Iron Cove Partners (ICP), a leading full-service national insurance brokerage firm serving the financial services industry, is the winner of Best North American Insurance Provider at this year’s Hedgeweek US Awards.
Each winner of the prestigious award is determined by Hedgeweek readers, consisting of investors, managers, and industry professionals, who cast their ballots to determine which firms are the best of the best in their respective categories, making this a truly peer-reviewed accolade.
“Winning the US award is the icing on the cake for our FI team,” says Louis D’Agostino, Principal of Financial Services at Iron Cove Partners. “After winning the Global Hedgeweek Award earlier this year, and, given the recent launch of our new, state of the art Hedge Fund Insurance Policy, we couldn’t be more excited!”
Iron Cove Partners is headquartered in Garden City, Long Island. It is a trusted advisor with decades of experience and over 150 hedge funds as clients. It provides the full spectrum of insurance products and services including Employee Benefits, Commercial Property and Casualty, Transactional Insurance as well as Private Client, Life Insurance and Estate Planning.
Over the last seven years, ICP has become an industry leader among American insurance brokerages, currently serving many of the world’s most prominent financial institutions. In his role as Principal of Financial Services, D’Agostino is responsible for the oversight and management of the Financial Services practice, which provides its expertise and experience to hedge funds, registered advisers, private equity funds, broker-dealers, and mutual funds.
“Our Hedge Fund Insurance Services team is constantly looking to find ways to improve and increase the level protection for our clients,” comments Louis D’Agostino (pictured), Senior Vice President. “On a continual basis we survey the markets in an effort to determine how the market is addressing some key and pivotal coverage issues. This market intelligence, coupled with our long-standing relationships, enables us to negotiate the most competitive terms and pricing available for our clients at time of initial placement or to expand coverage annually at renewal.”
The firm employs a proprietary 4-step Iron Cove Process: Learn, Educate, Empower and Protect. The first step involves determining what is unique about each client’s organisation and learning about its intricacies. “It is imperative that we ask the pertinent and relative questions that are specific to their business. In doing so, we identify all of the risks specific to their business and are well positioned to provide a robust risk management solution,” states D’Agostino.
Secondly, ICP provides all clients and prospects with a high level of advice and consultation around the various insurance contracts specific to the asset management industry.
“Thirdly, by educating our clients we empower them to make well-informed decisions regarding the various liability exposures and risks their organisations face. Lastly, our proposals and advisory work provided during the process allow our clients to make informed and educated decisions regarding insurance protection.”
The level of coverage that a hedge fund might look to put in place will very much depend on where it is in its business cycle i.e. a start-up/emerging manager versus an established manager. That said, all firms must carry the standard business lines of coverage such as Employee Benefits (or PEO Solution) and/or Office Insurance.
On winning this year’s USA award, D’Agostino concludes: “Receiving votes from your clients and industry peers acknowledging your work is a great feeling. “It never gets old!” We feel that the award validates the Iron Cove team’s hard work, as well as its approach to risk management and brokerage, put in on behalf of our clients.”
