Underwriter puts the ‘people’ part front and center

In selecting this year’s 5-Star Underwriters, Insurance Business reached out to brokers and polled them on which criteria was the most important to them with regards to the service they receive from underwriters. The top three criteria, as identified by brokers, were communication, response time, and being solutions-oriented.

Communication and response time sound like two elements that should be a given with any underwriter, and yet many brokers still believe that the two are vital. A good underwriter keeps these two criteria not just in mind, but also places them at the heart of their business.

Which is exactly what the managing general agent Forward Insurance has done. In February 2022, PLUS Underwriting Managers rebranded into Forward Insurance following its acquisition by Troy Moreira – former CEO of the Premier Group – through Mar Nova Holdings. More than just a facelift, the rebrand also called for a new company mission and vision.

“Our vision for Forward is ‘People PLUS Technology,’ in that order,” Troy Moreira had explained.

And thanks to this timely rebrand that put people first, Forward Insurance managing director Linden Kerr has been recognized by Insurance Business as a 5-Star Underwriter for 2023.

“As underwriters, we’re here to support our brokers, and remembering there’s a live human at the end of that submission, or the referral, or that email,” commented Kerr on the poll’s results. “Providing great service to them means you roll up your sleeves, you stay late to get that quote out, you pick up the phone while you’re eating your lunch, you read that email before you get into the office.”

Kerr also explained that while being available to communicate and respond to brokers is not always easy, it is a necessary part of the job.

“The most important thing to mention about being a really good underwriter for your brokers is the hard work that comes with it,” he said.