NEWSLETTERS
Growth Spurred as the Demand For Underwriting Services
Heats Up: IBU 2006 Revenues Up 80%
Marlborough, CT (February 13, 2007) – As IBU, Inc. heads into its seventh year of providing underwriting services to the life and health underwriting industry, the company announces 2006 year-end revenues up 80 percent over 2005 levels to $4 million. This growth was spurred by a variety of factors including a significant increase in the demand for outsourced underwriting services and a diversified expansion into additional product and service areas.
IBU pioneered the virtual business model for outsourced underwriting services that allows experienced underwriters to work out of their homes to conduct in-depth telephone interviews with insurance applicants. Following the growth in 2006, the company now employs approximately 70 underwriters throughout the country and handles more than 12,000 cases per month.
“When IBU began, teleunderwriting interviews using experienced underwriters were a novel idea. Now our approach to use only highly experienced underwriters and web-based technologies is a proven solution to reducing new business acquisition costs,” said Lincoln Tedeschi, founder and president.
“While more and more companies have discovered the cost savings of using an interview by an underwriter, much of our 2006 growth is due to the fact that we have successfully diversified our service offerings beyond telephone interviews.” said Tedeschi. “More and more companies have come to recognize the benefits of harnessing underwriting capacity from IBU. Underwriting cases and reading medical records now accounts for almost half of our business.”
Other highlights from 2006 include:
In September IBU become a branch of MIB Group, Inc. for multiple carriers and is now conducting
full underwriting. IBU also has established itself as a market leader in rapid decision
underwriting. The company’s underwriters conduct telephone interviews while checking
MIB and prescription databases with the objective of making an immediate decision.
Several IBU client companies conducted extensive IBU/APS comparison studies that further validated the value of using an IBU interview as an APS alternative, particularly in cases with specific impairments.
IBU successfully entered the life settlement marketplace by conducting life expectancy estimates (LE’s) and telephone underwriting as well as providing APS summaries and underwriting consulting.
The company began working with group health insurers to conduct telephone interviews as a means to avoid the time delays of ordering APS's.
Many new clients joined the IBU roster including Pacific Life, Genworth Financial, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans and AIG.
Looking ahead, IBU is positioned for continued growth in 2007 as more companies look to realize the benefits of tapping into experienced underwriting expertise from IBU.
For more information about IBU visit www.ibuinc.com or call Lincoln Tedeschi at 860-295-1190.
© 2007 by IBU, Inc. All rights reserved.