General Casualty
Generalcasualty.com
Freeport Office                                                                    Springfield Office
2900 Pearl City Road                                                            3201 Robbins Road
Freeport, IL  61032                                                               Springfield, IL  62708
Contact: Hernando Madronero                                         Contact: Darrell Donaldson
Phone: (815) 266-6500                                                          Phone: (217) 787-3484
FAX: (815) 266-6666                                                            FAX: (217) 793-2024
Hernando.Madronero@generalcasualty.com                 Darrell.Donaldson@generalcasualty.com

Percent of business in Illinois by line:
Commercial: 60%  Personal: 40%
Premium Volume: Freeport - $113,000,000                        Springfield - $68,000,000

Are you currently appointing new agents? Yes

What type of agency is your company looking for? We are looking for a professional and knowledgeable independent agency where we could rank 1, 2, 3. We would like to appoint an agency for both commercial and personal lines.

What are your premium volume requirements? (In profit sharing? In life?)
Freeport: For a new appointment, our Freeport branch would like $750,000 - $1M within 18 months. To qualify for profit sharing, the volume requirement is a minimum of $250,000.

Springfield: For a new appointment, our Springfield branch would like $300,000 within 3 years. To qualify for profit sharing, the volume requirement is a minimum of $250,000.

Are you currently doing any niche-marketing program? Yes, our target programs consist of our BOP, Contractors BOP, metalworkers, wholesale distributors and restaurants.

What is your company’s most aggressive line of business? Any of our target programs along with light manufacturing

Do you use credit scoring? We use credit scoring as a rating tool, along with other quality factors, for both new and renewal personal lines risks.

What methods do you use to distribute your insurance products? Our only distribution method is through the independent agency system.

What do you think makes your company different, or stand out from all the rest in Illinois? Why would an agent want to contract with your company? We offer a wide variety of products in both commercial and personal lines.  Utilizing our expansive loss control services and experienced quality underwriting staff allows us a great opportunity to write the large account (over $150,000) where other regional carriers do not write such large accounts and the nationals do not want to drop down and offer those services.  We are fully equipped to easily write larger homeowners (over $1.M) along with the personal auto and umbrella.  We value the personal relationship and are fiercely supportive of the independent agent.

If we had agents agree to sell homeowners policies with actual cash value endorsements, would you write more business in southern Illinois? Probably

Please list your Marketing Representatives and the territory they cover:
Abby George – handles Central and Southern Illinois
Shirley Buchanan – handles Lake, McHenry, DuPage and Northern Cook counties
Brenda Keogel – handles Southern Cook, Will, Kankakee, LaSalle counties
Dee Hoffman – handles Stephenson, Boone, Winnebago, DuPage and outlining counties

Do you plan on retaining your current profit sharing agreements? Yes

Do you offer the ability for agents to integrate third-party reports into their comparative rating process? Yes

If yes, with what vendors have you developed and/or signed on to provide this technology? MI Assistant, Priority

Do you offer single-entry new business upload from either comparative raters and/or management systems? Yes

If yes, what vendors? Applied, AMS, MI Assistant

Do you provide rates and assistance to comparative rating vendors? Yes

What kind of assistance? We provide our rates to all comparative rating vendors and provide to our agents without comparative raters, MI Assistant rating disks, with only GC on them at no cost.

Do you work with comparative rating vendors to improve accuracy? Yes

Do you test vendor rates? Yes

What is your current real-time rating strategy? We are currently able to provide inquiry capabilities on billing, policy dec pages and claims.

Do you provide an agent facing website for your agent’s reference? Yes

Do you offer the ability to quote and/or issue new business? Yes

Which lines? BOP, contractors BOP, workers compensation

Can the transaction be bound online? Yes

Can your agents service in-force policies? No

Do you publish agent manuals and policy forms on-line? No, but it will be available soon.

Do you have upload? Yes

Which lines? Personal auto, homeowners, personal marine, dwelling fire, PL change requests, PL memos, PL loss notices; CL change requests, CL memos, CL loss notices; CL accord applications

Do you support policy download? Yes

Which lines? Depending on the version and type of mgt system; personal auto, homeowners, personal marine, dwelling fire; workers compensation; CL BOP

Do you support direct bill commission statement download? Yes

Which agency management systems do you work with? Applied, AMS, MI Assistant, Doris, Ebix

Do you support real time service for inquiry? Yes

Which lines? Billing, policy, claims

Claims? Yes

Billing? Yes

Do you have real time endorsement capabilities? No

Do you support either Transformation Station, Transact Now or other technologies? Yes

If yes, please specify: Transformation Station and Transact Now

Is this technology available today? Yes

Is it in development? Yes

Please outline the top 3 technology initiatives your company will be implementing to benefit agency workflows, and describe how these initiatives will benefit the agency.

1. PL quote/submit via our website

2. Business auto rating via our website

3. Agency manuals and policy forms online