Market Finder An Instant Upgrade For Brokers With Hard-To-Place Risks
EvoSure expands product suite and team to enhance commercial insurance experience
Austin, TX, April 6, 2015 - From freight trucks to private colleges to coastal hotels, commercial insurance brokers routinely encounter risks that are tough to place within their established network of insurance carriers. Enter Market Finder by EvoSure, the insurance technology firm that functions as an online “matchmaker” for brokers and underwriters.
Using Market Finder, agents and brokers can quickly and easily input characteristics about the risk they are looking to place. They will then receive a list of markets whose appetite for that business has been pre-qualified and verified by EvoSure--usually within 48 hours. EvoSure is often able to provide contact information down to the specific underwriter, helping deliver a submission to the right desk. In addition to sparing both brokers and underwriters hours of potentially fruitless work that could result a declination, EvoSure fosters connections between interested parties, shifting focus and time towards delivering the best service and coverage for clients.
“Businesses rely on insurance brokers for their relationships and ability to find the best insurance coverage at the right price; but brokers often find navigating their relationships and other underwriters in the marketplace inconsistent and time consuming,” says Matt Foran, CEO of EvoSure. “Our broker members win new and renewal business because they are more effectively leveraging their networks of underwriters. Submissions are going directly to the most qualified underwriter desks, and those underwriters are spending less time fielding out-of-appetite submissions. We’re closing the gaps on both sides of the transaction.”
“We were working on a couple transportation risks that our standard carriers were all declining when we decided to try Market Finder,” says J Brandon Foster, Vice President of Transportation & Construction at Walker Myers, a full-service boutique insurance brokerage and risk management consulting firm headquartered in Houston, Texas. “The result was a sorted list of markets, some of which had confirmed interest despite the unique exposures. Because we had noted the markets we had already approached, EvoSure was able to find us additional options we hadn't considered. We utilize EvoSure for all of our hard-to-place risks.”
Another early user of the tool was Ike Faust, Owner of Rendezvous Insurance, an independent agency with a national reach and broad array of risk management services based in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. "To ensure I was exhausting all options available for my Compost Recycling Facility client, I requested a Market Finder,” he recalls. “They quickly provided me with a list of carriers, program administrators, and wholesalers who were a fit for the risk. With this additional information, I was able to receive a quote and win the business. I'll continue to use EvoSure to help ensure I'm finding the right markets."
Beyond just placing business, brokers leverage Market Finder to identify the right relationships to grow. Denise Mercier, CEO of Mercier Associates LLC says, “After many years offering life insurance to my customers, I decided to expand into property and casualty. I'm using EvoSure's Market Finder to align my opportunities with markets that will quote them. EvoSure is helping me find the right people who I can get appointed with and start long-term relationships." Mercier Associates LLC is a family owned agency in Sarasota, Florida.
Foran experienced the challenges Market Finder solves for firsthand, as a broker at Marsh where he and EvoSure COO Brian Wood were hand-picked to develop key strategic initiatives in support of the leading global firm’s brokers. Foran then went on to the highly-regarded strategy group at Zurich North America where he was responsible for driving in-appetite submissions and premium growth for the specialty products division.
Foran and Wood have built an exceptional team at EvoSure comprised of rising talent from the commercial insurance industry as well as individuals from technology juggernauts like Google, Apple, and Oracle. To add more carrier-side experience to the team, EvoSure has tapped Brett McKenzie, a veteran of Zurich and Fireman’s Fund/Allianz, to join the firm as Director of Sales. Based in Chicago, she brings extensive experience developing go-to-market strategy for insurers and in refining and communicating appetite to brokers. At Fireman’s Fund, she managed business development initiatives for numerous commercial industry segments, helped facilitate the launch of the company’s online commercial appetite tool, and led market management for the company’s renowned high-net-worth personal insurance business prior to its sale to ACE Group. During her tenure at Zurich, McKenzie worked directly alongside Cody Ward, now EvoSure’s Director of Marketing, to establish an industry-leading digital presence and launched the carrier’s foray into social media.
“It’s exciting and certainly unique to join a team that combines firsthand knowledge of the challenges brokers and insurers face with the agility and laser-focus of a tech company,” McKenzie says. “Insurance is an industry that’s steeped in tradition, so when you develop a completely new way to enhance the transactional experience, it’s pretty energizing. People are really gravitating towards what Brian, Matt, and their team have built.”
“Uniting innovators from some of the most esteemed tech firms in the world with tried and true insurance professionals is resulting in tools that deliver the boost to efficiency and effectiveness that this industry has been clamoring for,” says COO Wood who, prior to co-founding EvoSure, successfully launched three start-ups--including InsuranceOrder.com, which was purchased by Marsh & McLennan.
Brokers are already validating the need for such innovation. In the month of February, the top five risks searched for on EvoSure’s tools fit the bill for carriers interested in nursing care facilities, security firms and grocery stores to name a few. EvoSure helped brokers find markets for each.
Market Finder is available to brokers effective immediately. For a demo or invitation, visit EvoSure.com.</p>
