Becoming an Agency
At Institution Solutions you are not just another faceless client – our primary goal is to become a trusted partner of your business and to make you feel like a member of our family. It is our mission to provide the best insurance coverage options at the most affordable price with service beyond expectations.
As an independent insurance agency with our customers in mind, we have excellent relationships with several of the top-rated, best-in-class insurance companies in the country allowing us to provide you with more options to find the best coverage at the best price.
The Alloy Relationship
ALLOY is a better insurance model, offering an independent insurance agency custom tailored to your Credit Union’s needs and capabilities. ALLOY leverages cutting edge technology, competitive products, industry know-how and a dynamic agency team to deliver the right product at the right time and price to your Credit Union members.
How We Do it
Want to know more about becoming a Credit Union Service Organization (CUSO)?
CUSOs generate net income that Credit Unions need. CUSOs do this by helping Credit Unions generate more loans and non-interest income, reduce operating costs and increase operational expertise.
Generating More Loans – CUSOs help Credit Unions source and process loans. CUSOs are being used to source business loans, mortgage loans, student loans, car loans, timeshare loans, home improvement loans, and loans for elective medical and dental procedures. In some cases, CUSOs are also helping to process and service these loans.
Generating Non-Interest Income – CUSOs can help Credit Unions offer alternative financial services (investments, insurance and trust services) that pay fees to the CUSO or Credit Union. Some CUSOs provide operational services to client Credit Unions for a fee.
Reduce Operating Costs – CUSOs are formed to aggregate operational services in order to reduce staffing and other costs. Through increased scale, these CUSOs can also negotiate reduced vendor fees.
The NCUA does not directly regulate CUSOs as Congress has not given the NCUA the power to do so. However, NCUA does condition the ability of federally chartered Credit Unions to invest in CUSOs. Credit Unions must comply with the NCUA CUSO Regulations Part 712 which requires that the CUSO and the investing Credit Union have an agreement that gives NCUA the right to inspect the books and records of the CUSO including those records that will enable NCUA to review the CUSO’s internal controls. A CUSO must follow GAAP, provide quarterly financial reports and an annual CPA audit. The financial reporting requirements will not apply to CUSOs that are solely owned by one Credit Union. If a CUSO is out of compliance with the CUSO regulations and cannot bring it into compliance the Credit Union will be compelled to divest itself of the investment. State chartered Credit Unions investing in CUSOs must comply with state Credit Union rules.
A CUSO’s customer base must be primarily Credit Unions or members of affiliated Credit Unions. An affiliated Credit Union is a Credit Union that has an investment in, loan to, or contract with the CUSO. There is no mandatory method of measuring how the primarily serves requirement is met. Typically, it is measuring the number of Credit Union related customers versus the Non-Credit Union related customers.
Yes, Credit Unions may loan its employees to its CUSOs to provide services. The employees are not paid by the CUSO, they continue to receive their full salary and benefits from the Credit Union. The CUSO reimburses the Credit Union for the time spent by the Credit Union employees working for the CUSO. NCUA requires the reimbursement to occur within 120 days of the services. There should be a written agreement between the Credit Union and CUSO that sets forth the obligation to reimburse for shared employees, office space and whatever other support the Credit Union is providing to the CUSO. Typically the parties estimate the portion of time spent by the respective employees on CUSO business and reimburse based upon the proportionate compensation and benefit costs.
NOT A COOKIE-CUTTER EXPERIENCE
Your members are unique. That’s why Institution Solutions offers a full suite of personal and commercial products from top carriers, tailored to your member's profile.
INTEGRATION
Lead generation, marketing materials and analytics to fit your workflow. Members shop from your customized insurance website, receive branded offers, talk with licensed agents and customer service reps all using your name.
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Institution Solutions can manage all aspects of your insurance agency. We’ll create a CUSO or integrate with your existing CUSO to manage regulatory issues, warehouse your data and market your programs.
