As Founder and President of Sabal Insurance Group, Inc., Ian J. Norris, CIC, has spent more than 15 years of his professional life immersed in the insurance industry. A longtime resident of Florida, Ian J. Norris, CIC, attended the New College of Florida, an honors institution with a unique approach to a liberal arts education. From September 1988 to May 1992, Ian J. Norris, CIC, studied numerous subjects at New College, with a particular emphasis on Politics and American History. Graduating from the New College of Florida with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science, Ian J. Norris, CIC, laid the foundations for an enduring career as an entrepreneur and insurance executive.
In 1993, Ian J. Norris, CIC, joined the Florida-based Seitlin Insurance & Advisory Services, where he rose to the rank of Vice President and Shareholder. After nine-plus years in these capacities, Ian J. Norris, CIC, left Seitlin Insurance & Advisory Services to take a role as Hub Executive for The NIA Group. As part of The NIA Group from 2002 to 2005, Ian J. Norris, CIC, upheld the strong values and traditions of his profession and played an active part in the management of his firm.
Drawing upon his deep-rooted entrepreneurial acumen, Ian J. Norris, CIC, launched Sabal Insurance Group, Inc., in May 2005. At Sabal, Ian J. Norris, CIC oversees all aspects of internal operations, marketing, training, carrier relations, and more at the firm. With a primary focus on the insurance needs of client businesses, Ian J. Norris, CIC, and his associates at Sabal Insurance Group, Inc. craft highly customized solutions to suit the individual and provide lasting security for each of its clients. For more information on Ian J. Norris, CIC, and Sabal Insurance Group, Inc., visit the official website at sabalinsurance.com.
Supervision and management of rapidly growing commercial insurance brokerage with operations in South Florida, but clients spread on a national basis.
Direct oversight of new/renewal account marketing, carrier relations, and implementing training for CSR’s Securing agency contract with direct markets, wholesalers, and specialty carriers.
Operating at profit and revenue-per-employee targets far exceeding national averages for every year of operation; Growing year-to-year sales in excess of 20% since founding
Ian J. Norris's Publications
Sabal Insurance Group: Providing Surety Bonding Expertise for Contractors and Builders, Ian J. Norris
February, 2011
Author:Jamie Beverly. Posted at Wikimedia Commons.
At Sabal Insurance Group, Inc., we provide a wide range of business insurance services including home health care, workers’ compensation, general and professional liability, small business, and car and truck fleet insurance.
One area in which Sabal Insurance Group offers expertise is surety bonding for general contractors, trade contractors, and builders. A surety bond is issued on behalf of a contracted party, guaranteeing that that party will fulfill a contractual obligation, or series of obligations, to third party. If the second party does not for any reason live up to its side of the agreement, the third party’s interests are covered by the surety bond.
Sabal Insurance Group’s approach to surety bonds is straightforward in assisting companies with new bonds, expanding bonding lines, and ensuring proper backup. Sabal Insurance Group’s experienced team of professional advisors and underwriters is dedicated to learning about clients’ specific requirements through extensive face-to-face consultation. Reviewing client firms’ backgrounds and short-term objectives, we build a detailed profile of projects and risk-levels, establishing the most appropriate surety vehicle. After negotiating competitive terms and conveying them to clients, we advise clients on the required actions for keeping their bonding line current.
At Sabal Insurance Group we also facilitate new bonding requirements for home care, hospice, diagnostic medical equipment (DME), and home medical equipment (HME) companies. These are of particular interest to DME/HME Providers because of Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) laws that went into effect a little over a year ago, requiring the procurance of $50,000 surety bonds. This requirement was undertaken by DMS as a way of eliminating Medicare fraud prevalent in some regions of California and southern Florida. In order to meet this new DME/HME demand, we negotiated with several sureties, obtaining surety bonds at highly competitive rates.
With our extensive construction and medical industry knowledge and expertise, Sabal Insurance Group offers solutions that minimize surety bond costs while ensuring that your venture is secure and operating smoothly. To learn more about our full range of insurance services, visit www.sabalinsurance.com or call (800) 716-9948.
Home Health Care Insurance with Sabal Insurance Group, Ian J. Norris
March, 2011
Founder and Principal of Sabal Insurance Group Ian J. Norris directs the company’s commercial insurance services. Among the many business insurance options Ian J. Norris and his associates offer through Sabal Insurance Group is insurance for companies in the home health care field, including hospices, home care agencies, and medical service firms.
Providing coverage for professional liability, general liability, directors and officers liability, and excess liability, as well as auto, property, and crime insurance, Ian J. Norris and his associates aid businesses with a multitude of problems that may arise in the health care industry. Professional liability coverage encompasses any hospice or home health care services offered by a business. General liability insurance deals with property damage and personal, bodily, or advertising injury.
Through its directors and officers liability insurance, Sabal Insurance Group covers wrongful acts and employment practices. Property insurance applies to business structures and equipment, while crime insurance keeps companies safe from substantial losses should they experience forgery or theft.
Home health care companies insured through Sabal Insurance Group can rest assured that their businesses are protected from financial ruin caused by unforeseen circumstances. Ian J. Norris’ firm works closely with businesses to create customized programs that address each company’s unique needs.
United States Isolationism in World War II, Ian J. Norris
March, 2011
As a student at New College of Florida, Ian J. Norris earned his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science. Along with a focus in American history and health care public policy, Ian J. Norris also studied American isolationists during World War II.
With World War I only 20 years in their rearview mirrors, many American citizens still suffered the thought of the losses the United States sustained in the Great War. At the onset of World War II, many in the United States, led by the America First Committee, held a noninterventionist stance against entry into the conflict. Among the leaders of the movement were future president Gerald R. Ford, Sargent Shriver, and the founder, heir to the Quaker Oats Company fortune R. Douglas Stuart, Jr.
Stuart founded the America First Committee (AFC) in early September 1940, and quickly recruited more than 800,000 members who were equally committed to keeping the United States out of the war. Headquartered in Chicago, the America First Committee merged with other isolationist efforts including Keep America Out of War Committee. The AFC stood in direct opposition to President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s desire to get involved in the war, demanding that Roosevelt keep America out of what was happening in the European theater. Focused on neutrality, AFC supported strengthening the United States’ defenses at home in order to preserve American democracy.
In a bitterly divisive speech given in September 1941, staunch isolationist Charles Lindbergh suggested that Roosevelt, the British, and the Jewish people were pulling America inevitably towards war, but that staying out of it served the United States, while entering it would not help the plight of the German Jews.
Ian Norris on the Coalition of Affordable Housing Providers
Founded in 1996, the Coalition of Affordable Housing Providers (CAHP) strives to ensure families in Florida have access to safe and affordable homes. Comprised of community leaders, CAHP meets each month to discuss rehabilitation, construction, and other projects involving affordable housing. The board of directors for CAHP is elected annually by the organization’s members, and all of the posts come with predefined term limits. The current leadership of CAHP consists of a variety of capable business people, including financial professionals and real estate owners and developers.
When the Florida government instituted the state’s affordable housing program, Florida Housing Finance Corporation was charged with managing the effort. In order to have the greatest impact on the community, CAHP schedules its meetings in coordination with gatherings of Florida Housing Finance Corporation, creating an open forum for communication and collaboration. CAHP also partners with dozens of local housing organizations, financial institutions, and other entities to ensure the highest level of affordable housing. Much of the work carried out by CAHP focuses on upgrading and redeveloping the properties that have already been constructed. For dates, times, and locations of upcoming meetings, visit FloridaCAHP.org.
About the Author: Ian Norris leverages two decades of management experience as President of Sabal Insurance Group, Inc., in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. An active member of the community, Norris contributes to several local organizations, such as the Home Care Association of Florida, Private Care Association, and others.
The news of the rating downgrade for the long-term debt of the United States came as a shock to many people who believed the sterling credit grade would never be lowered. Similar to other organizations that take in and expend revenue, the federal government follows internal policies and accepted practices for budgeting, accounting, and borrowing purposes. Standard and Poor’s rationale for the rating downgrade remains a topic of debate. Nonetheless, business owners seeking improvements in their risk management strategies should note the underlying factors that ratings agencies use to identify a company as either a sound or poor credit risk.
Standard & Poor’s headquarters in the financial district of New York posted by marketplace.publicradio.org
The company known today as Standard & Poor’s began with the 1860 publication of History of Railroads and Canals in the United States, by financial analyst Henry Varnum Poor. This book, which underwent annual updates, became the precursor to the credit ratings industry. It described creditworthiness of canal and railroad enterprises by examining financials, markets, revenues, assets, and debts. As the financial analysis industry evolved, it encompassed a wide variety of businesses. In 1909, the organization known today as Moody’s Investors Service placed a letter grade on railroad bonds to help investors determine risk factors for each company and each tranche of debt issued.
For more than 100 years, investors subscribed to the ratings agencies to access detailed evaluations, which helped them invest money wisely. By the 1970s, companies issuing debt began seeking ratings on their own to make their debt more attractive to investors. At that time, the ratings business developed as a tool for issuers who wanted to demonstrate their creditworthiness with clearly documented explanations of their financials, as well as trends and risks associated with their debt, their regions, and their industries.
In 1975, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ordered managers of money market funds to protect investors by purchasing only investment-grade debt. At the same time, the federal agency named Standard & Poor’s, Moody’s Investors Service, and Fitch Ratings as Nationally Recognized Statistical Ratings Organizations (NRSROs). These three agreed to rate companies, sovereign entities, municipalities, and other issuers fairly, using strict criteria. In making these designations, the federal government sought to eliminate concerns that fly-by-night ratings agencies would enter the market and give AAA ratings to any issuer who paid their prices.
About the Author: An expert in insurance and risk management, Ian J. Norris serves as the President of Sabal Insurance Group. Based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Mr. Norris leads a growing organization and provides oversight of such functions as new account marketing, training, and developing relationships with insurance carriers whose offerings benefit the customers of Sabal Insurance Group. He also takes an active role in helping clients assess the risks that could impede productivity and operations of their businesses.
An accomplished insurance executive and current President of Sabal Insurance Group, Inc., in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Ian J. Norris also maintains an active role in community service and charitable giving. In particular, Ian J. Norris supports the activities of The Salvation Army. One of the most recognizable charities in the United States, The Salvation Army has earned a reputation for its outreach programs for individuals without homes and its Christmas collection drives.
Youth Camps: Every year, The Salvation Army organizes a series of youth summer camps that allows underprivileged children to experience the natural wonder of the outdoors and forge friendships with fellow campers. Children also enjoy the unique opportunity to learn valuable life skills such as self-reliance and responsibility, which will serve them throughout their formative years. Camp activities include music development, sports, adventure and scouting, camping, swimming lessons, and a host of other outdoor pursuits.
Adult Rehabilitation: For more than a century, The Salvation Army has helped people overcome a wide range of social and spiritual afflictions. Through its Adult Rehabilitation Centers (ARC), The Salvation Army provides valuable assistance to adults as they grapple with issues of homelessness, substance abuse, unemployment, legal troubles, and relationship conflicts.
Missing Persons: For people and families who wish to reunite with loved ones, The Salvation Army Missing Person Service possesses an extensive background in locating missing persons. In most cases, The Salvation Army works only with individuals and families who are looking to locate members of their immediate families.
To learn more about the charitable activities of The Salvation Army, visit the website at www.salvationarmyusa.org.
Standard & Poor’s headquarters in the financial district of New York posted by marketplace.publicradio.org
