10/25/07

By VERNON CLEMENT JONES, Senior Business Reporter

vernon@nasguard.com

TRISTAR Insurance Agents and Brokers is living up its own billing in partnering with a mortgage broker offering financing from a wide cross-section of institutions, including but not limited to Colina.

"Now clients don't have to run all over the place for a mortgage and the necessary life and housing insurance," said company president Harold Antor.

The institution's new relationship with a mortgage broker has brought that independent player under TRISTAR's roof and was formed just four months ago. In effect helps create a one-stop shop for mortgage clients. For most of its 18 month history, the company has been an exclusive agent of Colina insurance product. Its focus, for the most part, has been on selling the life and health policies offered by thay insurance titan, which is an affiliate of the Nassau Guardian.

Business has been good for TriStar given the growth its staff from 15 to 50 and its operation in the country's two largest retail markets — New Providence and Grand Bahama.

Working with a broker hawking mortgage product not only for Colina but for commercial banks RBC FINCO, FirstCaribbean and Scotiabank, among others, opens up opportunities for consumers coming turning to TriStar and its broker partner. It falls to him to canvass the field of options open to them.

"We've created a one-stop shop for clients," said Antor, arguing those looking for a mortgage will now be saved having to venture out to find the necessary life and house insurance all lenders demand in order to meet requests for housing loans.

TriStar has already worked toward being that model of convenience by offering general insurance as well as pension products, through CFAL. That's in addition to its primary focus on health and life policies.

The emergence of Antor's company represents an outsourcing by ColinaImperial of a portion of its sales work.

The idea behind the move is basic: Rather than go to one institution to take care of life insurance, another to handle homeowner's and still another for auto, TriStar brings those discreet areas together. The company is, in fact, listed as a MGA, or managing general agent.

That model has been around internationally for about 15 years, but represents something of a first for the local market.

As such it's being viewed as a test case by a industry insiders looking to see if the model proves an effective one for The Bahamas.

"Because no one had done this before, one of the questions a lot of people are asking is: How are they going to pull this off?" Antor told Guardian Business last year.

Indeed.