December 4th, 2008
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT:
Ken Carroll
(502) 352-2485 - Office
Kentucky Association of Manufacturers Names BB&T Insurance Services as "Agency of Record"
Frankfort - Striving to help Kentucky manufacturers control their insurance costs in a challenging global economy, the Kentucky Association of Manufacturers (KAM), has selected BB&T Insurance Services to be its "agency of record," effective Dec. 31, 2008, according to Jim LeMaster, president & CEO of KAM.
BB&T Insurance Services replaces The Hartfield Company of Kentucky as KAM's "agency of record" for insurance to its members. "We had a long relationship with Hartfield and enjoyed working with their leadership team," LeMaster says.
"We are very pleased that BB&T Insurance Services, with its vast market power, resources, knowledge and expertise, will now be working with our members to help them stabilize their insurance costs," says LeMaster.
"BB&T is looking forward to servicing KAM's more than 500 member companies and the entire Kentucky manufacturing industry with their insurance needs," says Danny McMahan, senior vice president of BB&T Insurance Services. "KAM members will find BB&T is not just another insurance agent," he says. "Our strategy is to be KAM's ambassador and member advocate while offering state of the art programs intended to alleviate rising health and welfare benefit costs of participating KAM members. We strive to be creative and innovative in assisting our customers with insurance funding programs to maximize coverage while minimizing costs."
According to Jim Dingus, vice president of BB&T Insurance and Employee Benefits Services, BB&T has dedicated association sales and service teams located in Lexington and Louisville. "These teams are trained and skilled in association members' needs," says Dingus. "Association services include assisting members and their employees with coverage and claim issues, state and federal laws and compliance, navigating the healthcare system, and many more. Sales and service representatives are also traveling throughout the state providing on-site services wherever and whenever needed. Our association teams will also keep members informed of association and healthcare industry news through newsletters and regional meetings throughout the state.
"BB&T's employee benefit teams are challenged and committed to keeping healthcare costs to a minimum of increase in spite of spiraling trending of claims and increasing medical costs," says Dingus. "Our philosophy includes plan designs with disease management programs, wellness programs and consumer driven health plans. Identifying loss drivers, health issues and creating improvement plans is a strategy BB&T uses everyday to assist employers."
KAM members who want information about BB&T Insurance Services should contact Dingus at (859) 338-7600.
BB&T Insurance Services is the 6th largest insurance broker in the U.S. and 7th worldwide. Since 1922, BB&T Insurance has quietly grown into this position, and now represents over 11% of the Branch Banking and Trust's total revenue. BB&T Insurance writes in excess of 10 billion dollars of premiums nationwide and generates 1 billion dollars of revenue. BB&T Insurance Services is the largest multi-line insurance agency in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and employs more than 120 employees in the Lexington and Louisville offices.
In Kentucky, BB&T specializes in commercial property and casualty, employee benefits and association endorsed marketing and servicing programs. Some notable association programs currently handled by BB&T are the Kentucky Bankers Association, Kentucky Automobile Dealers Association, and the Architects and Engineers Associations.
BB&T is a proven leader in bringing employee benefit solutions and services to its many customers. Being one of the first agencies to offer consumer driven health programs, BB&T has created Health Savings Accounts (HSA's) and Health Reimbursement Accounts (HRA's) with affiliated vendors that bring all aspects of the programs together with cost-saving measures.
Benchmarking and individual employer based claims analysis studies are a normal offering of BB&T's services. Many other value added services are readily available to help customers with employee benefit and human resource needs. BB&T also has special designed on-line programs available, many of which are proprietary.
Established in 1911, the Kentucky Association of Manufacturers is the Commonwealth's only manufacturing trade association. KAM's mission is to raise the prosperity of all Kentuckians by protecting and growing our state's economic engine: manufacturing. KAM proactively works with elected officials, policymakers, chambers of commerce, other associations, economic development experts, the news media, the general public and its own members to drive results through eight branded initiatives: ProsperousKentuckysm, ProductiveKentuckysm, FreedomKentuckysm, SmartKentuckysm, HealthyKentuckysm, HonestKentuckysm, MarketKentuckysm and CleanKentuckysm. On the web at www.KAManufacturers.com