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Target Markets Program Administrators Association Carriers United National Group It didn’t require a leap of faith for United National Group to become a Target Markets Program Administrators Association charter member in 2001. The link between an organization whose mission is to “help program administrators conduct their business more efficiently, with greater proficiency and profitability,” and a company that had been doing that since 1960, was obvious. Just as TMPAA deploys five strategies to achieve its mission, United National expresses its business focus in five parts, says Bob Glettler, vice president for programs. “We’re focused on the E&S market, serving niches often underserved by standard markets or where the competition is lighter than normal. We focus on nonadmitted business, but we look at admitted business when opportunities clearly outweigh the cost of the admitted structure. We write class-specific programs in casualty, property, and professional liability that will generate $5 million or more in total premium within 18 months.” United National has long been prominent in property/casualty and professional liability and is recognized for its expertise in specialty products underwritten through its binding authority division. The company recently added liability and several new professional liability products including allied health care lines. It maintains strong offerings in social services, commercial umbrella, equine, and public entities niches. Glettler emphasizes, “We’re not in the market for start-up programs, and we do require rollover business. We entertain new or unique lines if we have the technical expertise to manage the program.” With the recent consolidation of United National and Penn America Group under one umbrella—United America Insurance Group—United National’s focus is sharper than ever. Bill Schmidt, United America president and CEO, explains. “We’ve combined our commercial binding authority business and support resources under the Penn America flag, thus allowing United National to focus exclusively on programs and on building long-term, mutually beneficial relationships with our partners—the general agents and wholesale brokers who bring experience, market knowledge, and solid reputations to the table. Together, our companies rank among the largest of middle market players.” TMPAA emphasizes the need for insurance professionals to take maximum advantage of technology to compete successfully. So does United National. “It’s a two-way street,” Glettler notes. “We expect our GA partners to provide accurate, efficient policy processing. This demands understanding and use of various technologies. For example, general agents and wholesale brokers with whom we work must be able to exchange data with us electronically. On our side of the equation, advanced technologies allow us to provide market-leading service and rapid turn-arounds which are crucial in the highly competitive GA market we serve.” Glettler continues, “We’ve seen the negative impact when agents are dragged through a long underwriting process only to learn that a carrier won’t take the risk. Something as simple as a quick ‘no’ to a submission is important to agents so they can refocus efforts toward their best service. So we review every submission quickly. This includes asking for specific information required to make rapid determinations. It’s just one part of building a mutually rewarding relationship with our GA partners.” Continuing with the relationship theme that’s key to United National’s philosophy, Schmidt says, “We’re relationship focused and relationship driven. There’s no question that building long-term relationships of trust and respect is the direct route to mutual profitability. We want to be profitable and to grow for our shareholders. Getting that done is making certain our agents are as strong and successful as possible.” * |
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