as well as helping them better manage and mitigate their risks.

GC3 — Rebuild with Confidence

GuideOne’s construction company, GC3, specializes in reconstruction projects for large loss commercial insurance policies. They have built a best-in-class business over the past 30 years and have recently expanded their market expertise to include Industrial Agribusiness, Restaurant Franchises, and Commercial Multi-Unit Properties, in addition to their traditional model of Faith Based and University projects. GC3 offers targeted solutions ranging from loss consulting and inspections to full restoration projects for GuideOne customers in the wake of natural disasters and other serious loss events.

Cybersecurity: How to #BeCyberSmart

October is Cybersecurity Awareness Month, and our Information Security Analyst shared a few tips to help businesses and organizations #BeCyberSmart. Pass them along to help keep your customers protected from today's cyber risks:

Save the Date for the Great ShakeOut

The Great ShakeOut is an international earthquake drill that will be observed on October 15. No region is immune to the possibility of an earthquake, so it's important to have a plan in place when you feel the ground begin to shake. Learn how to prepare and safely respond to an earthquake in this safety resource: