News & Updates from NPU
Who's ready for
football season?! High schools all over Georgia began their season last week
and college football kicks off this weekend. Whether your team had the best
season of their life the prior year - or the worst - each year the slate is
wiped clean and redemption is up for grabs. The team's dynamic changes as we
said farewell to some players and welcome the new ones. Oftentimes, a team's
success is contributed to their ability to adapt and grow in the same direction
together. We understand that concept at North Point and will navigate this
ever-changing market with you. We've got several years of experience and a
sundry of markets to find the perfect coverage for your insurance needs.
We've witnessed our
first major storm of the hurricane season in the last several days. Our hearts
are out to those who are dealing with flooding and damages as a result of
Hurricane Ida. We continue to pray as it makes it's way up the Northeast coast
that the tornados cease and the flooding subsides
Sign Up with Agave for Free Access to Credit Card and ACH Processing!
In 2020, we signed up with Agave due to increased interest from agents looking for North Point to take digital payments and we are happy to refer agents to them directly that want to be able to do the same. Are you tired of dealing with NSF checks getting returned 7 or 10 days later? Are you exasperated chasing checks for non-direct bill risks after binding and thus taking on that credit risk? Why not require a credit card or ACH payment at binding? Insufficient funds ACHes are returned within a few days whereas NSF paper checks can be over a week and up to 2 weeks before you are notified. If an insured walks away from payment and you need to cancel flat, it is much easier for brokers and MGA's to help you within a few days compared to weeks later. Many of the services that offer CC/ACH processing charge the agency $20-$40 a month for access.
Agave is free as they earn their revenue from a portion of the CC and ACH fees that the insured pays. Many insureds are happy to pay fees to use credit cards that build up cash rewards or even some cards generate funds that invest in stock accounts. If they don't want to pay CC fees a $3 ACH fee is usually acceptable to most insureds versus the time involved with printing and mailing a check and buying a stamp. Many business owners are throwing away checkbooks and paying everything digitally, are you prepared to talk their language? And some vendors and carriers are no longer accepting checks at all. Gone are the days of needing a credit card machine to take payments from your clients. Now you can use a free agency branded link/digital button you can email or text your clients so they can easily use to pay you. Why not get paid in seconds versus chasing checks?
If you would like more information please contact Greg Malin @ Agave Pay. gmallin@agavepay.com / (847) 826-1197. Tell them North Point sent you!
The Professional Point - Cyber Liability
Ransomware claims continue to make headlines across the country and globe. Whether it be a major gas company, a large meatpacking firm or a local restaurant, ransomware claims are on the rise.
As a result of the increase in ransomware claims, the Cyber Insurance Marketplace has changed dramatically the past year. Many carrier are increasing premiums/retentions, limiting their exposure by requiring full Cyber applications/supplements, asking additional underwriting questions, requiring better Cyber security policies/procedures, and even reducing the limits they offer. The majority of our Cyber renewals are, at a minimum, seeing premium increases.
These changes highlight the importance of Cyber insurance policies. A robust Cyber insurance policy is a vital component to any business' overall insurance program. Please be proactive and talk to your clients (if you aren't already doing so) about purchasing a Cyber policy. Having a Cyber policy in place will be a huge benefit to you and to the insured should they unfortunately become the victim of a ransomware attack or other Cyber related claim. Remember that our Professional Lines Department is here to help facilitate they Cyber insurance process so feel free to reach out to Brian or Nan for their assistance.
Commercial Spotlight - Environmental Liability
North Point Underwriters' commercial lines team offers a variety
of Environmental Liability products. As this may be a lesser known coverage
form for the general insured population, it is not for us. We have dedicated
markets to handle complex accounts down to just the basic coverage
requirements. We even have one market that is providing a Contractor's
Pollution Liability (CPL) indication on GL quotes for eligible classes. It
doesn't get much easier than that!
- Low minimum premiums
- Single year terms
& multi year terms
- Project Specific &
Annual practice policies
- Above-ground storage
tank & underground storage tank products
- In-house binding &
brokerage products
- Claims-made &
Occurrence forms
- Contractor's Pollution
& Premises Pollution
- We can write monoline
Pollution, or package with General Liability, Professional Liability, and/or
Excess Liability
- We can accommodate
higher limit requirements
- Available coverages for Lead, Asbestos, Mold & Transportation Pollution Liability
Our markets entertain these type of Insureds:
- Construction
Contractors
- Environmental
Contractors
- Architects
- Engineers
- Environmental
Consultants
- Service Contractors
- Manufacturers
- Distributors
Personal Product Highlight - Personal Article Floaters
A house may have good bones but the art within those four walls brings the house to life with color and culture. Did you know that North Point Underwriters can provide insurance for art collectors? Personal Article Floater is stand-alone insurance coverage for valuable personal property that often requires more coverage than what is provided by an insured's homeowner policy. This can be a separate policy or an endorsement added to your homeowner's insurance policy.
Coverage is available worldwide to private collectors. Your
policy could be tailored to provide coverage for any or all of the following:
- Depreciation cover following
damage to an article
- No underinsurance
clause
- While on loan and/or at exhibition is automatically included
For the individual artist, we can protect your completed works
and works in progress. You policy could include:
- Specific works or a whole collection
- Completed works and works in progress
- Equipment, including paints, brushes, and materials
- At the studio, at home, at the framers, on loan
A Wedding Toast for NPU Employee
Our marketing rep,
Thomas LeBlanc, wed the lovely Megyne Rohan earlier this year in April. Due to
scheduling conflicts, a celebration for the two was delayed but eventually
happened just this past month. We toasted the newlyweds at Tam's Backstage in
Cumming GA.
