First Guard Insurance Company Announces Winners of 2010 Fleet Safety Award

Truck insurer First Guard Insurance Company (rated A by AM Best) announced today the winners of their 2010 fleet safety awards. Four trucking companies were selected for the awards. The winners were chosen based upon their claims experience over the past year. Their superior commitment to safety also played a significant role in the selection. Each winner has owner-operator fleets.


The winners of the 2010 fleet safety awards are listed below.

• Baggett Transportation Company (Birmingham, AL)
• Butler Trucking Company (Woodland, PA)
• Schwend, Inc. (Dade City, FL)
• Turner Brothers Trucking (Oklahoma City, OK)

Of the four winners, Baggett Transportation previously won the award in 2008.

“We’re very proud of our association with these outstanding trucking companies,” commented Ed Campbell III, Chairman of First Guard Insurance Company. “Despite a very challenging economic environment our best customers continue to invest in safety. These companies clearly recognize the correlation between safety and the bottom line,” he added.

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About Baggett Transportation

Located in Birmingham, Alabama, Baggett Transportation hauls explosives for the Department of Defense. They also have a less-than-truckload division that hauls a variety of general commodities within the state of Alabama and other Southeastern states.

About Butler Trucking Company
Located in Woodland, Pennsylvania, Butler Trucking handles a variety of freight types and operates with owner operator and company trucks.

About Schwend, Inc.
Located in Dade City, FL, Schwend Inc has been servicing the agricultural industry since 1977 with the use of hopper-bottom grain trailers and pneumatic trailers.

About Turner Brothers TruckingLocated in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, Turner Brothers is a heavy-haul and specialized transportation company serving the needs of the industrial, wind, energy, power, oil and gas markets.

Truck Insurer 1st Guard® Puts Chairman on Front Line for Satellite Radio Campaign

Venice, Florida – January 4, 2011 – Truck insurer 1st Guard has just inked a deal with Sirius XM satellite radio to air commercials for the 2011calendar year on Road Dog (Sirius 147; XM 171) and Fox News (Sirius 131; XM 121). The commercials star 1st Guard’s Chairman, Ed Campbell, III. Mr. Campbell is pulling the curtain back and unveiling the truth about the truck insurance business in a series of commercials entitled “Gut Check.” While many CEO’s do not engage publicly in advertising campaigns that put themselves on the front line, 1st Guard believes the best spokesperson for this series is the Chairman. “Mr. Campbell is compassionate about the American Trucker and who better to deliver our message,” stated Courtney Wilson, 1st Guard’s Marketing Director.

The Gut Check campaign uncovers truck insurance secrets not commonly known by the consumer. For example, many physical damage policies have a limit on towing expenses. Unfortunately, truckers do not know this fact until it’s too late and they’re forced to pay the difference which could ultimately put them out of business. Owner operators should know the policy terms up front and not be swayed by a dirt cheap rate. A 1st Guard® physical damage policy; however, will pay towing in full after the deductible is paid. Themes similar to this one are the center of the Gut Check campaign. “Creating awareness amongst the owner operator community along with saving them money on t heir truck insurance costs are the main goals of this campaign,” added Wilson.

1st Guard is a pioneer in advertising on satellite air waves. Dating back to 2004, 1st Guard was the first truck insurer to run commercials on XM satellite radio and then quickly followed suit when Sirius satellite radio entered the trucking market in 2006. Now the two companies have merged – Sirius XM – but commercials air respectively on both satellite networks. 1st Guard is also a sponsor of the Dave Nemo Show (www.davenemo.com), a popular talk show geared towards the trucking community.

Increase Demand for Mobile Technology for the Mobile Customer

Insurance Networking News recently published an article about how mobile technologies create opportunities and challenges for today's property/casualty carriers. 1st Guard is one of several insurers featured in this article, but is the only TRUCK INSURER! The article focuses on 1st Guard's foresight in creating a mobile app for truckers - TRUCKER1 - which enables mobile customers to conduct business with just a few clicks. To read the entire article, please click on the following link: http://www.insurancenetworking.com/issues/13_11/insurance_technology_mobile_applications_strategy-26578-1.html?zkPrintable=true

Merry Christmas to you!

Mobile Technology is Finally Making a Move

1st Guard is quoted extensively in CRM Magazine's article "Anywhere is Everywhere," written by Lauren McKay. This article portrays how mobile devices and technology applications can help improve efficiency with the ease of doing business and increase overall consumer satisfaction. 1st Guard's implementation of an electronic signature app created by DocuSign (www.docusign.com) is featured in this article.

Please click on the link below to read the entire article.
http://www.destinationcrm.com/Articles/Editorial/Magazine-Features/Anywhere-Is-Everywhere-72089.aspx

1st Guard Gains Customer Confidence with Strict Security Standards

Venice, Florida – October 28, 2010 – 1st Guard Corporation, a specialty insurer for long-haul truckers, takes monumental steps in re-engineering the way they store customers' sensitive credit card information by embracing PCI (Payment Card Industry) data security standards. In fact, 1st Guard no longer "stores" an entire credit card number, only the last four digits plus the expiration date are given on the payment screen. This information is kept on file with an outside merchant services vendor for a maximum of 90 days and then destroyed. Long gone are the days of storing multiple credit cards for a single policyholder as well. By reducing the amount of personal financial information stored at 1st Guard the chance of any security data breach is drastically decreased, if not eliminated. "Being PCI compliant is all about protecting our customers' and building a positive, trustworthy business image with them," stated Dan Ribar, Chief Information Office at 1st Guard. "Customers enrolled in the automatic payment plan are extremely confident in the way we conduct business and are happy witih our early adoption of the best security measures," added Ribar.

The Grill of a Truck is No Place for a Deer!

According to the Insurance Information Institute there are an estimated 1.6 millionn deer-vehicle collisions each year resulting in 200 fatalities and over $3.6 billion in vehicle damage. Another billion is spent on medical payments for injuries and out of pocket expenses by vehicle owners. Unfortunately these numbers are increasing every year. Right now it's matting season for deer and that means the deer are EVERYWHERE!

The following precautions should be taken to avoid a costly deer claim:

• Pay attention to deer crossing signs. Areas with woodlands and agriculture are safe havens for deer.
• Deer are herd animals. When you see one deer there usually is another not far behind!
• Deer frequently travel at dusk and right before dawn. Be particularly attentive during these times as this is the highest risk for deer-vehicle collisions.
• Use high beams at night when there is no oncoming traffic.
• Always wear a seat belt. Deer collisions can cause severe damage to both you and your truck.