BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY GUARD INSURANCE COMPANIES
106
“We ’ re growing every year by 20-25 % which shows that this is not a steady state company ”
— Sy Foguel , CEO and President , Berkshire Hathaway GUARD
recently , personal lines ) insurance coverage and services to businesses of all types in the US . In fact , in 2017 , the group issued over 250,000 policies to businesses across the country . However , this success wasn ’ t achieved because of luck or ‘ just good timing ’: throughout its history Berkshire Hathaway GUARD has worked hard to redefine and reshape its strategy , 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 wholly-owned 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
APRIL 2019