Safeco Unveils Updated Businessowners Policy

April 28, 2005

Seattle-based Safeco announced the expansion of one of its commercial products, offering independent insurance distributors the opportunity to write Businessowner Policies (BOPs) for larger customers in more business classes and with broader insurance coverages.

The expansion is expected to build upon Safeco’s growing success in
the small-business marketplace, where it has reportedly experienced 20 percent BOP growth in the past two years.

The product’s improvements cover three primary areas:

— Policy eligibility limits climb to $15 million, up from $5 million in
annual sales or total insured value per location.
— 12 coverages are added or expanded, including blanket property coverage for multiple locations or contents, salespersons’ samples as
off-premise personal property, and brands and labels protection for
preserving the reputations of wholesalers and retailers.
— 62 new classes come on board, making Safeco an option for office, retail, wholesale and distributor businesses.

Independent distributors in 15 states can now immediately access the
improved product via Safeco Now, the company’s online sales-and-service platform. Most Safeco distributors will have access by the end of second quarter and all states are expected to launch by year end.

The BOP expansion follows several waves of commercial lines advancements for Safeco.

One year ago, the company introduced Safeco Now, its unified P/C
sales platform that allows distributors to write and sell Safeco policies in as little as five minutes each.

Since the platform’s introduction — which featured BOP, commercial auto (fleet/non-fleet), workers’ compensation, business umbrella, surety, personal auto and homeowners — SBI has gone on to include access to nearly 100 commercial multi-peril classes.

Topics New Markets

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