About Zurich
Zurich North America is named Program Insurer of the Year
Zurich earned the coveted recognition at the inaugural event presented by The Insurer.
Zurich North America won Program Insurer of the Year at the inaugural Program Manager Conference & Awards, held in New York this past May.
During the awards ceremony, Zurich was cited for its “highly professional approach and commitment to the program space.” Denise Olson, Head of Programs, accepted the award on Zurich’s behalf and credited her colleagues for the recognition.
“Our team is so incredibly talented, and I’m so impressed with all of them. The fact that we won this award is definitely thanks to all of them,” she said.
Zurich was named to a shortlist of potential winners, along with Everest Insurance, Homesite Underwriting Managers and Munich Re Specialty Insurance. In all, 15 awards were presented.
In its submission for the award, Zurich cited its support of Program Administrators through marketing, training, knowledge sharing and business development: “For more than 60 years, we have leveraged our financial strength and breadth of product knowledge to deliver insurance offerings across a wide variety of industries. We align with Program Administrators to help them attain profitable growth, achieve desired goals, develop their employees, and strengthen customer relationships.”
Members of Zurich’s Programs team with the Program Insurer of the Year award. From left to right: Stacy Topf, Program Manager; Rosemarie Rogers, EVP of Programs; Ryan Whitney, Vice President, Programs and Distribution Management; and Denise Olson, Head of Programs.
A 5-star showing for Builders Risk
US Assure and Zurich included among IBA's 5-Star Construction Insurers for 2022.
Both Zurich North America and US Assure, Program Administrator for all of Zurich Programs’ specialty Builders Risk Insurance programs, were included in Insurance Business America’s list of 5-Star Construction Insurers for 2022. Zurich and US Assure were among the top-ranked companies in the Builders Risk/Course of Construction category.
IBA made their selections based on surveys and conversations with hundreds of brokers across the U.S. The brokers rated insurance providers they have worked with over the past 12 months in 14 different categories on criteria including work quality, specialist expertise and client service.
Zurich Programs honors
To recognize their valued contributions, Zurich Programs bestows awards on some of the high-achieving Program Administrators we work with, as well as our own team members who work with them. Here are some recent recipients, honored based on 2021 program results:
Delivering Where It Counts Award
The Delivering Where It Counts Award recognizes Program Managers who have demonstrated strong portfolio management skills that helped their programs address specific challenges. Amy McConnell received the honor this past April. The announcement for the award praised McConnell for making a significant impact to the organization through her Program Manager responsibilities, building a strong relationship with the Program Administrator, and providing support, mentoring and acting as sounding board for others.
Awards of Distinction
With our Awards of Distinction, Zurich Programs recognizes the top-performing Program Administrators who work with us. These are PAs who have met or exceeded goals for profitability, gross written premium, loss ratio, and other financial, underwriting and compliance criteria. The Program Managers who work with the winning PAs are also recognized with a certificate acknowledging their contributions to this shared success. Three levels of achievement are recognized: Gold, Platinum and Pinnacle, with Pinnacle being the highest level. Here are the winners announced in August:
Pinnacle
Platinum
Gold
- US Assure – Builders Risk (Stacy Topf, Zurich Program Manager)
- Arrowhead General Insurance Agency – Difference in Conditions and Residential Earthquake (Carol Ulrich, Zurich Program Manager)
- Abacus Insurance – Film, TV and Video Production (Jim Buck, Zurich Program Manager)
- Artex Risk Solutions – Workers’ Compensation for Professional Employer Organizations and Temporary Staffing Agencies (Jim Buck, Zurich Program Manager).
- MDP Programs – Historic Property (Stacy Topf, Zurich Program Manager)
- Arrowhead General Insurance Agency – Forestry (Stacy Topf, Zurich Program Manager)
Platinum Award – Tier Two
Gold Award – Tier One
- Exceed plan GWP by 5% or more
- LR below plan by 1.5 points or more
- Underwriting review – effective
- Compliance review (if applicable) – effective
- Financial review – effective
- Profitability target met or exceeded
- Meet GWP plan for the year
- Meet LR plan for the year
- Underwriting review – effective
- Compliance review (if applicable) needs improvement with low-impact (minimal) recommendations
- Financial review – effective
- Profitability target met or exceeded
Pinnacle
- US Assure – Builders Risk (Stacy Topf, Zurich Program Manager)
Platinum
- Arrowhead General Insurance Agency – Difference in Conditions and Residential Earthquake (Carol Ulrich, Zurich Program Manager)
- Abacus Insurance – Film, TV and Video Production (Jim Buck, Zurich Program Manager)
Gold
- Artex Risk Solutions – Workers’ Compensation for Professional Employer Organizations and Temporary Staffing Agencies (Jim Buck, Zurich Program Manager).
- MDP Programs – Historic Property (Stacy Topf, Zurich Program Manager)
- Arrowhead General Insurance Agency – Forestry (Stacy Topf, Zurich Program Manager)
Platinum Award – Tier Two
- Exceed plan GWP by 5% or more
- LR below plan by 1.5 points or more
- Underwriting review – effective
- Compliance review (if applicable) – effective
- Financial review – effective
- Profitability target met or exceeded
Gold Award – Tier One
- Meet GWP plan for the year
- Meet LR plan for the year
- Underwriting review – effective
- Compliance review (if applicable) needs improvement with low-impact (minimal) recommendations
- Financial review – effective
- Profitability target met or exceeded
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3 PROGRAM LEADER