Business News: Starr, Roost, FCBI

Starr Insurance Companies Introduces New Product to Fill Construction Liability Gap

Starr CIP Enterprise, a mono-line general liability construction wrap-up insurance policy, was introduced by Starr Insurance Companies.

The new product is designed for property owners and contractors who need tailored primary and excess general liability coverage for single large construction projects.

Contractors and property owners can access the wholesaler network through their insurance broker.

Roost Partners with HomeAdvisor

Roost, a home telematics provider for property insurance carriers, announced it has partnered with HomeAdvisor, a US marketplace that connects homeowners to more than 200,000 pre-screened service professionals for home projects. As a result, Roost is introducing HomeAdvisor powered “Instant Plumber Connect”, that enables a timely response to urgent water leak issues, as well as easy access to their complete Home Service Professional network, all within the Roost and co-branded partner mobile apps.

Following the recent feature addition of emergency weather alerts to Roost and their co-branded apps, the company is now rolling out HomeAdvisor powered functionality to address the immediate needs of Roost Smart Sensor owners. The new functionality will be available to all Roost insurance partners and features:

• “Instant Plumber Connect” enables the immediate option to have a trusted local plumber call the policyholder right after a water leak notification is triggered by a Roost Smart Water Leak and Freeze Detector.
• “Home Services Search” is a simple link from the mobile app home screen, and allows users to quickly search for a local service professional based on a wide variety of home projects ranging from plumbing, HVAC, electrical, painting as well as general home preventative maintenance tasks.

The Roost Smart Water Leak and Freeze Detector is designed to sense water leaks as well as humidity and freezing temperature situations. It then delivers smartphone alerts via the Roost mobile app to help minimize water damage and loss. These smart Wi-Fi enabled detectors set-up in less than five minutes and can be easily located in places that are most prone to water leaks and frozen pipes.

In a separate release, Roost announced a strategic agreement was reached with Mutual of Enumclaw Insurance to increase member engagement as well as reduce claims costs, The insurer will begin a pilot program to offer free Roost Smart Water Leak and Freeze Detectors to select new and existing policyholders.

Serving customers across Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Utah, Arizona, and Montana, Mutual of Enumclaw will be deploying Roost smart sensors to select policyholders to help them better mitigate the cost and hassle of water leak related claims. The insurer will also be able to strengthen their engagement with members through Roost’s co-branded Mutual of Enumclaw Insurance mobile app, recently enhanced with severe weather alerts and home service pro access.

FCBI Workers’ Compensation Fund Moves Headquarters to Orlando

Florida Citrus, Business & Industries Fund (FCBI) has moved its corporate headquarters from Alachua to Orlando, Florida. FCBI provides workers’ compensation insurance to more than 7,000 policyholders in Florida.

FCBI recently completed its most profitable quarter in the history of the Fund, writing more policies and more premiums than any other first quarter. The Fund has also paid out more than $20 million in dividends back to policyholders in just the last five years.

FCBI’s recent relocation has created more than two dozen jobs and it remains committed to growing its workforce in the coming years.

Earlier this year, FCBI, which was formerly marketed as FUBA Workers’ Comp, brought all its marketing and underwriting functions in-house. This move will allow the Fund to become more efficient, financially stronger and better able to serve its members through a variety of offerings that include medical management, cost containment services and knowledgeable in-house underwriters with an average of 21 years of experience.

The company began its operations as a group self-insurance Fund back in 1977, focusing entirely on providing coverage to the citrus industry. Today, FCBI is a diversified Fund with more than $102 million in assets that partners with retailers, construction firms, artisan contractors and service providers.

Since joining FCBI in 2016, Debra C. Ruedisili, along with 20-year tenured CFO Sam Oswald and the new, talented Orlando based team of employees, has helped to grow FCBI’s policyholder surplus to $25 million in 2017 and to $35 million in 2018.

FCBI CEO Ruedisili is one of the few female CEOs in the workers’ compensation industry.

For more information about FCBI, visit www.fcbifund.com.