A.M. Best B+
Fitch BBB-/BB+
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What types of Insurance does Great Northwest (GNW) provide?
Great Northwest Insurance Company (GNIC) provides auto, home, and small business insurance.
Hawaiian Insurance and Guaranty Company, Limited (HIG) provides auto, home, dwelling fire, and commercial general liability.
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Where is GNW insurance available?
GNIC currently operates in AZ, ID, IN, LA, MN, MT, ND, NE, NM, NV, OK, OR, SD, UT, WA, and WI.
HIG operates in HI.
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What is GNW's A.M. Best rating?
GNIC is rated B+
HIG is rated B
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How long has GNW been in business?
GNW has been operating its industry-leading model of superior service and lower costs since
1994.
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How can GNW offer superior service AND lower costs?
GNW has turned the insurance industry on its head. While other companies have eliminated
their agents and compel their customers to deal with faceless 1-800 "customer service"
voices, GNC eliminated the home office and empowers its agents to manage 100% of their
customers' insurance needs.
This revolutionary model is called the Micro-Insurance Company® (MIC).
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What is a MIC?
A MIC is an agency that has been given the authority and has accepted the responsibility to
actively support the needs of their customers by performing 100% of the custom service
functions at the site of their agency.
The MIC model...
- Eliminates the duplication inherent in the old line company business model;
- Streamlines the underwriting and claims functions;
- Provides the agency with real time customer service technology; and
- Eliminates all branch office expenses and most home office expenses.
The net effects are lower costs and improved service.
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How are MICs organized?
Each location is formed into a mutually supportive community of entrepreneurs. This
community is made up of a MIC that is the main organizing and management unit. Additional
community members are a local independent insurance adjustor, an auto repair shop, a glass
repair shop, and a fire and smoke clean-up organization. And, as a MIC grows, there will be
other members such as a local attorney and additional contractors.
The central structural element of the organization, the GNW Quality Control Center (QCC), is
utilized only as a facilitator, trainer, and quality control engineer. It does not perform
any customer functions.
Each MIC chooses an Underwriting and Claims Manager (UCM), who is responsible for the
success of GNW within the MIC. The UCM manages all of the underwriting and claims
administration within the MIC.
Each UCM and principal is, in turn, part of a state team. These state teams are responsible
for second tier underwriting guidelines, general new MIC screening, communicating state
issues and concerns, and general quality control of MIC's performance.
This organizational structure allows for the ultimate in flexibility, responsiveness, and
cost reduction.
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What types of Quality Control are used?
The quality control of GNW is built on three pillars: Selection, Management, and Audit.
Selection: Selection of the MIC, the Underwriting and Claims
Manager (UCM), and the MIC community members is of utmost importance. Every MIC is visited
by GNW to interview the potential MIC principal, and meet the candidate UCM.
Management: Management of overall quality is performed primarily
by the UCM, and secondarily by GNW. The UCM is an experienced professional who is
individually contracted with by GNW, located on site, trained by GNW, and responsible for
everything regarding GNW's quality.
Audit: Audit is primarily integrated into our technology. Within
our state-of-the-art technology is an expert underwriting system that monitors and controls
all underwriting done by the MIC, and measures the performance of the MIC to these
electronic guidelines.
Audit is organized into three tiers. The first tier is regular electronic measurements as
explained above. The second tier is additional mining for electronic data supervised by the
auditor or management. The third tier is physical inspection of the MIC or vendor whose
work quality has been drawn into question. GNW constantly upgrades quality control through
the utilization of technology and training, rather than management supervision.
Our basic mission statement requires GNW to be a low cost producer, even when measured
against direct insurers such as GEICO. While accomplishing this low cost, we must also
achieve superior quality in underwriting, claims, and administration. It is the entire
quality control infrastructure that allows us to accomplish this superior quality.
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