News

40 years ago, no one would have mistaken me for an honor student. Fast forward to today and I am amazed that I have 2 incredible children, one of which is an honor student and will even ask me for help with homework. On the other hand, Sam, my 11-year-old son never asks for help with schoolwork; he just likes to pretend that he doesn’t have any!

One of my ‘Dad’ responsibilities is to help Sam with his annual science fair project. Last year we invented the triangle flute. You can play it like a triangle or blow through it like a flute. The funny thing is that no one in my family has an ounce of musical talent so I think it’s ironic that we invented a ‘musical instrument’. The science fair is coming up again and I might take a hint from Ben Franklin who had a lot more success in the invention department. Flying a kite in a lightning storm is right up mine and Sam’s alley!

Not only could Ben invent, he was also a great entrepreneur. In 1752, he and a group of prominent citizens founded The Philadelphia Contributionship for the Insurance of Houses from Loss of Fire. Today, The Philadelphia Contributionship Insurance Company (PCIC) is the oldest property insurance company in America. Tuscano is happy to be affiliated with PCIC because they have a great mission and true staying power. We are even more excited by the fact that we can now offer you a great admitted HO3 or HO2 product – something we have not been able to offer before now. This is the perfect insurance solution for your client who for one reason or another just doesn’t fit into your front-line homeowner program. Maybe there has been a lapse, or there is a commercial exposure next door, the property is a ‘row home’, or it is in PC 9 with a supplemental heat source. We are looking for good risks that deserve an HO3 in a standard homeowner’s program. If you have one on your desk, give the Personal Lines team a call or submit it online – we think you will be happy you asked for help!

Something else I would love to invent is fun. You know – what we call amusements. Well even if I can’t invent them, Tuscano can insure them! Inflatables, carnival rides (including children’s), climbing walls, batting cages, petting zoos, laser tag, video arcades, guides & outfitters - the list goes on and on. We would love to write your fun contractors! You may think that only the Big Brokers that advertise in the trades are capable of writing this business competitively but that is not true. The Casualty Team at Tuscano are very experienced and capable (and they love fun stuff, too) and we have a couple of markets to go to with this business.

One last thing for housekeeping: I have been told we are changing our procedures for sending Intent to Increase notices. We typically send a notice to commercial policyholders (those who are with carriers that Tuscano has a contractual obligation) informing them that their policy is about to expire and there is a chance that the premium may go up. This practice will not change; however, we are no longer going to send copies of the notices to your agency. I am sure it is just junk mail to you anyway. If you ever need a copy of the notice, we can produce one for you. If you want a list of policyholders that have received the notice, we can provide that as well. Thanks for your understanding about this as we attempt to reduce the amount of paper we consume every month.

Just remember – the only insurance problem we can’t help you with is the one you don’t bring to us.