InsuranceNoodle Celebrates 5th Anniversary and Its Position as Leading Online Small Business Insurance Distributor.CHICAGO -- When InsuranceNoodle (www.insurancenoodle.com) went "live" in July of 2000, it was one of several companies endeavoring to provide small commercial agencies with online solutions for their small business customers' insurance needs. Today, five years, 116,000 requests for quotes and 33,000 policies written later, the e-broker is the leading Internet-based distributor of small business insurance. Entering its sixth year of business, the company currently handles approximately 150 new business quote requests a day and more than 2,000 NoodleNetwork(TM) agencies across the country use InsuranceNoodle's proprietary, Web-based technology platform to write and service small commercial business. CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. Kathryn Emmerson attributes InsuranceNoodle's continued growth and market acceptance to two key factors. "First, our distribution model is aligned with the thousands of local insurance agencies that control the customer relationship. Our business supports their growth objectives in the small business market." The second major factor for InsuranceNoodle's success, Emmerson says, is the close relationships the company has established with major national insurers dedicated to serving the small business market. "We have positioned InsuranceNoodle as an extension of insurers' marketing organizations and have focused on working with them to grow according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. their risk appetites," she says. InsuranceNoodle partner agencies can write and service small commercial business and provide their customers with access to eleven world-class carriers - including five of the top six national small commercial carriers - AIG AIG addressee indicator group (US DoD) AIG American International Group, Inc AiG Answers in Genesis (religious group in defense of Scripture) AIG Artificial Intelligence Group AIG Australian Industry Group , Chubb, CNA (Certified NetWare Administrator) See Novell certification. , Encompass, The Hartford, Markel, OneBeacon, Philadelphia Insurance Companies, Safeco Insurance Corp., St. Paul St. Paul as a missionary he fearlessly confronts the “perils of waters, of robbers, in the city, in the wilderness.” [N.T.: II Cor. 11:26] See : Bravery Travelers, and Zurich. To improve and enhance features and functionality, the InsuranceNoodle website is continuously reviewed and upgraded and expanded. "Our modular site design and technology platform allows us to rapidly add new products," Emmerson says. "Our platform handles the online underwriting Underwriting 1. The process by which investment bankers raise investment capital from investors on behalf of corporations and governments that are issuing securities (both equity and debt). 2. The process of issuing insurance policies. application process for more than 1,600 small business classifications with proprietary technology that seamlessly links to multiple insurer rating and quoting systems and passes online bindable insurance proposals back to agencies." InsuranceNoodle's current line of commercial products includes business owners' policy (BOP), directors' and officers' liability, commercial auto, umbrella insurance refers to insuring more than one property as opposed to insuring only one. For example the owner might get a discount for insuring both his house and car rather than insuring them with separate policies because it might cost more. , workers' compensation workers' compensation, payment by employers for some part of the cost of injuries, or in some cases of occupational diseases, received by employees in the course of their work. , employment practices liability insurance (EPLI EPLI Employment Practices Liability Insurance ), professional liability and surety bonds surety bond An insurance fee required before a duplicate security is issued to replace one that has been lost. The fee is approximately 4% of the market value of the security to be replaced. . Recent product additions available exclusively to NoodleNetwork partners have included St. Paul Travelers' VisionPak suite for technology companies, OneBeacon Insurance Groups' OnePac P&C solution and AIG's e-Truck program for owner-operated, long-haul trucking companies. One of the earliest NoodleNetwork partners was South Florida Commercial Insurance Planners, a 10-employee agency in Miami Lakes, Florida Miami Lakes is an incorporated town and former census-designated place in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The population was 22,676 at the 2000 census. As of 2004, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau is 22,688. . "Because we're located in South Florida, the number of products available to us is very limited," says the agency's president Angel T. Castro. "We joined InsuranceNoodle in 2001 to gain access to markets. Our affiliation with the company has proven to be a great help in writing accounts we wouldn't have otherwise been able to write. "We've written mostly commercial line policies to round out our accounts, a limited amount of package policies for risks out of the South Florida area and workers' compensation when it was available in Florida." In addition to market access, Castro says several added benefits of InsuranceNoodle partnership include support of "an outstanding Customer Service Center staff, website technology which is very user-friendly, and excellent turnaround Turnaround A situation where a company that has had poor performance for an extended period of time experiences a positive reversal. Notes: A speculator may profit from a turnaround if he or she accurately anticipates the improvement of a poorly performing company. on quotes and certificates of insurance." Today's small commercial environment is markedly different than it was five years ago when InsuranceNoodle was born, however, as Emmerson says, "insurance agents remain at the center of the market as the key, trusted advisor to the small business owner. InsuranceNoodle is well positioned to enable those insurance agents to give ongoing value-added services A value-added service (VAS) is a telecommunications industry term for non-core services or, in short, all services beyond standard voice calls and fax transmissions. to their customers for the foreseeable fore·see tr.v. fore·saw , fore·seen , fore·see·ing, fore·sees To see or know beforehand: foresaw the rapid increase in unemployment. future through a highly efficient platform and an ever-expanding array of small commercial products and carriers." About InsuranceNoodle InsuranceNoodle, a Chicago-based insurance e-broker, is the most complete online insurance solution for small business, ensuring comprehensive, tailored coverage at competitive prices. Through a quick, streamlined process, InsuranceNoodle offers agencies and small business owners comparative quotes, online purchasing and servicing of products from leading insurers including AIG, Chubb, CNA, Encompass, The Hartford, Markel, OneBeacon, Philadelphia Insurance Companies, Safeco Insurance Corp., St. Paul Travelers and Zurich. Real-time customer service and advice from licensed insurance advisors is available from 7:30 am to 6 pm (Central Time), Monday through Friday. InsuranceNoodle is licensed in 49 states, reaching over 99% of all small businesses in the U.S. through its extensive national network of independent insurance agencies or via direct access online. For more information, visit www.insurancenoodle.com. Information about joining the NoodleNetwork(TM) of agencies may be found at https://www.insurancenoodle.com/secure/agency. |
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