Third Coast Underwriters Expanding Workers Compensation Insurance Offerings to Oil & Gas and USL&H Operations

CHICAGO, May 23, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Third Coast Underwriters, a specialty markets operation that offers workers compensation insurance for underserved markets that have complex risks, is proud to announce it is expanding its workers compensation offerings to include oil & gas and United States Longshore and Harbor Workers (USL&H) operations.  The new operation in the Gulf region will serve these industries as well as the full range of specialty workers compensation products offered in the original Midwest office.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20100603/DE14993LOGO)

Third Coast Underwriters offers policies written on the paper of one of the Accident Fund Holdings, Inc. workers compensation insurance companies, with a $150,000 minimum premium for specialty markets including, but not limited to, construction, emerging markets (i.e. clean energy and green jobs), non-trucking transportation (i.e. waste haulers and bus drivers), mergers and acquisitions, and now, oil & gas and USL&H operations.

With this expansion, the company is adding staff, who possess over 20 years of claims and loss control workers compensation insurance experience in the oil and gas and USL&H fields,  located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, New Orleans, Louisiana and Houston, Texas.  These new staff members include:

• Johnny Clebert – Senior Underwriting Technical Advisor, based in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.  Clebert will cover a variety of states, including Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama.  He brings over 18 years of USL&H experience to Third Coast Underwriters, with much of that as a specialty underwriter working national companies in the oil & gas, energy, maritime, and construction industries.

• Aaron Hebert – Senior Loss Control Consultant, based in New Orleans, Louisiana.  Hebert has over 30 years of experience in safety, risk management and loss control.  His experience includes working for two large insurance companies and he has had loss control responsibilities for many clients in the Gulf Coast region.  He has a strong shipbuilding, manufacturing and oil & gas background and has been successful in developing comprehensive safety programs within private industry.

• Bob Hamilton – Director of Underwriting – Gulf Specialty, based in Houston, Texas.  Hamilton brings over 33 years of commercial underwriting experience to Third Coast Underwriters, and has worked in Texas since 1987.  He has also worked for several major carriers, including monoline workers compensation carriers.  Hamilton holds CPCU, ARM, AU and AAI designations.

Third Coast specializes in traditionally hard-to-insure, tough workers compensation risks that require customized solutions to their complex insurance needs.  Third Coast's model provides them with the ability to move quickly and focus on the specific requirements these classes demand in order to obtain the best outcomes for policyholders.

Third Coast Underwriters is backed by Accident Fund Holdings, Inc., which is collectively, through its wholly owned workers compensation insurance subsidiaries, the nation's 9th largest workers compensation insurer.  For more information about Accident Fund Holdings, visit www.afhi.com.  

For more information about Third Coast Underwriters, visit www.3CU.com.

Accident Fund Holdings, Inc.
Accident Fund Holdings, Inc. is a workers compensation insurance holding company conducting business through four operating units: Accident Fund Companies, located in Lansing, Michigan; United Heartland, located in New Berlin, Wisconsin; CompWest, located in San Francisco, California; and Third Coast Underwriters, located in Chicago, Illinois. Its insurance company subsidiaries are rated "A" (Excellent) by A.M. Best.  Accident Fund Holdings is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan.

SOURCE Accident Fund Holdings, Inc.