When the company was founded over 20 years ago in Minneapolis, ProHost first sought to define itself as a specialist in restaurant coverage. Over the course of time, ProHost successfully built a solid reputation in the industry as a reliable, experienced underwriter of restaurants. “Agents know that they can come to us year after year and we will continually be providing excellent products for restaurants and related risks,” said Heidi Strommen, ProHost USA’s president.

That consistency is a rarity in today’s marketplace. “Restaurant markets come and go—sometimes with alarming frequency,” commented Strommen, “but ProHost has remained a constant and has benefited from the high turnover of markets. Agents do not want to move a risk to a new program every one or two years, rather, they are looking for a market that is committed to the niche in the long term.”

ProHost continually re-examines its product line looking for ways to expand and improve. Originally the company wrote exclusively sit down restaurants in a limited number of states. Its product offerings now include programs for fine dining, family dining, and fast casual restaurants. In addition, ProHost has added products for risks with higher liquor receipts such as neighborhood taverns, sports bar/restaurants and nightclubs.

The fast casual program was a recent addition made after careful consideration of where the restaurant industry itself is headed. “We looked at industry statistics and found that the only segment of the restaurant industry that was experiencing real growth during the recession is the fast casual segment,” explained Strommen. After gathering appropriate market intelligence, ProHost put together a program that was introduced this year that has generated a lot of excitement among retail agents.

A team of highly experienced underwriters handles both new and established programs at ProHost. “Our top three underwriters have been with ProHost for a combined 44 years,” stated Strommen. Add to that Strommen’s own 20 years at ProHost and you have an organization that offers retail agents and carriers a remarkable track record. “One of the by-products of the budget cutting that has gone on at many companies is the lack of experienced underwriters within many organizations,” observed Strommen. She goes on to explain that one of the reasons ProHost’s retail agents have remained loyal is that they can reduce their workload and their E&O exposure by writing policies through underwriters who understand restaurants and can contribute positively to the underwriting and ultimately to the sales process. “If the underwriter doesn’t understand the industry’s exposures and their own insurance product, then a favorable outcome is a lot less likely for the retail agent and the insured, particularly in the long run.”

Strommen, who has been attending Target Markets Program Administrators Association events since the first meeting in 2001, believes that the organization encourages its members to focus on core values like quality products and high service standards even while pursuing an entrepreneurial course as a way to survive and thrive during tough economic times. ProHost appears poised for continued success in its chosen niche.