PDCM Strengthens Its Integrated Approach to Managing Property/Casualty and Employee Benefits Risks
WATERLOO, Iowa—PDCM Insurance Inc., one of Iowa’s leading independent insurance agencies and consulting firms, today announced the acquisition of Group Benefits Design Corporation, a full-service employee benefits agency that specializes in serving business clients with 50 or more employees in the Waterloo/Cedar Falls, Cedar Rapids and Dubuque, Iowa, markets.
All of Group Benefits Design’s employees, including its president, John Monaghan, will join PDCM’s new Group Benefits Design division and continue operating out of Group Benefits Design’s existing offices in Waterloo, Cedar Rapids and Dubuque. Monaghan will be president of the new division and join PDCM’s leadership team.
“Both of our companies are solution-based and share a similar employee culture, many of the same clients and a unique, proactive approach to managing risk,” said Monaghan. “It’s the ‘why and how we both do’ rather than the ‘what we both do’ that makes this the perfect strategic partnership for both of our entities and all of our clients. We customize our risk management assessment based on each employer’s industry and the specific risks of its employee population to provide the best and most cost-effective health insurance plan. And then we take it a step further than most agencies by developing and implementing a wellness plan for the employer to get ahead of the risk and try to prevent it. PDCM takes this same proactive and preventive approach on the workers’ comp and property/casualty side.”
Monaghan acknowledged the world of employee benefits is drastically changing with health insurance reform. According to Monaghan, employers need much more than an agency that simply quotes prices, writes contracts and manages claims.
“This strategic partnership is not only a win-win for both of our companies and clients—it’s a win-win for the Iowa communities we serve,” said Monaghan. “When a mega-insurance firm acquires either an employee benefits or a property/casualty agency—typically, local employees lose jobs, nonprofits lose sponsorships and donors, and clients no longer have that intimate, personalized relationship that comes with a boutique-style agency.”
With the acquisition of Group Benefits Design, PDCM strengthens its position as a one-stop shop for businesses insurance, risk management solution, human resources consulting, employee benefits, and employee wellness plan development and implementation.
“PDCM is proud and honored to add Group Benefits Design, the premier employee benefits agency in our region, to our growing family of professionals,” said Chris Fereday, president, PDCM Insurance. “John and his team have the expertise to simplify the complexities of healthcare reform for our clients, and go far beyond delivering benefits programs and wellness education to clients’ employees. They actually implement the wellness programs for employees to get and stay healthier. And, employee wellness is the common denominator for employers in reducing risks and premiums for both health insurance and workers’ compensation.”
Group Benefits Design is the only agency in the region to employ a master’s level health promotion and wellness consultant to design employee wellness programs. According to Fereday, many of their mutual clients with wellness programs have realized cost savings in both health insurance and workers’ comp premiums and a reduction in claims. For more information, visit Group Benefits Design Corp.
PDCM Insurance Acquires Group Benefits Design Corporation
by PDCM Insurance
