Omaha National Expanding to Illinois and Pennsylvania, Written Premium Will More Than Double During 2019
OMAHA, Neb., July 31, 2019 – Omaha National, a provider of workers compensation insurance and payroll services to small and mid-size businesses, has announced it is expanding into Illinois and Pennsylvania, issuing policies with an effective date of Sept. 1 or later.
“Our growth has been extraordinary since we launched marketing less than two years ago,” said Reagan Pufall, president and CEO of Omaha National. “We grew to more than $20 million in program premium at the end 2018 and we will more than double that this year; we’re on track to reach $50 million by the end of 2019.”
The addition of Illinois and Pennsylvania brings the total number of states in which Omaha National offers coverage to five. The company began marketing in California in 2017 and started underwriting incidental exposure in Nevada and Arizona on July 1 this year.
By combining proprietary insurtech software with hands-on underwriting and claims management, it has achieved an exceptionally low loss ratio. “Our loss ratio for the 2018 accident year is lower than any of the 30 largest comp carriers in California,” said Pufall. “We attribute that to being better at controlling claim costs while providing exceptional support to workers with legitimate injuries.”
Omaha National provides coverage to companies in a wide variety of industries, with a mission of helping employers who have experienced a concentration of claims. “For a small employer, having one claim a year for three years can be devastating. Their workers comp premium spikes and most companies don’t want to insure them,” said Pufall. “We’ve helped lots of employers who found themselves in this situation; we’re better at managing claims and we help them get back to lower premiums.”
Continued growth in premium volume has led to growth in the size of the company: Omaha National is doubling its office space and staff has increased to more than 80 employees in less than three years.
Also, the company announced earlier this year the addition of Dennis Chookaszian, former chairman and CEO of CNA Financial (NYSE: CNA), and Geoff Banta, former president, CFO and COO of AMERISAFE (Nasdaq: AMSF), to its board of directors.
“The exceptional people joining our board are a reflection of the company we’re building – one based on integrity, innovation, and providing superb service to brokers, employers, and injured workers,” said Pufall.
About Omaha National
Omaha National is a new insurance company that has grown to more than $30 million in premium after less than two years of marketing and is already generating a loss ratio significantly lower than the industry average. The company employs the insurtech approach of gaining advantage through the development of proprietary software. Omaha National is expanding to become a national workers compensation insurer and operates on an open-brokerage basis, so no agency appointment is necessary.