QBE's Van Herwaarden Named Industry Representative of the Year (Sun Prairie Star)

On May 9, Barbara Van Herwaarden of QBE Regional Insurance in Sun Prairie was named the Industry Representative of the Year at the 114th Independent Insurance Agents of Wisconsin (IIAW) state convention in Madison.

Click here to read the full article: http://www.hngnews.com/sun_prairie_star/news/business/article_f0b02bfc-bbeb-11e2-9ada-001a4bcf6878.html

Blogger's Note: Congratulations to Barbara on this recognition from IIAW.

QBE Foundation Awards Grants to 14 Charities (JSOnline.com)

The QBE Foundation has awarded nearly $60,000 in grants to programs provided by 14 charitable organizations across the country.

Read the full article at: http://www.jsonline.com/business/pressrelease/national-press-releases/qbe-foundation-awards-grants-to-14-charities-202518591.html

Blogger's Note: Thanks to the QBE Foundation for their continuing support of our community.

General Casualty to Start Selling Insurance in Massachusetts (Boston Globe)

State Farm Stays out of Massachusetts

Link to Full Article: http://bostonglobe.com/business/2011/11/26/mass-draws-many-new-auto-insurers-but-not-state-farm/4hRk9ElWTcuFCo1etdaZ5J/story.html

Blogger's Note:  Not sure which is more interesting...the fact that this is still being rolled out under the General Casualty name (not QBE), or the fact that they are expanding their sales regions to new states.

QBE Dropping General Casualty Name (Business Journal Serving Greater Milwaukee)

QBE Dropping General Casualty Name

Link to Full Article: http://www.bizjournals.com/milwaukee/news/2011/08/18/qbe-dropping-general-casualty-name.html

Blogger's Note: While this signifies the end of an era for our local economy, we look forward to continued investment by QBE into their Sun Prairie facilities.

QBE Hosts 'Breakfast of Champions' (Press Release)

QBE hosted a special event recognizing 146 Sun Prairie School District fifth graders for their accomplishments during the school year.

Each year, the “Breakfast of Champions” honors students who turn in all their class assignments on time. QBE provided the breakfast in its employee cafeteria, Target donated door prizes and Ameriprint Apparel supplied custom-made T-shirts. Senior honor students from Sun Prairie High School were in attendance to usher students to and from the buses and hand out T-shirts.

QBE spokesman Andy Doll says QBE is pleased to support the community through events like the Breakfast of Champions. “We congratulate these young people on being leaders and setting a good example for other students in their schools.”

Click here for more information on QBE.

For Immediate Release
June 17, 2011
Contact: Paula M. Symons, APR
Communications Consultant
608.825.5029, paula.symons@us.qbe.com

QBE Employees Support the Community (Press Release)

QBE employees are off to a strong start in 2011 for community involvement and support. Employees are lending a hand to a variety of causes and volunteer efforts. They include:

· Ronald McDonald House—Twice during March, employees are donating food and volunteering time to prepare and serve dinner at the Ronald McDonald House in Madison. At little or no cost, the Ronald McDonald House provides a “home-away-from-home” for families so they can stay close by their hospitalized children.

· American Cancer Society—Employees raised $1,340 selling daffodils during Daffodil Days to benefit cancer research. Proceeds from a bake sale in March will also be donated to the Cancer Society.

· Food drive—Employees donated more than 750 pounds of food and $500 during the “Souperbowl Food Drive” held the week before the Super Bowl. Food and money were given to the Sunshine Place Food Pantry in Sun Prairie.

· Children’s Hospital fund-raiser—In honor of Heart Month in February, employees bought paper hearts. The $266 raised will be donated to the Herma Heart Center at Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin in Milwaukee.

· Reading to children—Once a month, employee volunteers read to kindergarten classes at Royal Oaks Elementary School.

· Schools of Hope project—Employee volunteers provide tutoring to help increase Dane County students’ academic performance and ensure children are prepared to start school. This effort is part of Schools of Hope, a partnership between schools, United Way and other community non-profit groups.

Click here for more information on QBE.

For Immediate Release: March 4, 2011

Contact: Paula M. Symons, APR
Communications Consultant
608-825-5029

paula.symons@us.qbe.com

QBE Uses Donations to Aid Sun Prairie Pantry (Sun Prairie Star)

QBE Uses Donations to Aid Sun Prairie Pantry

http://www.sunprairiestar.com/main.asp?SectionID=4&SubSectionID=129&ArticleID=6904

QBE supports environment through green practices (Press Release)

With more than 800 employees and three buildings located on 140 acres in Sun Prairie, QBE has a special commitment to sustainability. The company’s environmental sustainability statement calls for environmental awareness, as well as support for employee involvement in sustainability practices.

Green efforts are encouraged by the QBE Eco Team, a group of employees that help the company research and promote environmentally-friendly programs.

QBE has implemented several programs to save energy and reduce waste at its Sun Prairie campus. These include:

• Recycling—Over the past two years, QBE has recycled 38 tons of waste, including electrical wire, cabinets, shelving, scrap metals and light fixtures.


• Lighting and energy conservation—All laptop and desktop computers connected to the company’s network automatically shut down at 9 p.m. each day. Many work spaces and conference rooms have sensors to activate lights as needed.


• Sustainable food practices—QBE’s food service vendor turns food waste into compost for local farmers, and uses biodegradable and compostable containers. In addition, the food service uses organic natural, local and seasonal foods to help reduce carbon use from manufacturing, transportation, preparation, packaging and waste processing.

Click here for more information on QBE or contact Paula M. Symons, APR, Communications Consultant at 608.825.5029 or paula.symons@us.qbe.com.

General Casualty's Purchase by QBE to Create More Jobs (Sun Prairie Star)

General Casualty’s recent purchase by an Australian-based company, QBE, will result in more jobs in Sun Prairie, according to General Casualty President Pete McPartland. McPartland presented remarks during the March 11 Sun Prairie Rotary Club meeting held at the Colonial Club Senior Activity Center, 301 Blankenheim Lane.

Because the company has no campus similar to General Casualty’s in Sun Prairie, the company’s ownership will likely lead to more jobs.“I will also say it will lead to more employees in Sun Prairie, not less employees – there’s no doubt about that. The reason is QBE does not have a campus like ours anywhere in the world,” McPartland said, referring to the 150-acre, three-building facility located just off Highway C in Sun Prairie. “There’s room for more and QBE doesn’t have anything like that, so they look at our campus and being from Australia, they’re just salivating at the potential to do things.

Click here to read the full article in the Sun Prairie Star.