Applied Underwriters

Applied Underwriters: Everything you need to know

Headquarters address

10805 Old Mill Rd. Omaha, Nebraska 68154, United States

Year established

1994

Size (employees)

700+

Expertise

Personal and business insurance

Key people

Steve Menzies (founder & chairman), Jamie Sahara (founder & president)

Financial rating

A (Excellent) A.M. Best

About Applied Underwriters

Applied Underwriters (AUW) is a global risk services company that assists individuals and businesses in managing uncertainty through its corporate services, insurance, and reinsurance solutions. Among the coverages the firm offers are workers’ compensation, transportation liability and physical damage, homeowners (including California wildfire and Gulf Region hurricane), fine art and collections, financial lines, aerospace, environment and pollution, and shared and layered property.

According to the company, what separates it from industry rivals is that “every aspect of [its] products and services are managed under one roof.”

“No outsourcing means we deliver the highest level of service for our customers,” AUW says.

The firm also claims to have one of the highest customer retention rates in the industry – something it directly attributes to its employees’ “high level of commitment, hard work, and ambition.”

Applied Underwriters has operations in the US, the UK, Europe, and the Middle East.

Applied Underwriters in the news

December 2020: Applied Underwriters expands into additional regions insurer

February 2021: Applied Underwriters snaps up yacht insurance provider

February 2021: Applied Underwriters CEO on firm’s UK acquisition

March 2021: Applied Underwriters scoops up Florida firm

May 2021: Applied Underwriters establishes national facility for insurers seeking excess, umbrella coverages

July 2021: Applied Underwriters to acquire Generali’s US specialty lines division

November 2021: Applied Underwriters forms new aerospace team

December 2021: Steve Menzies: From philanthropy to profitability

March 2022: Applied Underwriters launches surety business

June 2022: Applied Underwriters reaffirms commitment to Gulf Coast as hurricane season looms

July 2022: Applied Underwriters launches sports and entertainment division

August 2022: Jamie Sahara: Insurance allows "a lot of entrepreneurial opportunity"

Leadership at Applied Underwriters

Steve Menzies – Founder & Chairman

Menzies is a lifelong entrepreneur whose achievements include the creation of Applied Underwriters in 1994, today a global risk services firm that helps governments, businesses and people manage uncertainty through its business services, insurance, reinsurance, and investment solutions.

Dedicated to positive social outcomes and serious corporate responsibility, he has also been equally invested in his employees, taking a personal interest in enriching the communities in which they work and live, and in several active philanthropic causes.

Jamie Sahara – Founder & President

Sahara boasts great skills and acumen within all essential areas of insurance. He leads the expert delivery of the programs and coverages touching the thousands of stakeholders of Applied Underwriters.

A principal thought leader at the company and the industry in general, Sahara is also recognized as one of the best minds in insurance and financial services.

Culture at Applied Underwriters

The company lives by its mission to guide governments, businesses, and people through financial risks by applying unconventional thinking to the conventional tools of insurance, reinsurance, investing, and business services. It also helps customers and partners manage uncertainty by “digging deeper, applying technology and analytics, and finding profitable avenues through even the toughest risks.”

Applied Underwriters’ employees also live by its three core values:

  • Sustainability and human connection: “Insurance teaches respect for the natural world – its power and fragility – and it is inextricably linked to the human story behind every risk.” Applied takes those lessons to heart and applies them to every new venture it takes on.
  • Knowledge sharing: From the first year the company published its Workers’ Compensation Almanac – now in its 8th edition – the firm has embraced the idea of helping partners and customers understand risk so they’re in a better position to manage it.
  • Building trust through strong financials: The company sees disciplined financial strength as essential in building customer confidence. Applied Underwriters’ insurance companies became the first monoline workers’ compensation writer to receive an A+ (Superior) rating from AM Best in 2011.
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