Special Section sponsored by

PROGRAM ADMINISTRATOR

NIF Group, Inc.

Key programs administered: nonprofits, social services, public entities,
and pool/spa contractors

Recognized as a pioneer firm in its field 32 years ago, NIF Group—an insurance holding company—continues to operate as one of the nation’s foremost insurance program administrators. NIF concentrates on the challenging category known as nonprofits and social services.

Challenging to underwriters because risks that often involve the classes that NIF deals with include drug and alcohol rehabilitation centers; workshops, homes, and training facilities for developmentally disabled persons; boys and girls clubs; day care organizations; homeless shelters; and Goodwills.

Michael A. Orlando, chairman of the board at NIF, founded North Island Excess & Surplus Corporation in Manhasset, New York, in 1977. He soon created a specialty operation that offered products liability, professional liability, and medical malpractice coverages to nonprofit organizations. Mr. Orlando immediately recognized that social service enterprises would require a customized program for insurance. Still headquartered in Manhasset, the company eventually evolved into the NIF Group. After three decades, it continues to maintain nonprofit and social services as the cornerstone of its program administration focus. Property, general liability, crime, professional liability, abuse and molestation, auto, and umbrella are among the coverages offered in the program.

Daniel M. Mogelnicki is senior vice president of underwriting at NIF. He cites some risks that present very specific challenges such as drug and alcohol rehab centers. “Many of these operations are residential,” he notes. “They need more than the basic property and liability coverage such as fire, theft, and general liability to take care of typical slip and fall exposures. The administration of anti-addiction drugs at these centers requires medical oversights that might involve malpractice exposure. And, of course, auto insurance is an important consideration. Over the years, we’ve found that the auto portion of our program always presents the highest number of claims. Therefore, risk management is essential. Driver training, driver selection, careful maintenance of vehicles—they all help to keep claims down.”

More than 3,000 agents and brokers countrywide are associated with NIF programs. Mogelnicki describes their vital importance to the program partnership. “Nonprofits focus so attentively on the important services they deliver that they sometimes forget about insurance. That’s why the role of the independent agent is so critical. Agents bring their insurance and risk management expertise to the table, and they often help organize portfolios of exposures so they can adequately be addressed.”

“We look very closely for programs where expertise and knowledge of the marketplace, combined with excellent coverage customized to the class, are meaningful to independent agents. What we look to do is provide agents with something different that they cannot get elsewhere,” said Nancy Williams, NIF vice president of sales and marketing.

Another of the NIF-managed programs that complements its concentration in nonprofits is public entities—municipalities and special districts. This program is available in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Arizona, New Mexico, and Massachusetts.

One more key NIF program—pool and spa artisans and contractors—was recently added to NIF’s list of programs through its acquisition of HDR Insurance Services in California. This program is available in California, Nevada, Arizona and Texas.

The opportunity to kindle a program administrator/agent relationship is a major reason that NIF was attracted to joining the Target Markets Program Administrators Association (TMPAA). Nancy Williams explains:

“At NIF we find that the Target Markets Association clearly benefits NIF because it’s an excellent place for retail agents to search for trusted programs in which to place their clients. We are a relatively new member of the association, but we’ve already received many inquiries and have expanded our footprint via exposure through Target Markets.

“We feel that underwriting and knowledge of class are the most important elements in program management. Working with good carriers provides stability to end users—the retail agents. The Target Markets Program Administrators Association serves NIF very well in solidifying these important business relationships.”