BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY GUARD INSURANCE COMPANIES

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— Sy Foguel , CEO and President , Berkshire Hathaway GUARD

aligning the organization to achieve meteoric growth .

The CEO , Sy Foguel , joined the company in 2007 when the group was acquired by Clal Insurance Enterprise Holdings Ltd ., an international insurance group of which he was Executive Vice President . “ At the time the company was writing around US $ 200mn of Workers Compensation premium in a dozen states ,” he recalls . “ Our vision from day one was to use the company as a platform to become a one stop shop for the insurance needs distributed by our agents . We started to introduce additional lines of coverage and built all the infrastructure .” Later in 2012 , the organization changed hands again and became a whollyowned subsidiary of National Indemnity Company , which is part of the Berkshire Hathaway Group . “ Today , we are a $ 1.6bn company ,” Foguel adds .

COO Carl Witkowski , who has been with the company in different roles since 1989 , adds that before gaining the backing of Berkshire Hathaway , GUARD first had to forge its own path in the insurance market . “ We were a small regional company and there were two key things we had to offer : superior service and efficiency ,” he observes . “ Our retail agents are a key part of our DNA – they ’ ve been our distribution force .” Like any small operation , efficiency has always been a well-versed mantra at GUARD . “ We needed to be efficient to survive as a company and so our expense ratios needed to be managed ,” he continues . “ When we were later acquired , it was a great example of when preparation meets opportunity .” Critically , as the insurer has continued on its upward trajectory , it has taken care to retain this same start-up philosophy and mentality .

APRIL 2019