Our Core Business

Experience, Expertise and Excellence in Large Case Execution

The acquisition and placement of large insurance policies is our core business at IBC, which we pursue primarily through alliance partners. Therefore, working with other advisors or channels to place large policies for their clients is a process we have fine-tuned over the past 20 years.

There are three primary steps to executing these transactions; Pricing, Underwriting and Composition.

Pricing includes finding the best product for the identified need, at the best price, in consideration of the financial security of the company, the probable future performance, and the company’s ability to handle large amounts. IBC is an independent company and as such has no allegiance or obligation to any insurance firm. As a leading member of Partners Financial, an association of high-end independent firms, IBC benefits from preferred access to the nation’s best insurance companies. This organization, and our standing within it gives IBC direct access to product support, actuaries, underwriters and planning attorneys at these carriers, on a preferred basis.

We perform a thorough MarketScan for every case we undertake. This includes an individual illustration of each available product from a full range of companies. We evaluate the products in house, supplemented by support resources at Partners Financial or the insurance company when required. This step requires experience and specialized knowledge because of the wide variance in product types, underwriting classifications and design specifications that can be used. These factors will influence the best choice for the client. If the client has existing insurance policies, we would suggest these be reviewed concurrently to ensure that they are performing as intended, and remain price competitive in a dynamic market. IBC offers this service as part of any case evaluation.

Underwriting includes both the medical and financial qualification of the client. IBC controls the medical record gathering, not the insurance company. We use our own Medical Questionnaire, Data Sheet and HIPAA Consent Form. IBC gathers all the physician records and our internal risk underwriter evaluates the information. This enables us to validate our pricing assumptions, select our primary companies and construct an underwriting file and summary for preliminary evaluation at the carriers.

IBC subscribes to a web-based application that allows us to submit business electronically to a secure file service that employs 128-bit SSL encryption to ensure that all information sent is secure and meets Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) privacy requirments.  IBC selected insurance companies can then access this information via secure login.

Our process ensures that the client does not have to undergo any exams or procedures until we know the expected result, and these therefore become closing steps. We do not submit a formal application for a large placement until we are certain of the underwriting decisions from the selected companies. If the results are not favorable, we will not submit to a company (unless the client agrees) to avoid having any adverse result appear on the client’s record.

Financial underwriting has become more dynamic over time. Essentially, the insurance company is looking for insurable interest and a justification of the amount. This can be particularly complicated when a closely held business, without a recent third-party valuation, represents a significant portion of the client’s estate. We have close relationships with the advanced planning attorneys at many carriers that facilitate communication on these confidential matters.

Composition is the careful construction of the total coverage amount at multiple companies. This is a critical step and requires that the process be controlled by a single distributor. While in some cases, the entire risk might be placed with a single company, in many larger cases, the risk must be diversified. This may be to spread the risk among different companies as a performance hedge, but it is frequently required to optimize medical underwriting results. This is required because of the dynamics of the reinsurance market for large risks.

The art in Composition is to assemble layers of coverage when needed to avoid underwriting challenges. This requires a thorough understanding of each carriers limits, their areas of underwriting advantage, and the products that suit the client’s need. This is IBC’s special area of expertise.

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