Special Section sponsored by TMPAA

National Specialty Underwriters, Inc.

Key programs administered: professional, general, and excess liability for the healthcare industry (physicians and facilities); primary and umbrella for hospitality; umbrella and excess for commercial real estate.

In spite of the insurance industries overall concern with today’s softening market, National Specialty Underwriters’ long-established Healthcare Division has enjoyed a significant increase in business and profits during the past year. Much of that success is centered on the retail background of many key personnel.

“Several of our production people have a retail insurance background,” says Ben Newman, Vice President - Healthcare Division. “They understand what retail insurance is all about, what agents need to do and understand to get their jobs done effectively. As a result, we were able to capture a lot of success by writing much larger accounts recently than we did before.”

Within the broader category of professional liability, wholesale distribution of malpractice insurance for medical professionals is the niche in which National Specialty Underwriters and its healthcare operation are most widely recognized.

Newman reports that the NSU Healthcare division’s business has grown by roughly 20 percent over a year ago. “That’s pretty incredible,” he said, “especially in this soft market. Our production teams have been very aggressive in finding and developing new agency relationships for us. Our specialists focus their attention on professional and general liability coverages for entities such as allied health, hospitals, and long-term care.”

One particular area of significant growth for NSU is its healthcare programs for imaging, dialysis and home health. NSU works with several program companies featuring professional liability coverage for free-standing medical imaging facilities, dialysis clinics and home health companies in the United States. NSU Healthcare has experienced significant growth in these classes of business in the last year. Currently NSU is exploring the feasibility of expanding to include additional classes of program business such as medical staffing.

National Specialty Underwriters, Inc. is headquartered in Bellevue, Washington. While NSU’s accounts, premiums, and revenue have steadily accelerated over the past thirteen years, National Specialty Underwriters continues to operate on the premise that “staying physically close to our customer base and to our underwriters is vital to maintaining and growing an effective, efficient business.” As the client roster grows, NSU Healthcare has kept pace by expanding to a total of six production teams for maintaining its close rapport with its clients.

Another way that National Specialty Underwriters keeps its name and its capabilities at “top of mind” within the insurance industry is through its membership in the Target Markets Program Administrators Association (TMPAA).

“Membership in TMPAA gives us the opportunity to network with others in the insurance industry’s program world,” noted Ben Newman. “Networking is clearly a big item for members. Getting to associate with other program specialists during the annual meetings is a valuable benefit. While our own six production teams possess a great deal of insurance industry knowledge, that additional information from other Target Market Association members can’t help but enhance our teams’ efforts on behalf of our customers.”

Further details about National Specialty Underwriters, Inc. and its overall program administration operation can be obtained at (425) 450-1090 or info@nsui.com. *