Fourth Insurance Office, Inc. is a consulting firm specializing in transaction related exposures, management and cyber liability, broker assessment, and portfolio management.
– We serve clients who understand that risk management and insurance counsel is best provided when there is alignment, and advice is rendered independent of procurement.
– We provide fee-for-service analytics and policy administration and never require that a change be made to any existing relationship.
– Our practice is directed by Stephen A. Cooper, CPCU, CLU, ChFC, CEBS, MBA Finance, who has 40 years’ experience in all facets of insurance.
– While we are licensed to broker most lines of insurance in most states, we are often the second call – when issues arise, assisting your agent or broker, another consultant, legal counsel, accountant, forensic experts, adjusters or family office.
– We don’t pitch “product” or promise to save you 20%.
– We model the impact of business combinations on insurance programs, suggest additions and eliminate redundancies.
– Advise on rep & warranty indemnifications, runoff options, and deal-related D&O exposures.
– Manage program integration, contain transition costs, and assist with carrier and advisor selection.
– Recent Assignment: An investor contemplating a transaction, budgeted for savings through aggregation, but failed to consider the cost and allocation of transaction specific coverages.
– In reorganization or contemplating, we can right-size limits to reduce cash flow and measure the exposures that accompany additional risk retention.
– Investigate premium finance options, retrospective arrangements, and prudently sequence terminations.
– Maximize protections and limits for current and legacy directors.
– Recent Assignment: As consultants to a public utility in reorg, we developed improvements to “follow-form” provisions of a D&O “tower” and added “shaving of limits”, facilitating claims settlements.
– We work with start-ups, their founders and funders, to develop scalable risk management programs.
– Newcos rarely require/budget for full-time risk management. We can advise on an “as needed” basis.
– Condition insurance markets for increased limits to accommodate emerging needs.
– Recent Assignment: Following an “angel-round”, a regional food service company sought institutional funding to launch their brand nationally. We arranged increased liability coverage “from inception,” to meet the requirements of new investors.
– Activism often entails a fresh look at insurance expense. It may start with property and casualty lines and extend to employee benefits. Relying on public documents, we can often identify areas of opportunity.
– For investors, activism presents new exposures, not anticipated by traditional forms of professional liability protection.
– Recent Assignment: For an investor contemplating a proxy contest, we successfully negotiated and developed a form of liability protection for a slate of directors.
-From time to time our clients are offered proposals “too good to be true”. We are not competing, so if an idea makes sense, we will make sure that all risks are understood.
– If you are reconsidering an old policy, we can fine tune your expectations and confirm whether intended benefits are likely to be realized.
– What happened? Reverse engineering a policy is often difficult, as is collecting historic data concerning values and payments. Let us do that for you.
– Recent Assignment: A client maintained a life policy to fulfill a charitable commitment. Despite “guarantees” from his agent, we demonstrated that the policy would not fulfill his objectives. Assisting retained legal counsel, we were successful in voiding the policy from inception, with full return of premium.
– Some personal insurance programs have the complexity and expense of commercial risks.
– We can provide turnkey family office services limited to insurance, including policy administration, evaluation, and marketing. We do not require a brokerage relationship.
– Recent Assignment: Family members of a closely held real estate developer relied upon in-house management of their personal insurance requirements. Over the years they acquired policies through 4 brokers, as well as the large national broker who handled their business. Meeting the needs of an expanding family became a strain on the business. We consolidated policy data, streamlined billing, and freed up corporate resources.