Stronger Together!
History/Founding Principles
Economic conditions. Environmental regulations. Unfavorable weather. Insurance. Most pest control operators are accustomed to the unpredictable, and insurance is usually lumped in this category. It’s something that pest control operators typically have no control over. Rates unexpectedly increase. Customers are dropped despite a decent track record. Business revenue and the ability to plan is held hostage by the unknown. There must be an easier solution. In 1980, a band of defiant pest control professionals found a better way to buy insurance.
The 20 founding members of PestSure — pest control operators — were tired of facing the problems and uncertainty of their insurance year in and year out. They set out to address the specific risk challenges that those in this industry face, including the dreaded phrase, “your insurance has been cancelled.” With the goal of bringing stability and predictability to this aspect of their operations, they banded together to educate one another about insurance issues specific to the pest control industry and studied rate structures so they would understand what they could do to keep them in line. They envisioned a loss-prevention program that would give members guidance about work procedures, driving practices and hiring systems — all aimed at reducing claims and the cost of insurance premiums. After two years of research, they formed an association now known as PestSure — not a traditional group insurance program, rather a program owned and directed by pest control operators.
While PestSure’s members may compete with one another for customers, they all agree that when it comes to purchasing insurance, the only people they want to rely on is each other — fellow pest control operators. To quote Benjamin Franklin: “If we don’t hang together, we will surely hang separately.”
PestSure has remained true to its founders’ vision. Today the company insures more than 70 midsize to large firms with minimum annual revenues of $2 million and up. These member companies represent a total revenue of $2 billion, over 16,000 vehicles and payroll exceeding $750 million. Far from a fraternity of good ol’ boys, these pest control operators are some of the best in the industry looking for every economic advantage they can find. They’ve found it with PestSure.