Wausau Signature Agency Launched to Meet Customer Needs

WAUSAU, Wis.--With the beginning of a new year, the direct sales force of Wausau Insurance has reorganized as a new legal entity as Wausau Signature Agency.

The new entity replaces a dual structure that was in place since 1995 that was comprised of the Wausau Insurance Companies' Sales Business Center (SBC) and a separate legal entity, Companies Agency, Inc. (CAI), which permitted Wausau sales representatives to offer insurance coverages from other insurance carriers.

"On Jan. 1, 2005, our insurance representatives traded in their Wausau Insurance and CAI business cards for a powerful new sales position -- as a representative of Wausau Signature Agency," said Mark Steinberg, WSA's senior president and general manager. "This new sales organization will supersede the SBC and CAI structure, combining direct and alternate market operations under one name through a new legal entity."

WSA is among the top 50 largest commercial insurance agencies in the nation and the largest distributor of Wausau products, coverages and services. It also creates a unique sales proposition -- an agency that offers clients the combined advantages of a direct writer and a captive agency. "The old SBC/CAI structure confused clients and made it difficult to understand we can offer non-Wausau products and services," said Steinberg. "That put us at a disadvantage for many accounts."

The change is far more than a new name; it signals a new approach to providing risk management solutions to our clients. "WSA allows us to compete more aggressively and provides the structure we will need to succeed in the future," Steinberg said.

The WSA name, its presentation and the operation of the new entity itself will provide an agency context while maintaining the central and integral association with Wausau Insurance Companies, a leading provider of general liability, commercial auto, property, umbrella, package and workers compensation coverages and services. In addition to retaining the Wausau name, the word "Signature" denotes a commitment to integrity and the word "Agency" signals the organization's new agency structure.