By the early 1980s, many states were experiencing rapidly rising claims costs, as well as widespread mismanagement by workers’ comp insurers. This gave way to skyrocketing premium rates that led to instability in the workers’ comp system. These dynamics ultimately created a crisis for business owners in fulfilling their legal obligation to provide lost wages and medical expenses to their injured workers.

In those early years, David Bondy was employed by a workers’ comp third-party administrator (TPA) that was engaged in workers’ comp reform in the State of Louisiana. That TPA was also in the process of helping to form a number of association-based workers’ comp self-insured funds. Bondy gained expertise in working with legislators to improve Louisiana’s workers’ comp laws. Meanwhile, self-insurance funds gained popularity in Louisiana, as well as in other southeastern states.

By the late 1980s, the recently enacted statutory reforms had begun to improve the workers’ comp environment. This dynamic, combined with the successes achieved by the many self-insured funds that had become more prevalent, began to substantially improve insurers’ underwriting results. Emphasis on policyholder service, tough but fair claims management, and safety engineering became the rule, not the exception.

Up until this point, each self-insured fund was centered around and designed to provide workers’ comp coverage to employers within a specific industry. Bondy realized that the creation of a program designed to cut across industry lines would exponentially increase the number of potential policyholders. This revelation was the seed of an idea to create the Louisiana United Businesses Workers’ Comp Self Insured Fund (LUBA). Ultimately, the LUBA Fund was approved by the Louisiana Department of Insurance and received its Certificate of Authority to begin providing coverage to a broad range of Louisiana’s employers on January 1, 1991.

Although more diverse than other self-insured funds, LUBA’s management team applied the very same tenets Bondy learned in servicing similar programs. The team came out of the blocks remembering that the customer is king! They all answered their own phones, and the Claims, Sales, Marketing, Underwriting, and Safety staffs worked in lockstep to exceed the expectations of its policyholders and their injured workers.

The LUBA staff also recognized that, in order to reach a broader customer base, it needed to create relationships with independent insurance agents. Thirty-five years ago, many independent agents were somewhat skeptical and concerned about the financial stability of a self-insured fund. Many were more comfortable representing standard insurance companies with a much larger surplus and protected by a guaranty fund. To LUBA’s delight, a number of respected agencies stepped forward and agreed to represent LUBA because of the reputation its team had earned in the industry. Other agencies began to seek contracts to represent LUBA. Success bred success, and the program began to flourish.

By the year 2000, LUBA’s management team had proven it could produce good loss ratios and surplus while returning monetary dividends to its safety-conscious policyholders. It became clear that it was time to expand beyond the borders of Louisiana.

The next step in LUBA’s journey was to transform itself from a self-insured fund into a standard insurance carrier. After much actuarial analysis and discussions with AM Best and Louisiana’s Department of Insurance, the metamorphosis began. On July 1, 2006, LUBA Casualty Insurance Company was born. Because of LUBA’s hard work and years of attention to detail, AM Best granted LUBA Casualty an A-Excellent Rating on day one!

Over the next 12 years, LUBA Casualty and LUBA Indemnity successfully expanded its footprint to include six additional states—Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Texas.

The year 2021 heralded yet another chapter of expansion as LUBA joined forces with Florida-based FHM Insurance Company, a respected insurer with over six decades of industry experience. This step forward launched LUBA into the additional states of Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia.

In an ever-evolving technological world, LUBA possesses all the firepower of companies much larger. It is a company that prides itself on moving quickly and decisively. However, what distinguishes it most from its competitors is its old-fashioned attention to detail and customer service. That is precisely why LUBA’s registered trademark from the very beginning has been “Genuine Dependability!”

Unveiling the Driving Forces Behind LUBA’s Sales Team

At LUBA we make a promise to deliver Genuine Dependability, and this means building and honoring our relationships and offering knowledge and expertise that can help you, our agency partners, and your clients, succeed. Each policy issued comes with the backing of our entire LUBA service team, but in many cases, it is our Sales and New Business Underwriting Teams that make our first introductions.

Debbie Lowe, an industry veteran and VP, Sales Executive, epitomizes the spirit of dedication that defines LUBA’s motto, “Genuine Dependability.” Since 1991, she has played a pivotal role in cultivating vital relationships with agency partners across Louisiana, Mississippi, and Arkansas. Reflecting on her experience with LUBA, Debbie expresses that witnessing the company’s evolution firsthand, from its beginnings to its current position as an industry leader, has been an extraordinary privilege. Observing LUBA’s strategic growth and its consistent dedication to serving clients has been immensely fulfilling for her.