Official Release: ShelterPoint Life Wins Multiple Awards for their COVID-19 Communications

APEX and Ragan’s PR Daily Content Marketing Awards recognize the company’s COVID-related resources

Anupam Garg

2022-01-24T00:00:00.0000000 2025-08-01T02:38:34.9030000

PLEASE NOTE: The Emergency Paid Sick Leave Law expired on July 31, 2025, ending COVID-specific paid leave. Learn more here.

Garden City, New York, January 20, 2022 - With the emergence of COVID-19, NY State passed emergency legislation for eligible employees to receive special quarantine benefits through their existing state-required Disability and Paid Family Leave coverage. This triggered many questions about eligibility (how to qualify for benefits), how to file a claim/request benefits, how long benefits would last, and how New York’s benefits coordinated with the Federal benefits in unprecedented times of uncertainty. 

“All of us at ShelterPoint* felt the responsibility to help our customers - and New Yorkers alike – find useful, easy-to understand, and reliable information in an ever-changing, stressful environment caused by the pandemic,” explained Katrin Atienza, VP of Marketing. “So we created a Resource Center.”

High visibility at all key touch points with claimants was critical to guide visitors to two core resources:

1. COVID-19 Resource Center: hub for COVID information incl. infographics (such as eligibility checklists, relation between NY and Federal benefits), shortcuts to relevant educational blog posts, and FAQs about NY Emergency benefits; plus, other value-added content, including an original series of inspirational coloring pages to provide a positive outlet.
2. New Claim Guide for statutory benefits in NY with special COVID-19 section where people can self-identify their situation and get scenario-specific claim filing guidance along with clear step-by-step help and clear expectations on the process.  

In doing so, ShelterPoint’s COVID-19 Resources have been recognized with several awards:

1. First place in Ragan’s PR Daily 2021 Content Marketing Awards in three separate categories:

• Crisis Communications
• Infographics
• Microsite

PR Daily mentions that ShelterPoint “delivered a support-forward approach to mitigate an influx of claims, calls and processing delays” in reference to their educational microsite that holds valuable information and educational tools regarding emergency benefits.

PR Daily’s Content Marketing Awards winners used the power of storytelling to connect with and inspire their audiences by delivering engaging and captivating narratives. Click here to see the full list of PR Daily 2021 Winners.

2. Finalist in Ragan’s PR Daily Awards in the Category of “Content Marketing Initiatives”.

See all finalists and winners here.

3. A 2021 APEX Award for Publication Excellence in the category of “COVID-19 Media - Corporate or Employee Communications”

For more information and timely COVID-19 updates, visit the award-winning Resource Center.

_____________________________________________________________________________

*The ShelterPoint family of companies consists of ShelterPoint Life  and its wholly-owned subsidiary ShelterPoint Insurance Company, a FL-domiciled carrier, depending on the state (see our Geographic & Jurisdictional Notice here). The ShelterPoint family of companies operates under the “ShelterPoint” name strictly as a marketing name, and no legal significance is expressed or implied. ShelterPoint is a registered service mark.

ShelterPoint Life Ranked Top 50 Performer by Ward

Trusted leader of benchmarking identifies top financial performers of nearly 700 life-health insurance companies

Anupam Garg

2021-07-22T07:00:00.0000000 2021-08-23T07:46:26.9400000

ShelterPoint Life is honored to be recognized on Ward’s Top 50 List of  Life-Health Companies for 2021. Each year, Ward Benchmarking analyzes the financial performances of 700 life-health insurance companies domiciled in the United States to identify the top performers. Being included on Ward’s Top 50 Performers List means that ShelterPoint Life has been acknowledged for excelling in managing expenses and the efficiencies of our operations.

This award was presented by Jeffrey J. Rieder, Partner and Head of Ward, and released to the public in a webinar on July 20, 2021. “It is an honor for ShelterPoint Life to be included in such an illustrious group of companies," said Richard White, CEO of ShelterPoint Life.  "We focus on providing a stable and consistent set of group insurance products to businesses and their employees and families as well as growth and dedication to financial stability and control.”

Ward Benchmarking is a leading provider in benchmarking and best practices studies for the insurance industry. Ward’s methodology for evaluating these top companies is through safety and consistency measurements, as well as performance tests, which ShelterPoint Life has successfully passed through the analyzed five-year period (2016-2021).  Staff levels, compensation, business practices, and expenses are all areas that are analyzed in order for insurers to measure results, optimize performance, and improve profitability. For more information on Ward Benchmarking and for a full list of the Top 50 performers, please click here.

Join Us At The Big-I Suffolk 2019 Golf Outing

Give a leg up to the next generation of insurers, agents & brokers through a charity golf outing with Suffolk Big I

SuperUser Account

2019-07-23T00:00:00.0000000 2021-12-22T10:25:54.8430000

As honoree and tournament sponsor of the Suffolk Big-I’s 2019 annual golf outing, we’d like to invite our brokers to bring their best golf swing out to the Huntington Country Club on Monday, August 19^th for a fun day of golfing for a worthy cause.  The Suffolk Big-I is hosting the event to help develop the next generation of insurers, agents & brokers through the Independent Agents and Brokers Foundation (IABF), for the Insurance Chair Endowment Fund at Stony Brook University College of Business.

Did you know?

“25-30% of insurance professionals are set to retire in three years and only 4% of millennials have expressed an interest in insurance careers?" (Source: IAB-foundation.org)

The IABF believes this breakdown can be linked to the lack of insurance courses or a degreed program on Long Island.  This golf outing will contribute to the IABF’s $1.5 million fundraising goal to establish an Endowed Chair of Insurance and Risk Management at Stony Brook.

This year’s event promises to be a great opportunity to come together for a great golf game, sun, food and fun!  Join us for Shotgun Tee Off: “Scramble” Format at 11:00AM.  Registration/brunch starts at 9:30AM. 

A portion of your registration fee is going to a worthy cause. Check the Big I Suffolk website for the registration fees or other ways to show your support.

We look forward to seeing you there!

College of St. Vincent Students Supported by Insurance Industry Veterans

Anupam Garg

2019-05-06T08:00:00.0000000 2021-12-22T11:03:23.1100000

Together with Mary Griffin, President and CEO of the Life Insurance Council of New York (LICONY), our CEO, Richard White, was honored by the College of Mount Saint Vincent at its annual Scholarship Tribute Dinner at Cipriani at 25 Broadway on Wednesday, May 1^st. Given the two honorees’ backgrounds, this year’s event saw an impressive representation of who’s who in New York’s insurance industry.

A remarkable part of the College’s scholarship initiative is the Mott Street Scholarship Program, which is very near to Rich’s heart. This scholarship covers tuition, year-round room and board, fees, books, a computer, and insurance for gifted young students who have persevered through foster care or homelessness.

Steve Acunto, President of CINN Group, Inc. (which publishes the Insurance Advocate Magazine), and a corporate director, producer and trustee of educational and other non-profit institutions, introduced Rich at the event as “unflappable – one of the sharpest individuals: having Rich White analyze something is like having a scalpel.  He is insurance leadership beyond the job description.”

While Rich explained during his speech that he grew up with all the support he needed and loving parents who saw him through college, he asked, “What if I did not have a family? Would I be here today?” This is where we need to think about the teenagers who are homeless or in foster care; without a family to support them. The barriers to overcome are enormous without family support. Through the Mott Street Scholarship program, Mount Saint Vincent becomes the family these kids need.

As part of the evening’s program, attendees heard first-hand the touching, personal story of senior nursing student Samannie Estriplet: from surviving a natural disaster in Haiti as a child, to leaving for the U.S. to further her education and having the opportunity to thrive at the College.

Rich extended his recognition to his entire team at ShelterPoint during his acceptance speech: “I see this honor as a recognition of great contributions that a group of people decided they would make to a worthy cause. This worthy cause is the new Paid Family Leave program in the State of New York. My associates and I decided to take the lead in educating the New York community about this important expansion of the social contract. We decided to work proactively with our industry, government, employers and employees to make sure this was a win-win for all involved. Tremendous thanks to my wonderful, hard-working and smart team of associates from ShelterPoint for making this honor possible – several of whom are here tonight.”

Rich attributed the success of the Paid Family Leave implementation to the commitment to a public-private partnership with New York State and the close collaboration with then-Superintendent of the New York Department of Financial Services Maria Vullo, who – as a College of Mount Saint Vincent alumna – was at the event as well.

View Photo Album on Facebook

The current fundraising tally shows that this event has generated well over half a million dollars – in fact, nearly $560,000 -  to help ensure the College continues to serve deserving and talented women and men, regardless of their financial means. We would like to thank our ShelterPoint employees and Board of Directors for their support as well as the many supporters who have donated on behalf of Rich, including these corporate contributors (listed in alphabetical order):

Richard White To Be Honored By The College of Mount Saint Vincent

Annual Scholarship Tribute Dinner on May 1st

Anupam Garg

2019-04-15T14:00:00.0000000 2021-12-27T13:28:10.8400000

Our CEO, Richard White, will be honored by the College of Mount Saint Vincent at its annual Scholarship Tribute Dinner on Wednesday, May 1st.

A remarkable part of the College’s scholarship initiative is the Mott Street Scholarship Program, which is very near to Rich’s heart. The program serves young people who have persisted through foster care or endured homelessness. Mount Saint Vincent believes these young people deserve to have a world of opportunity open to them—especially when you consider, as College President Charles L. Flynn points out, “the kind of courage and the deep understanding of self-worth that it takes for each of them to leave home, to go into the open void, rather than to endure abuse.” The Mott Street Scholarship covers tuition, year-round room and board, fees, books, a computer, and insurance. As with all students, the Mount also provides supplementary academic and counseling resources, along with fundamental tools needed for success. At Mount Saint Vincent, these young people are finally home.

The College’s mission states that education extends beyond knowledge, skills, and preparation for work: it  seeks the development of the whole person; and to foster among students an understanding of our common humanity and a commitment to human dignity.

In light of this mission, it is easy to understand why the College has chosen to honor Rich, who embodies these values and demonstrates them through both civic leadership and the integrity he brings to his daily and professional interactions.

If you would like additional information about the College of Mount Saint Vincent and their Mott Street Program or if you would like to support this worthy cause, please visit: mountsaintvincent.edu/supportmott

Official Release: ShelterPoint Life Wins First Place in PR Daily's 2018 Content Marketing Awards

Workplace Benefit Made Simple With Award-Winning Infographics Series

Yiu Tso

2018-12-06T12:00:00.0000000 2022-07-15T11:09:46.3000000

Garden City, New York, December 6, 2018 – New York State’s Paid Family Leave (PFL), which became effective on January 1, 2018, has brought a new benefit to New York employees; along with it came a host of new, complex regulations. While a handful of states have some form of PFL, New York’s program is the first of its kind where it’s done in a public-private partnership, i.e., it is governed by the State while private insurance carriers provide the coverage.  As such, ShelterPoint Life Insurance Company (ShelterPoint Life) has been instrumental in providing an infographics series over the past two years that helped ready New Yorkers for PFL.  In doing so, ShelterPoint Life has been recognized as the first place winner in the Infographics category at Ragan’s PR Daily 2018 Content Marketing Awards. PR Daily announced this year’s winners on their site.

PR Daily sums up ShelterPoint Life’s infographics as “minimal text, original icons and multiple data visuals get points across quickly,” which makes them the perfect tool for busy insurance brokers as well as employers juggling multiple hats with little time to spare to study up on this new, required benefit. 

“Knowing our audience, we needed to translate lengthy legalese into simple, useful, and digestible information. This meant infographics played (and are still playing) a key role in our educational campaign as our brains process visuals faster than text. So, for our infographics to be truly helpful, they had to be scan-able and understood quickly by conveying and illustrating most of the information through visuals,” explains Katrin Atienza, AVP Marketing at ShelterPoint Life.

For more information about Paid Family Leave, visit ShelterPoint Life’s educational PFL site http://www.NewYorkPFL.com.

About ShelterPoint

The ShelterPoint family of insurance companies consists of ShelterPoint Life Insurance Company and ShelterPoint Insurance Company. ShelterPoint Life (formerly The First Rehabilitation Life Insurance Company of America, short First Rehab Life) was founded in 1972 and is headquartered in Great Neck, NY.  Since its inception, ShelterPoint Life has grown into New York’s largest¹ statutory disability and PFL carrier. Through the years, ShelterPoint Life has added additional employee benefits to its product portfolio and currently insures more than 160,000 employers and over 1.6 million individual insureds. In 2014, First Rehab Life changed its name to ShelterPoint Life Insurance Company. For more information about ShelterPoint, please visit www.shelterpoint.com.

¹ State of New York Workers’ Compensation Board, form DB-680, 2014 – applies to statutory disability premiums under ShelterPoint Life Insurance Company only

ShelterPoint Life Named A Ward's 50 Top Performer

Trusted leader of benchmarking and best practices services for the insurance industry recognizes ShelterPoint Life

Anupam Garg

2018-07-17T12:00:00.0000000 2021-08-23T08:38:48.4930000

We are pleased to announce that Ward Benchmarking has placed ShelterPoint Life Insurance Company ("ShelterPoint Life") on their coveted 2018 Ward's 50 group of insurance companies' top performers list for the second year consecutively.   

Ward's analyzed the financial performance of nearly 3,000 property-casualty insurance companies and more than 700 life-health insurance companies, and has recognized ShelterPoint Life for outstanding results in the area of safety, consistency, and performance over a five year period (2013-2017).  This award was presented by Jeffrey J. Rieder, Partner and Head of Ward, and made public in a webinar presentation on July 17, 2018.

"We are honored to be included in such an illustrious group of companies," said Richard White, CEO of ShelterPoint Life.  "We focus on providing a stable and consistent set of products to individuals, families and businesses while maintaining strong capital positions and underwriting results - a necessity in today's competitive insurance market."

Ward Benchmarking reports that the Ward 50 outperformed the industry on key measurements such as the return on average equity, surplus growth, and net premiums, and with a lower expense ratios.  For a full list of companies included on this list or for a review on overall financial results, please visit the AON website.

About ShelterPoint

The ShelterPoint family of insurance companies consists of ShelterPoint Life Insurance Company and ShelterPoint Insurance Company. ShelterPoint Life was founded in 1972 as The First Rehabilitation Insurance Company of America (First Rehab Life) and is headquartered in Garden City, NY, as a NY-domiciled insurance company. Since its inception, ShelterPoint Life has grown into New York’s largest¹ statutory disability and Paid Family Leave carrier. Through the years, ShelterPoint Life has added additional employee benefits to its product portfolio and currently insures more than 160,000 employers and over 1.6 million individual insureds. In 2014, First Rehab Life changed its name to ShelterPoint Life Insurance Company. For more information about ShelterPoint, please visit www.shelterpoint.com.
¹ State of New York Workers’ Compensation Board, form DB-680, 2016 – applies to statutory disability premiums under ShelterPoint Life Insurance Co. only.

About Ward Benchmarking

Ward Benchmarking is the leading provider of benchmarking and best practice studies for the insurance industry.  Our team analyzes staff levels, compensation, business practices, and expenses for all areas of company operations and helps insurers to measure results compared to peer groups, optimize performance, and improve profitability.  Since 1991, we have performed more than 3,000 operational and compensation benchmarking exercises for companies of all sizes, including more than half of the top 100 U.S. insurance carriers.  For more information, please visit ward.aon.com

About Aon

Aon plc (NYSE: AON) is a leading provider of risk management, insurance brokerage and reinsurance brokerage, and human resources solutions and outsourcing services.  Through its more than 72,000 colleagues worldwide, Aon unites to empower results for clients in over 120 countries via innovative risk and people solutions.  For further information on our capabilities and to learn how we empower results for clients, please visit: http://aon.mediaroom.com.

Official Release: ShelterPoint Life Receives "Insurance Team of the Year" Award

Insurance Advocate Magazine Recognizes ShelterPoint Life's Achievements in Proactive Educational Outreach and Preparation for Paid Family Leave.

Yiu Tso

2018-01-26T12:00:00.0000000 2022-07-15T11:06:52.8830000

Garden City, New York, January 26, 2018 – ShelterPoint Life Insurance Company (“ShelterPoint Life”), New York’s largest statutory disability (DBL) insurance carrier¹ received the “Insurance Team of the Year” award issued by Insurance Advocate magazine on Thursday, January 25th, 2018. This is in recognition of ShelterPoint Life’s extraordinary preparation, education, and communication of NY Paid Family Leave (PFL) throughout 2017. Steve Acunto, Publisher of Insurance Advocate, explains, “ShelterPoint’s achievements in proactive, educational outreach have affected the community most favorably. This new law would have otherwise created disruption for the producer community, employers, and employees in New York State, were it not for ShelterPoint’s intelligent, careful approach to the implementation of the new law.”

Each year Insurance Advocate cites a company, person, or other leader who has distinguished themselves in service to the insurance industry itself and, by extension, the insuring public.

Richard White, CEO of ShelterPoint Life, notes, “I am very proud of what we have accomplished as a team in regards to PFL thus far, and this is reflected in our recognition by the Insurance Advocate. While our 18-month build-up is winding down and all systems are a GO, this is just the beginning of PFL for New Yorkers. My sincere thanks to our PFL team for their tireless work to implement PFL and make this happen for the hundreds of New Yorkers who have already submitted a first claim to ShelterPoint. I also want to express my appreciation to the Department of Financial Services and the Workers’ Compensation Board for their hard work and cooperation in working with insurance carriers and employers during the critical Paid Family Leave roll-out stage.”

The award was officially presented to ShelterPoint Life during an awards luncheon with select industry representatives at The Carltun at Eisenhower Park in East Meadow.  

Additionally, ShelterPoint Life received a Certificate of Recognition from New York Senator Todd Kaminsky for its outstanding service to the community with respect to Paid Family Leave awareness and education.

For more information about Paid Family Leave, visit ShelterPoint Life’s educational PFL site www.NewYorkPFL.com

About ShelterPoint

The ShelterPoint family of companies consists of ShelterPoint Life Insurance Company and ShelterPoint Insurance Company. ShelterPoint Life (formerly The First Rehabilitation Life Insurance Company of America, short First Rehab Life) was founded in 1972 and is headquartered in Great Neck, NY. Since its inception, ShelterPoint Life has grown into New York’s largest¹ statutory disability carrier. Through the years, ShelterPoint Life has added additional employee benefits to its product portfolio and currently insures more than 150,000 employers and over 1.3 million individual insureds. In 2014, First Rehab Life changed its name to ShelterPoint Life Insurance Company. For more information about ShelterPoint, please visit www.shelterpoint.com

¹ State of New York Workers’ Compensation Board, form DB-680, 2014 – applies to statutory disability premiums under ShelterPoint Life Insurance Company

Photography by John Ellis Kordes and Gina Marie Balog

ShelterPoint Life Wins APEX Awards

Anupam Garg

2017-09-04T12:00:00.0000000 2022-12-28T14:04:40.2470000

ShelterPoint Life Insurance Company (“ShelterPoint Life”),  in collaboration with marketing firm Ethology, has won two distinguished awards for 2017 from APEX, the Awards for Publication Excellence, an entity in its 29th year of identifying excellence in communications and publishing.  APEX Awards are based on outstanding graphic design, editorial content and the ability to achieve overall communications excellence.

The ShelterPoint Life Paid Family Leave microsite was recognized in the categories of Social Media, Blog Content – NY Paid Family Leave Blog, and Websites, Site Design & Illustration - NY Paid Family Leave Microsite Design, the sole winner in this category.

ShelterPoint Life initiated this microsite and blog content shortly after New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signed the new Paid Family Leave law in 2016.  Effective as of January 1, 2018, it is “essential for us to educate our brokers and policyholders on this new program as it is unfolding,” commented Katrin Atienza, Assistant Vice President of ShelterPoint Life.   “We are pleased that the microsite has been recognized for its elegant user experience in site design and clear communications on New York Paid Family Leave."

To view the articles and design of this microsite or to learn more about NY Paid Family Leave, please visit NYPaidLeave.com.

ShelterPoint Life Insurance Company Recognized As Top Performer by Ward

Named by Ward's 50 Group of top performing companies among insurers

Anupam Garg

2017-07-24T12:00:00.0000000 2021-12-27T14:34:47.5070000

ShelterPoint Life Insurance Company ("ShelterPoint Life") announces that it has been recognized by the Ward 50 as a top performer among insurance companies.  

To be named to this group, an insurer must achieve outstanding financial results in safety, consistency, and performance over a five year period.  As with all Top 50 companies named, ShelterPoint Life has achieved these superior performance results from 2012-2016.  

"We have been placed in this class based on our focus on growth and dedication to financial stability and control," commented Richard White, CEO of ShelterPoint Life. "We are pleased to be recognized among such an esteemed group of peers - and by such an eminent body."

For 27 years, The Ward Group has been analyzing over 3,000 property-casualty insurance companies and more than 700 life-health insurance companies each year and identifying the top performing companies in their category.   It is also important to note that the Ward 50 has outperformed the industry during this time.   The Ward Group is part of Aon plc.

The ShelterPoint family of insurance companies consists of ShelterPoint Life Insurance Company and ShelterPoint Insurance Company. ShelterPoint Life was founded in 1972 as The First Rehabilitation Insurance Company of America (First Rehab Life) and is headquartered in Garden City, NY, as a NY-domiciled insurance company. Since its inception, ShelterPoint Life has grown into New York’s largest¹ statutory disability and Paid Family Leave carrier. Through the years, ShelterPoint Life has added additional employee benefits to its product portfolio and currently insures more than 150,000 employers and over 1.5 million individual insureds. In 2014, First Rehab Life changed its name to ShelterPoint Life Insurance Company. For more information about ShelterPoint, please visit www.shelterpoint.com.
 

¹ State of New York Workers’ Compensation Board, form DB-680, 2016 – applies to statutory disability premiums under ShelterPoint Life Insurance Co. only.

This material is for informational purposes only and is not intended to provide legal counsel. Please consult with an appropriate professional for legal and compliance advice. Any PFL information as of July 19, 2017, is based on the applicable statutes. Got more questions? Email us at pflquestions@shelterpoint.com