Stu Lee at Bassler Insurance writes billboard liability and billboard replacement policies nationwide.  Insider asked Lee about trends in the billboard insurance market.

What’s new at Bassler Insurance since we talked last?

Very pleased to announce that our billboard operators/outdoor advertising insurance program has grown to serving clients in 32 states! I have personally handled everything from A to Z since the inception of the program and with the growth we have experienced we are excited to be adding staff to serve the day to day needs of our OOH clients so I can focus on making the program even better. The staff change will make it much easier for me to attend conferences and handle sales and management duties. We will probably be bringing on sales staff in the near future as well.

What kinds of changes can clients expect to see in the handling of their account with this staffing change?

 Each client will be assigned their own personal CSR (Customer Service Rep). That CSR will be their go-to person to handle their day-to-day servicing needs i.e, claims, billing issues, certificates of insurance, bonds, policy changes and general account questions. This change will happen in the middle of May, 2021. We will send out an e-mail to our clients providing them with the name and contact information of their CSR.

Stu are you still involved?

 Absolutely!!!   I will be overseeing everything to ensure a smooth transition for a long, long time. I will still be connecting with clients on renewal and I will still be available to address and assist with any complicated servicing or claims issues that arise.

Any trends in OOH property losses over the past year?           

In 2020 we saw our carriers pay out over $800,000 in OOH related claims mostly due to weather related causes. Wind and hail are clearly the billboard operators biggest enemy when it comes to exposure to loss. That is the most I have seen paid out in claims in the 15+ years I have been involved with insuring outdoor advertising companies.  Make sure you read your property insurance policies carefully. I have seen situations where a billboard operator did not know their policy excluded wind and hail losses, or that there was a separate, much higher deductible for wind and hail damage.

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