Township of Washington, NJ – Valley National Bank today announced the rebranding of Masters Coverage Corp., its full service insurance agency and brokerage, to Valley Insurance Services. Led by Geoff Mayfield and Mark Kasten, co-presidents since January, the agency provides business, personal and employee benefits insurance along with risk management solutions servicing customers in New York, New Jersey and Florida.
Creating a more seamless customer experience through partnering with various Insurtech software platforms will be a focus going forward. Starting in early 2021, Valley Insurance Services will offer customers mobile capability through an app to automate many processes including filing claims, paying invoices, accessing certificates of insurance and ID cards. In addition, Valley Insurance Services will implement a digital application process for business clients to avoid the historically manual process.
“The insurance industry has traditionally consisted of complicated and time-consuming processes and cumbersome functionality,” stated Mayfield. “We are transitioning to leverage technology so that our team of professionals can focus on advising our clients to help them meet their insurance needs, save time in their day and avoid overspending on insurance.”
One area of focus will be the electronic distribution of homeowners insurance options to the nearly 5,000 new residential mortgage customers of Valley Bank each year, along with providing renewal options to the nearly 28,000 existing mortgage customers the bank services. Homeowners are in need of alternative quotes to combat rising insurance rates, especially in Florida where hurricanes and assignment of benefit practices are driving up rates and availability of homeowners insurance.
A similar collaboration will be implemented in 2Q of 2021 to assist the numerous small and middle-market business customers of the bank. Mayfield commented that, “with all of the consolidation in the insurance agency space, many small and middle-market business-owners are underserved because agencies are targeting large businesses that generate large commissions. We like small and middle-market businesses and feel that we can create value for them by implementing the right technology, advisory services and partnering with insurance carriers that target this business segment.”
For larger clients, Valley Insurance Services is expanding its risk management division with a focus on creating scalable solutions to take the friction out of the risk management process. The effort will be spearheaded by Rafael Rivera, the new Director of Insurance Risk Management, who brings more than 25 years of risk management experience to Valley. He was most recently SVP Risk Management and Insurance for CBS Corporation.
Headquartered in the Township of Washington, NJ, Valley Insurance Services has more than 40 employees with representatives in the three states it currently serves. Visit www.valleyinsuranceservices.com for additional information.
About Valley
As the principal subsidiary of Valley National Bancorp, Valley National Bank is a regional bank with approximately $42 billion in assets. Valley is committed to giving people and businesses the power to succeed. Valley operates many convenient branch locations across New Jersey, New York, Florida and Alabama, and is committed to providing the most convenient service, the latest innovations and an experienced and knowledgeable team dedicated to meeting customer needs. Helping communities grow and prosper is the heart of Valley’s corporate citizenship philosophy. To learn more about Valley, go to www.valley.com or call our Customer Service Center at 800-522-4100.
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