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GODFREY - The North Alton-Godfrey Business Council continues to shine the spotlight on area businesses, the latest being Macias Insurance Agency. While based in Godfrey, Macias Insurance also has agents in Hardin and Jerseyville and a wide variety of products and insurance offerings.
Barry Macias with Macias Insurance Agency gave more insights into what sets Macias Insurance apart, the state of the insurance industry, and more on Our Daily Show! on Riverbender.com.
As an independent insurance company, Macias Insurance can work with multiple insurance companies - not just one - to find the best rates and options for their customers. Some of the products they offer are through companies such as Erie Insurance, Madison Mutual, Progressive and more, and Macias one particular category has been selling well.
“The homeowners’ products [are] going crazy right now, with some companies not allowing us to take on new customers with roofs in excess of five to ten years,” Macias said, adding that homeowner’s products typically sell well in the summer months while others sell well year-round.
Also regarding roofs, Macias added that while installing solar panels on one’s roof won’t affect their insurance, there may be some high costs associated with removing and reinstalling the solar panels during any roof repairs resulting from a claim and required under contract.
On the commercial side, Macias said data breach coverages, including cyber liability and cyber first-party coverage, are particularly popular with their commercial customers. He said those coverages can help offset the price of cost-associated data loss and more in the event of a hack or data breach.
“I’ve had two cases in the last two years where my insured was communicating via email with a distributor of a product, so we were buying product,” Macias said. “As the conversation got close to the finish line, the hacker was watching the discussions.
“He intercepted the email from the product seller to my customer and he said, ‘Hey, you need to wire this money today because we’re going to lose the ability to keep this product in the warehouse,’ so we did it, and they stole the money - and we’re talking big, six-figure numbers.”
Macias also said the insurance industry is “tough” right now for a few reasons: companies raising premiums, frequently-filed claims, and even the weather, as a hailstorm can affect their operations for a month or more. Despite the challenges faced, Macias looks to keep up company morale through a profit-sharing program.
“If the company is profitable, I share that with them, and so we’re going to do some profit-sharing awards today, just kind of keeping the morale [up],” Macias said. “It’s a different world than when I started 27 years ago. Not that I have to coddle my folks, but there’s a lot of competition to attract good people now and so I’ve got to make sure I don’t lose people.”
For more information and insights into Macias Insurance and the products they offer, visit their website or Facebook page, or see the full interview with Macias at the top of this story or on Riverbender.com/video.
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