Monoline WC Carrier GUARD to Begin Midwest Operations in 2004

Wilkes Barre, Pa.-based GUARD Insurance Group, a monoline workers’ compensation specialist, has begun expanding into the Midwest. Since GUARD’s products are distributed through contracted independent insurance agents and brokers, the company is in the process of appointing producers to commence operations in Michigan and Indiana during the early part of 2004 with additional states under consideration for later in the year.

The group comprises three subsidiaries: AmGUARD, EastGUARD and NorGUARD.

Currently licensed in 33 states and the District of Columbia, GUARD actively writes policies in 18 of those jurisdictions and was the 54th largest provider of this line in the United States in 2002 with direct written premiums of approximately $156 million. GUARD expects to write approximately $170 million in 2003 with additional growth anticipated in 2004 from both existing states and the Midwest.

Since the mid-1990s, GUARD has been pursuing a philosophy of planned growth and expansion. Originally active in the mid-Atlantic states of Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Delaware, the organization entered New England in 1995 and the southeast five years later.

GUARD targets small to medium-sized workers’ compensation submissions, the company said in a statement. While larger policies are considered, approximately 75 percent of the organization’s book is historically composed of employers with premiums of less than $25,000. A wide range of classifications is written, though low- to moderate-risk businesses are preferred.

GUARD is rated “A-” by A.M. Best.

Topics Carriers