Urban Insurance Partners Institute Web Site
Supporter Information

Urban Marketer American Skyline Joins UIPI

BALTIMORE ... American Skyline Insurance Company (ASIC), created a year ago specifically to serve urban markets, is joining an industry initiative to promote the availability of insurance in cities. The company announced today ASIC's membership in the Urban Insurance Partners Institute (UIPI), a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping insurers have a rewarding presence in urban areas.

"The Urban Insurance Partners Institute has access to experts in targeting and writing business in urban markets that we as an individual company do not have," says Earnie Hines, president and CEO of ASIC. "Even though urban areas are our focus, the institute can help us find new ways to serve our customers."

American Skyline is headquartered in the city of Baltimore, and also has an office in Washington, DC. The company now has over two dozen agents in the metropolitan areas of Baltimore and Washington, DC, providing customers with auto and homeowners insurance. American Skyline plans to add a small businessowners product within the next few months. Additional expansion along the Eastern Seaboard is slated for later this year.

The company became interested in joining the Urban Insurance Partners Institute after participating in UIPI's national workshop on urban affairs last November. "The formation of American Skyline shows the growing interest of insurers in focusing on urban areas," notes Suzanne Reade, UIPI president. "American Skyline adds another dimension to our discussions on urban markets and meeting consumer needs."

ASIC implemented a joint marketing effort with Harbor Bank of Maryland this month to further extend the company’s reach in the urban marketplace. The insurer prides itself on offering products and services geared solely to cities, with local agents in each area.

"We've found urban customers have different wants and needs than other markets, and therefore we do business a little differently,” states Hines. For example, ASIC offers a functional replacement cost homeowners policy to lower expenses for customers. Consumers with older houses containing custom features, such as plaster walls and intricate woodwork, often are primarily interested in maintaining their investment by repairing damage instead of replacing the home’s custom features. “The functional replacement cost policy provides replacement with today’s materials, which helps keep costs down for the customer,” Hines says. ASIC has a wide variety of other products.

“The institute's urban affairs workshop enabled us to come up with some interesting new ideas that we hope to develop in the near future," comments Hines. UIPI will conduct another national urban affairs workshop in Chicago Oct . 23-24.

UIPI is a Chicago-based organization that is funded by the insurance industry. To find out more about institute programs and supporters, please visit www.uipi.org or call (773) 880-8780.