Writing Business

How do I obtain a new business quote?

It’s easy! Get a new business quote by emailing your completed applications to submissions@tuscano.com or faxing them to 724-838-1433. Shortly thereafter, you will receive confirmation that we received your submission with the name of the assigned underwriter or team. Your underwriter will then work with you to place the risk.

You can also check our website to see if there is an online submit option, quote form, or rater available for the line of business you need quoted.

What states do you write in?

Commercial lines - We write all lines of commercial business in PA and the surrounding states - OH, NY, NJ, MD, DE, NJ & WV. (We are also writing limited lines in NC, SC, & FL. Coverage in certain states may vary by company, territory, and class.)

Personal lines - We write in PA and the surrounding states - OH, NY, NJ, MD, DE, NJ & WV. Coverage in certain states may vary by company and class. (We are also writing limited lines in NC, SC, & FL. Coverage in certain states may vary by company, territory, and class.)

Do I need a surplus lines license when I write Surplus Lines business with your company?

NO! We are the licensed surplus lines licensee in the transaction. Tuscano takes care of making the filing, paying the taxes, and complying with the surplus lines laws of the states we write in. However, you must always have a resident or non-resident producer’s license for the state in which the insured is located.

How are my policies delivered?

We are currently engaged in a ‘go electronic’ (we could say go green, but everyone is doing that). You have 3 options for electronic policy delivery:

1. We can email your policy, either to one designated email address or to the contact we have on the policy.
2. You can download your policy from our website. We will send an email (again to either one designated email address or to the contact we have on the policy) with a link to the policy on our website.
3. We can burn a CD with the insured’s policy and mail this to you for delivery to the insured.

Policy change and cancellation endorsements are sent via email. Admin users can sign up for electronic policies in the admin area for your agency.

Accounting & Payment Questions

How do I pay my statement?

You can now pay your statement online. We have an online payment tool through our website that is easy and secure. You can pay your statement in full or make a partial payment, or schedule a payment for a future date. All payments are set up to ACH from your designated checking account. Once you have set up the checking account information, you can enter additional payments without having to re-enter bank information.

You can also send a check to W.N. Tuscano Agency, P.O. Box 1027, Greensburg PA 15601. All statement payments are due no later than the 20th of the month.

How do I pay for a policy?

The same way you pay for your statement. If you have an invoice that you want to pay, you can make the payment online or by mail.

How can I tell what the balance is on a policy?

It is easy to check on a policy and get the current balance. Just login to our website and go to the Policies area. Select the policy you want to check on and click on the Accounting TAB. Here you can view all items that have been invoiced on the policy, along with a history of the payments applied and the current policy balance.

Can I get my statement electronically?

YES! Every month your accounting statement is posted online under the My Reports area of the R2U toolbox. We keep 12 months of statements available online. If your balance for the month is zero, no statement will be issued. If you would like us to stop sending you paper statements, we would be happy to oblige. If you have any questions regarding your account, a member of our accounting team would be happy to assist you, just give us a call!

Do you offer premium finance?

YES! We can assist you with financing. We use Premium Financing Specialists for all of our in-house financing. We will send a contract with most new business quotes. You can also request a contract anytime up until the policy is issued. Our relationship with PFS allows us to provide you with a direct link from the policy pages on the Tuscano website to the contract pages on the PFS website where you can check balances and make payments.

Claims

How does my insured submit a claim?

Submitting your claim through Tuscano’s is the preferred method and we will subsequently submit the claim to the carrier. You can submit an Acord loss notice via e-mail to claims@tuscano.com or fax it to 724-838-1433. If a loss occurs after hours, the insured or agent can check the company's profile on our website. If there is 24-hour claim reporting available, you will find the instructions there.

Who should I contact to discuss a specific claim?

For a commercial policy, contact Tracy Bridge at ext. 554. For personal lines, any member of the Personal Lines Team can assist you in claims handling.

Policy Service

How do I request an endorsement?

Send your change request to the underwriter on the account. If the change does not affect coverage or premium, you can send it to processing@tuscano.com.

Who takes care of service requests on my policy?

Typically, the underwriter or the assistant will be able to take your service calls. Often though, those requests are processed in our Policy Service department.

How can I obtain a Certificate of Insurance for my policyholder?

For the fastest turn around on a certificate of insurance, login to the Tuscano website and go to the policy page. Look for the certificate TAB – you will be able to add the certificate holder information and print the certificate instantly. If your certificate requires special wording or additional insureds, your request will be submitted to the underwriter for approval.

How do I obtain loss runs?

You can either email processing@tuscano.com or fax your request for loss runs to 724-838-1433.

Do you provide expiration lists?

Yes we do. You can obtain your monthly expiration lists from our website. Go to the R2U toolbox page and click on the link under My Reports. 12 months of prior expirations are always available.

How do I obtain renewal quotes?

The assistant underwriter reviews the policy and releases a renewal quote approximately 35 days prior to the policy expiration date. If you need a renewal quote sooner than that don’t hesitate to request it. If applications are required for a company to provide a quote, we will send that request well in advance of the expiration.

How does my insured dispute an audit?

The first step in avoiding an audit dispute is to make sure that the insured understands the need to audit and cooperates with the auditor’s requests. Typically, all they need to do is set up the appointment and honor it, and provide sales receipts or payroll records. Before the audit is finalized, the insured will be given the opportunity to review the information and sign off on it.

Upon receipt of an audit, you as the producer should present the audit endorsement to the insured as soon as possible for review. If the insured does not feel that the data used in the audit is correct, they should immediately gather the correct documentation, and send it to the carrier. Or, if you would like, you can send it to Tuscano and we will forward it to the company. All of this must be done within 20 days of the initial audit billing.

Website Assistance

How do I get assistance with web site passwords?

If you are a new user, your agency’s Website Administrator can set you up with a user account.

You can also click on the New User link at the top of the Tuscano web page to submit a request for us to create your web login account. If you are an existing user and forget your password, use the “Forgot Password” link on the login page. Admin users can also reset a password for an existing user. At any time, you can also get phone support for using our website. Just call Melissa Tressler, 866-442-8063 ext. 112.

Do you offer any type of training on how to use your website?

We have a Training Link on our home page which has several informative tutorial videos on how to get the most from the Tuscano website. In addition to this, we offer a monthly webinar with a live person who will walk you through the main areas of our website and highlights the many tools and features. You may register online for any of our monthly webinars right from the R2U Toolbox page.

What else can I do on the Tuscano website?

Find out what products we write: Get the info you need to write the business…including the underwriter to contact.

Quote and Submit business: Use our apps, e-quotes, and online raters.

Service existing business: Look up your policies, issue certificates, pay your statement online, get agency reports, and more.

Handy Resources: we provide information about our carriers, industry links, staff profiles, marketing materials, and lots more.