The Small Business Authority Powered by Newtek Business Services Hires Ty Sagalow and Innovation Insurance Group as Senior Advisor to the Chairman

NEW YORK, March 28, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Newtek Business Services, Inc. (Nasdaq: NEWT), TheSmall Business Authority, announced that they have hired Innovation Insurance Group, the company founded by Ty Sagalow, as Senior Advisor to President, CEO and Chairman, Barry Sloane.   Mr. Sagalow is a 28-year veteran in the insurance industry holding senior executive positions in underwriting, legal and product development for major international insurance companies.  In addition to product development, Mr. Sagalow is an expert in cyber-insurance, directors' and officers' liability and reputational risk insurance.

Mr. Sagalow will provide strategic guidance to the Chairman on innovation strategies and new growth opportunities and partnerships.  He will help expand The Small Business Authority's line of insured business services, including its recently launched Insured Merchant Services, which provides PCI compliance risk coverage to its customers taking electronic payments using Visa, MasterCard, American Express and Discover cards.  The insurance covers up to $100,000 in compliance penalties or costs in the event the The Small Business Authority'scustomeris fined by the card associations.  

Innovation Insurance Group recently developed its insured payroll program for The Small Business Authority which offers a $50,000 insured payroll guarantee in the event our customer provides us with accurate information and, if due to a Small Business Authority mistake the customer suffers a program covered loss. The insured payroll certificate provides a maximum of coverage for the following: if our customer owes more taxes, we will pay those extra taxes; if our customer is assessed any fines under federal tax laws we will pay the fines; if we paid the wrong tax authority we will correct and pay the right one; and if we direct deposited into the wrong employee account we will make the appropriate adjustments.  In addition, if you are a "pay as you go" workers compensation customer and we fail to pay the premium, we will pay any penalty to reinstate the policy, and if payroll records containing personal identifiable information are stolen, we will pay for one year of credit monitoring for each impacted employee, up to $200/year. 

Mr. Sagalow spent 25 years as a senior executive with AIG.   From 1989-1999, he was the chief underwriting officer and general counsel for the National Union Fire Insurance Company. National Union is one of the largest providers of management and professional liability insurance in the United States.  From 2000 to 2005, Mr. Sagalow was the chief operating officer of AIG eBusiness Risk Solutions, a large provider of security and privacy insurance. From 2005 to 2009, he led new product development at AIG General Insurance before moving to Zurich North America as its Chief Innovation Officer.  In April 2011, he left Zurich to create Innovation Insurance Group.  After spending time at Tower Group Companies at its Chief Innovation Officer, Mr. Sagalow returned to Innovation Insurance Group in March of 2012.

Barry Sloane, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Newtek said, "I have known Ty since 1998 in his role at National Union which was the chief underwriting arm for financial services firms for AIG.   We also worked with Ty at Zurich and are confident he will help us develop world class insurance and warranty coverage so that small and medium-sized, independent business owners know that, when they purchase a service offering from The Small Business Authority, it comes with the highest performance assurance available in the market today.  Business owners who purchased outsourced services have historically had no assurance as to the quality, reliability and security of the counterparty that they are dealing with.

The Small Business Authority, through our new relationship with Ty's company, Innovation Insurance Group, plans to focus its offerings to reduce risk and eliminate the uncertainty small business owners may have in their important business dealings. We are excited to have Ty join our team and have great expectations about our future involvement with him and our projects."

"The Small Business Authority is the premier provider of high-quality business and financial services to small and medium-sized businesses," said Ty Sagalow, president of Innovation Insurance Group.  "They are innovative, responsive and customer focused.  It is a privilege to be able to work with such a great leader as Barry Sloane.  And I am excited about our strategic partnership with The Small Business Authority."

About Newtek Business Services, Inc.

Newtek Business Services, Inc.,The Small Business Authority, is a direct distributor of a wide range of business services and financial products to the small- and medium-sized business market under the Newtek® brand. Since 1999, Newtek has helped small- and medium-sized business owners realize their potential by providing them with the essential tools needed to manage and grow their businesses and to compete effectively in today's marketplace. Newtek currently provides its services to over 100,000 business accounts and has positioned the Newtek^® brand as a one-stop-shop provider of its business services. According to the U.S. Small Business Administration, there are over 27.5 million small businesses in the United States, which in total represent 99.7% of all employer firms.

Newtek's business service lines include</i>: