NEW YORK, Sept. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — MBE certified Embrace Partners, Inc. (“Embrace”), a tech-driven wholesale property casualty insurance broker, managing general underwriter, and consulting firm focused on DE&I in construction and insurance, made history today announcing that they have secured membership in the prestigious Wholesale Specialty Insurance Association (WSIA).
Embrace has become the first minority-owned wholesale business member of WSIA. Since its launch in the wholesale industry this year, Embrace has been appointed by national and regional brokers to approach E&S markets on their behalf and has secured access to major excess and surplus lines carriers.
Embrace provides a unique benefit to its retail brokers and insureds: all premium dollars placed by Embrace can apply towards diversity goals for corporate spending. Embrace is a National Minority Supplier Diversity Council (NMSDC) registered minority business enterprise (MBE). Liz Duncan-Gilmour, Chief Strategy Officer for Embrace discussed the importance of Embrace’s membership in WSIA: “The Embrace induction to WSIA marks a major step toward making the insurance industry more inclusive. Corporate America has been awakened to disparities in how their monies are spent; shareholders and customers want more diversely owned businesses to benefit, and insurance is a big dollar target. Never in the history of the industry have brokers and clients had the opportunity to incorporate diversity into the insurance transaction.” David Cayemitte, Founder and CEO of Embrace added, “Prior to the launch of Embrace, retail brokers and their clients struggled to meet these goals because no MBE wholesale broker existed. Instead, retail brokers had to share their revenue with MWBE certified brokers to meet goals.” He added “Using Embrace as a wholesaler is a game changer; the retail broker maintains the client relationship, meets its goals, and keeps its whole fee. They simply place the current wholesale layers through Embrace for no additional expense and without sacrificing the quality of service.” Frank Caifa, Embrace’s Head of Sales and Business Development, added, “We have seen interest in our services grow around the country and the world. The movement toward DE&I has become firmly entrenched in the marketplace, Embrace offers a vehicle to climb aboard.”
WSIA members must be recommended by two current voting members, pass the admissions committee review, and then be approved by the full WSIA board. Vince Tizzio, President & CEO of AXIS Capital and Embrace board member nominated Embrace for membership stating, “It is not often that we come across a new wholesale firm with the level of expertise and market presence offered by Embrace. Add to this Embrace’s unique MBE certification, and I see the WSIA approval as a shift towards the insurance industry taking important and necessary steps forward to better represent our diverse society.”
The WSIA is a world-class member service organization representing the entirety of the wholesale, specialty, and surplus lines industry. WSIA Membership facilitates access to industry data, networking, education, and talent recruitment and development, positioning Embrace to compete head-on with other major national wholesale agencies.
