First Guard Insurance Company Adds South Dakota to License List

Venice, Florida (July 23, 2009) – Specialty truck insurer First Guard Insurance Company announced today they received the Certificate of Authority to write business in South Dakota. Currently, First Guard is licensed in twenty-five states, primarily concentrated east of the Mississippi. The addition of South Dakota brings the total to twenty-six. First Guard Insurance Company is rated “A” (Excellent) by AM Best.

“South Dakota broadens our reach westward where we see great potential for growth,” commented Donna Fortuna, President of First Guard Insurance Company.

First Guard Insurance Company is the only specialty truck insurer in the country that does not market through independent insurance agents.

Save Trees. Save Money. Protect Your Identity.

Did you know you can reduce the risk of identity theft by eliminating paper bills and signing up for one of 1st Guard’s® electronic payment options? Stolen or lost checkbooks and discarded billing statements largely attribute to identity theft. Protecting our customers’ identity is extremely important to 1st Guard®. In fact, we don’t even store your credit card information on file. [For further information, please click here].

Best of all, when you enroll in one of our “green-friendly” electronic payment plans, you have the potential to save up to 15% on your truck insurance and positively impact our environment.

How to sign up?

Simple. Just call 1st Guard toll-free at 866-FAST234 to speak with a customer service agent about the variety of electronic payment methods.

Please Note: Discount may not be applicable in all states.
Call 1st Guard for an instant quote to see if you are eligible for this potential savings!

1st Guard Corporation Joins Facebook & Twitter

Venice, Florida – May 20, 2009 – 1st Guard Corporation, a premier truck insurance firm for lease owner operators, can now be found on Facebook and Twitter. Friend 1st Guard® on Facebook or follow us on Twitter and get the inside scoop through updates, wall posts, photos, and press releases.

The social network of Facebook and Twitter will give customers a new way to interact and communicate with 1st Guard®. Customers will be able to preview upcoming product and service enhancements not yet released to the public. They will have the opportunity to provide feedback about any future enhancements allowing 1st Guard® to serve their customer base better. Beyond that 1st Guard® will also use Facebook and Twitter to post the latest blog entries, exciting news and noteworthy events.

“1st Guard® is a leader in innovation and joining Facebook and Twitter made perfect sense in creating new paths of communication with our customers,” commented Colin Cowne, Online Systems Analyst for 1st Guard Corporation.

1st Guard Corporation is the only truck insurance firm currently using social media outlets to connect with their customers.

First Guard Insurance Company Adds QuickDox Feature to Mobile Device Application

Venice, FL – May 11, 2009 – Specialty truck insurer First Guard Insurance Company has added another feature to their 1st Guard® Mobile (1G-Mobile) website called QuickDox. Available on all mobile devices that have Internet access, QuickDox enables truckers to request an e-mailed copy of certificates of insurance or their last truck insurance invoice. A customer must enter the last six digits of the tractor or trailer’s VIN plus the account zip code. The requested documents are then automatically sent to the email address on file. The QuickDox application intentionally does not ask for any e-mail addresses for the protection of the customers. From start to finish, the turnaround time to receive requested documents is less than one minute.

“Most websites make users login and search for documents – we give them an extremely fast path to get the information they need. Most of the time in less then a minute they have their documents in hand,” said Chief Information Officer, Daniel Ribar.

“The ability to retrieve insurance documents instantaneously via mobile devices is revolutionary,” commented Ed Campbell III, Chairman of First Guard Insurance Company. “No one has introduced this high level of technology to their customer base; First Guard continues to be on the leading edge.”

First Guard Insurance Company Closes Claims 34% Faster

Venice, Florida – May 6, 2009 –Specialty truck insurer First Guard Insurance Company reports closing claims 34% faster as a direct result of new claims processing software. Developed internally by First Guard’s automation group and launched in 2007, the claims processing software caters to doing business 100% electronically. All information pertaining to each claim is housed electronically eliminating paper files and enabling instant access to necessary data. Additionally, the software includes capabilities to allow customers to report claims from mobile devices and PDA's, which has also enhances processing time. “The days when fax and US mail were the standard ways of settling claims made it difficult to close claims quickly,” commented Ed Campbell III, Chairman of First Guard Insurance Company. “Handling claims electronically has reduced the time it takes to settle a claim and has helped First Guard leverage compatibility with all realms of technology,” added Campbell.

Beyond electronic filing, the claims processing software incorporates a claims management tool that monitors the daily progress of each claim. Proactive in nature, this tool helps manage the workload of each claim and streamline the claims process, ultimately reducing the amount of time a claim is open. “The faster we close a claim, the more beneficial it is for everyone involved,” said Dan Ribar, Chief Information Officer.

Advanced technology and automation contribute to closing claims faster but the picture would not be complete without the stellar performance of First Guard claims personnel. “Consistent communication with our insureds, body shops and adjusters attributes greatly to First Guard’s success in closing claims fast and efficiently,” remarked Betsy Stealey, Director of Claims for First Guard Insurance Company. “We don’t give in and we fight for our insureds until the end,” added Stealey.

First Guard Insurance Company Launches Mobile Claims Submission

Venice, Florida – April 13, 2009 – First Guard Insurance Company, one of the nation’s premiere physical damage truck insurance companies for commercial (Class 8) vehicles, recently launched the capability to report a claim via a mobile Smart Device. “The ability to submit new claim information using a mobile device is an incredible feature that no other truck insurer offers,” stated Ed Campbell III, Chairman of First Guard Insurance Company.

In order to submit a claim from a mobile device, a First Guard insured has to go to their website http://www.1stguard.com/ and click on the Quick Claim icon. The process takes less than five minutes to complete. Once all the information is submitted to First Guard, a licensed claims adjuster will call the insured within normal business hours to initiate a formal claim. The quick claim icon on the mobile device is similar to a Contact Us page – it is a fast and effective way to transmit pertinent information to First Guard. It is important to note that the mobile claims submission is for new claims only.

“First Guard’s goal is to make life easier for the trucker, and anything we can do, such as the mobile claims submission is definitely a step in the right direction,” added Campbell.

1st Guard Corporation Safeguards Customers by Eliminating Storage of Credit Card Information

Venice, Florida - March 16, 2009 – 1st Guard Corporation, a specialty insurer for long-haul truckers, recently implemented a monumental change in the way they store policyholder credit card information. This change eliminates the storing of all credit card numbers onsite and drastically reduces [if not eliminates] the exposure to a security breach and the liability associated with it. It is all too common these days to hear about companies that have lost hundreds of thousands of customer credit card numbers in a single devastating event. “1st Guard’s® priority is to protect our policyholders,” commented Daniel Ribar, Chief Information Officer at 1st Guard Corporation. “People count on us to provide reliable insurance services and it is our duty to deliver just that,” added Ribar.

For each customer that pays their premium electronically, only one primary card will be stored on file. 1st Guard® will no longer store multiple credit cards for a single customer. This change immediately reduces the exposure to a security breach. Additionally, only the last four digits of the credit card with the expiration date will appear on the payment screen at 1st Guard®. All sensitive numbers that make up the entire credit card will be stored at merchant services which are kept on file for a maximum of 90 days.

Ed Campbell III, Chairman of 1st Guard Corporation stated, “The hacker stories on television have made everyone cognizant that security is a huge issue in daily business operations. 1st Guard took the initiative to make sure the best security measures are in place to protect our policyholder’s financial information.”