First Guard Insurance Company Reaffirmed “A” Rating by A.M. Best for 11th consecutive year.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

First Guard Insurance Company Reaffirmed “A” Rating by A.M. Best

Venice, Florida (September 17, 2015) - Specialty truck insurer First Guard Insurance Company announced today that A.M. Best Company (Oldwick, NJ) has affirmed its financial strength rating of A (Excellent) with a stable rating outlook. The A (Excellent) rating of First Guard reflect its solid risk-adjusted capitalization and balance sheet liquidity as well as history of excellent underwriting and operating profitability. First Guard’s expertise in the truck physical damage and non-trucking liability market for leased owner-operators coupled with prudent underwriting standards, immediate attention to operational issues and a conservative operating strategy continues to play a strong role in long-term profitability and stability. The outlook for the issuer credit rating (ICR) is positive due to expectations that strong underwriting results will continue for the near term.

First Guard Insurance Company entered the direct writing market focusing solely on underwriting truck physical damage insurance in 2003 after being a reinsurer for many years. . In 2010, First Guard added non-trucking liability insurance to their portfolio of underwriting expertise.  As a direct writer, First Guard does not use agents to place business but rather goes direct to the trucker. “It's more than a re-affirmation of our A rating.  It's a reaffirmation of our low cost structure, direct writing business model and technology,” stated Edmund B. Campbell II, CEO of First Guard Insurance Company. “More and more insurance consumers are asking, why do I need an insurance agent?”

While First Guard is limited to a specific niche within commercial automobile insurance, their dedication and focus on this niche have generated positive results over the years. This year’s A (Excellent) rating marks First Guard’s eleventh (11^th) consecutive year for maintaining this rating. For the latest ratings, visit www.ambest.com.

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Media Contact:
Courtney Wilson
Courtney@1stguard.com
800-995-4827

Colorado Makes Twenty-Nine for Truck Insurer First Guard Insurance Company

Venice, Florida (January 5, 2015) –  Specialty truck insurer, First Guard Insurance Company, announced today they recently added the rocky mountain state of Colorado to their portfolio. Adding Colorado brings their state count to twenty-nine (29), of which most are concentrated east of the Mississippi.

“The ability to write physical damage and nontrucking liability insurance in Colorado helps carve out more potential growth in the Western part of the United States, commented Courtney Wilson, President of First Guard Insurance Company.  “We’ve saturated east of the Mississippi and we are strategically targeting states in the west to gain more traction within the leased owner operator community.”

First Guard Insurance Company, rated “A” by AM Best, provides physical damage and nontrucking liability insurance to leased owner operators. 

First Guard Insurance Company Names New President, Courtney Wilson

July 23, 2014 – Venice, FL – First Guard Insurance Company, a direct writer of physical damage and nontrucking liability insurance for leased owner operators, announced today that Courtney M. Wilson has been named President effective July 1, 2014. Prior to her promotion, Wilson was President of 1^st Guard Corporation, the agency affiliate of First Guard Insurance Company. Ms. Wilson succeeds Donna Fortuna who was elected President in 2007. Donna Fortuna remains with the company and as a member of the board of directors.

“Courtney has developed her skills in the truck insurance business through many facets of our business, from marketing and communications to underwriting and administration – which makes her extremely well-rounded,” said Edmund B. Campbell III, CEO of First Guard Insurance Company. “She is a strong leader and understands the marketplace well. Beyond that, she is a progressive thinker and visionary,” added Campbell.

Wilson joined the organization in 2005 as the Director of Marketing and Corporate Communications.

First Guard Insurance Company Adds Two More States to Their Portfolio

Venice, Florida (December 12, 2013) –  Specialty truck insurer First Guard Insurance Company announced today they received approval to write truck physical damage and non-trucking liability insurance in the states of Virginia and Washington.  Adding these two states to First Guard’s portfolio brings their state count to twenty-eight (28), of which most are concentrated east of the Mississippi. First Guard is actively writing truck insurance for individual owner operators and motor carriers that reside in these two states.

“A few years ago we added South Dakota to broaden our reach westward and now, adding Washington even further increases our potential to write business in the West,” commented Ed Campbell, Chairman of First Guard Insurance Company. “The addition of Virginia completes the puzzle of being able to write truck insurance in almost all of the states east of the Mississippi,” added Campbell.

First Guard Insurance Company, rated “A” by AM Best, is the only specialty truck insurer in the country that does not market through independent insurance agents.

First Guard Insurance Company Reaffirmed "A" Rating by AM Best for 9th Consecutive Year

 

Venice, Florida (September 19, 2013) –  Specialty truck insurer First Guard Insurance Company announced today that A.M. Best Company (Oldwick, NJ) has affirmed its financial strength rating of A (Excellent) with a stable rating outlook. 

The “A” (Excellent) rating of First Guard reflect its solid risk-adjusted capitalization and balance sheet liquidity as well as history of excellent underwriting and operating profitability. First Guard’s expertise in the trucking physical damage and non-trucking liability market for leased owner-operators coupled with prudent underwriting standards, immediate attention to operational issues and a conservative operating strategy continues to play a strong role in long-term profitability and stability.

In 1997, First Guard Insurance Company initially wrote business as a reinsurer but by 2003, it entered the direct writing market focusing solely on underwriting truck physical damage insurance. Recently in 2010, First Guard added non-trucking liability insurance to their portfolio of underwriting expertise.

 “Having our A rating affirmed by AM Best further validates our direct writing approach to the truck insurance business,” stated Edmund B. Campbell III, Chairman of First Guard Insurance Company. “As we see it, First Guard's ability to gain profitable market share faces few hurdles as long as our fellow truck underwriters remain beholdened to their expensive and increasingly irrelevant agent forces. No one's wising up, so the future looks very bright for us,” added Campbell.

Since 2004, First Guard Insurance Company has maintained the rating of A (Excellent). For the latest ratings, visit www.ambest.com.

 

The Courtney Wilson Show on 1st Guard Radio Reaches 125,000 Listens

Earlier this year,  a few 1st Guard employees were tossing around the idea of starting our own radio show streamed over the Internet (blogtalkradio) that would be geared specifically for the American Trucker. Marketing Director of 1st Guard, Courtney Wilson, was chosen to be the host of the show - which was cleverly named, The Courtney Wilson Show. Within weeks, the show was up and running.

Courtney and her producer Mallory Jones have worked hard to bring a variety of trucking industry guests on the show. While the shows main premise is to educate, inform and discuss hot topics within the trucking industry, they like to mix it up every so often with some entertaining guests as well. Former Midnight Cowboy Bill Mack has been a guest on the show along with A&E's Shipping Wars Mark Springer, Pork Chop of Ice Road Truckers, Travel Channel's Truckstop USA, upcoming country music artist Emily Minor and one of Nashville's hottest songpluggers Chris Keaton. The list of great guests goes on and on. To listen to The Courtney Wilson Show

Whether you are interested in learning more about CSA 2010 or perhaps Truckers Against Trafficking, Women In Trucking,or St. Christopher Truckers Development and Relief Fund, The Courtney Wilson Show on blog talk radio's 1st Guard channel will cover it all.

With over 125,000 listens in 9 months (Wow!), Courtney is quickly becoming one of the most listened to radio shows by those within the trucking industry. The radio show is streamed over the Internet every Thursday at 2pm Eastern. If you miss a show, don't fret. Each show is archived on blogtalk radio for 12 months. Or, you can download a specific show as a podcast on iTunes.

As the year is quickly coming to an end, Courtney is not winding down - in fact, she is hightailing it into the new year!

The Courtney Wilson Radio Show Adopts a Family with Trucking Santas

In July 2012, The Courtney Wilson Show on1st Guard Radio (on blog talk radio) interviewed Trucking Santas. While we celebrated Christmas in July; we truly are approaching the holiday season right now. In fact, Black Friday is only 2 days away.

The gift of giving is within us, and Courtney Wilson, host of The Courtney Wilson Show, took it upon herself to adopt a needy family listed on the Truckings Santas website. Compelled by their organization, Courtney contacted founder, Heather Pontruff, to get in on the gift of giving. "I always donate to the less fortunate during the holiday season, and this year I chose a family from Trucking Santas," commented Wilson. "I was so moved by this organization's huge heart of giving that I had to be a part of it as well," she added.

Trucking Santas in not a non-profit organization, rather a group of people willing to pay it forward and giving back to the less fortunate.

The satisfaction of knowing I personally made someones Christmas extra special is enough to warm my heart and do it all over again," added Ms. Wilson.

There's still time to sign up to donate. Individuals or corporate sponsors, any and all are welcome.