Security Sales & Integration June 2022 - 6

Between Us Pros
scott.goldfine@emeraldx.com | @SSIeditor
Industry Insurance
Innovator Ensures
Lasting Impression
Using the same
marketing
concept of
leveraging the
insurance as a
member benefit,
with the help
of NBFAA staff
Gombar grew
the program
to include all
50 states. The
extensive client
list included a
who's who of the
security alarm
industry.
Editor-in-Chief and
Associate Publisher Scott
Goldfine, an Industry Hall
of Famer, has spent 20+
years with SSI.
6
▶ WHEN I FIRST ENTERED the electronic security
industry and joined Security Sales in 1998
as a senior editor it was to my good fortune that
the magazine had as cadre of outstanding columnists.
Not only were they well recognized leaders
in their areas of specialty from whom I could gain
deep insights, but they were also exceptionally
gracious and willing to address whatever questions
I threw their way. Among them was Rick
Gombar, whose recent retirement caps 40 years
as an insurance maverick to security companies.
Entering the industry in 1981, Gombar was
one of three founders of the Los Angeles County
Burglar & Fire Alarm Association (LBFAA; now
Greater Los Angeles Security & Alarm Association,
or GLASSA) where served on the executive
board of directors as the first secretary and treasurer.
He also chaired the insurance and membership
committees. As insurance committee
chairman, Gombar sought to create a new general
liability and E&O insurance program exclusively
for LBFAA membership. Prior, insurance companies
had a reputation of entering the security marketplace
only to abruptly pull out after suffering
a large loss. The carriers that did offer coverage
required a $5,000 minimum annual premium,
unaffordable for many small alarm dealers.
Gombar studied this and discovered that many
of the losses paid by insurance companies could
have easily been eliminated had there been a proper
subscriber contract in place. Then, he reasoned,
the insurance company could have cited the protective
clauses in that contract. Any suit, if ever
filed, would be dismissed in summary judgment.
Realizing this, he found a new carrier willing to
work together to develop underwriting guidelines
that would, among other things, require all
alarm dealers and central station operators to use
approved subscriber contracts that specifically detailed
why security firms are not including insurance
coverage in the price of their alarm systems.
Once the contract verbiage was approved and
Security Sales & Integration JUNE 2022
underwriting guidelines were in place, the carrier
was now comfortable knowing the protective
clauses would significantly reduce lawsuits.
This enabled Gombar to renegotiate substantial,
previously unimaginable enhancements. The result
was a $5M aggregate on all $1M policies,
a zero deductible on any claims, legal fees and
investigative expenses outside policy limits, and
unlimited additional insured certificates at no
cost. And, he negotiated an annual minimum
premium of only $1,200.
Once LABFAA's board approved the program,
Gombar provided an announcement to the association's
publication, The Ringer. The broad
insurance coverage and low minimum premium
were well received by existing and prospective
members alike. Within a few months, LABFAA
grew to more than 200 member companies,
making it California's largest alarm association.
Word spread quickly to the state's other seven
local associations and soon all were using his program
as a membership recruitment tool.
After three years, the carrier granted Gombar
exclusive rights to market the program nationwide.
He reached out to the National Burglar &
Fire Alarm Association (NBFAA, ESA today) to
become its insurance broker of record. Using the
same marketing concept to leverage the insurance
as a member benefit, Gombar and NBFAA
grew the program to include all 50 states, including
an alarm industry's who's who.
He became nationally recognized for risk management
seminars and trade publication articles,
lending insights on insurance and legal matters
that stressed the importance for alarm professionals
to use subscriber contracts. Perhaps his top
career accomplishment was a claims deflection
service in which he dissuaded insurers and law
firms from filing suits against his clients. Gombar
says he handled 500 attempted demands totaling
in excess of $80M, being successful in all but two
cases (both dismissed in summary judgment).
Those four decades of dedication and efforts
have led to today's more stabilized insurance
market for the security industry. With Gombar's
impactful legacy secured, clients will remember
and miss his professionalism and dedication.
As we salute his contributions, review your
subscriber contracts to ensure they are current
with today's technologies (e.g. cybersecurity
coverage), changes in law and conform by
jurisdiction.
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Security Sales & Integration June 2022

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