Grow Deposits. Deepen Relationships. Solve the Insurance Problem Your Business Members Are Facing.

By Ken Lowy, NewtekOne

Do you want to grow deposits and build stronger relationships with your business members? Start with what is likely to keep them up at night: the relentless rise in benefits costs.

This is where a partnership with NewtekOne can play a meaningful role. As an alliance provider of CUNA Strategic Services, Newtek brings a vetted, credit union-aligned solution into an area that many institutions know is important, but may not have addressed. Your business owner members are feeling it every day. Rising health insurance costs, increasing workers’ compensation premiums, higher disability coverage expenses, and growing pressure around employee benefits overall. These are not minor line items. They are real business challenges that affect cash flow, hiring, retention, and long-term stability.

For many business owners, these costs are unpredictable, difficult to benchmark, and often accepted as “just the way it is.” Policies renew year after year without a true independent review, leaving owners unsure if they are overpaying, underinsured, or simply missing better options that have emerged in the market.

And while these conversations may not always start at your branch or in your lending office, they directly impact the financial health, borrowing capacity, and deposit behavior of the members you serve.

This Is Where The Credit Union Can Step In

You are not expected to become insurance experts. But you are in a position to recognize a problem and start a better conversation.

A simple question can change the dynamic:
When was the last time someone independently reviewed your benefit plans to make sure you are getting the right coverage at the best price?

That question signals awareness. It shows you understand what your business members are dealing with beyond rates and balances. It shifts the conversation from transactional to advisory. And it opens the door to real value.

It also creates a natural transition point. Because once that door is open, you have the ability to connect your member with a resource that can do something about it.

Turning a Conversation Into a Solution

Introducing your business members to Newtek Insurance Agency, LLC1 is not about replacing what they are doing today. It is about validating it and, where possible, improving it.

Through a broker model that uses non-commissioned agents, the focus is not on pushing a specific carrier or product. It is on taking a step back and objectively assessing the current state of a business owner’s coverage.

That includes evaluating:

• Whether current coverage is appropriate for the business today

• Whether pricing is competitive relative to the market

• Whether alternative structures can maintain or improve coverage while lowering cost

• Whether newer programs or regulatory changes create better options

In many cases, the outcome is confirmation. The business owner gains confidence that they are in a good position.

In other cases, the impact is more meaningful. Lower costs. Better coverage. More efficient structures.

Either way, your member benefits from a more informed, more deliberate approach to one of their largest operating expenses.

Why This Matters to Your Credit Union

When you help a business owner address a major cost driver like insurance, the impact does not stay confined to that one category. You strengthen the relationship in a way that goes beyond rates and products. You improve their financial position, which can translate into stronger deposits, more consistent balances, and better overall account behavior. You create a reason for that member to stay with you, to engage more frequently, and to look to you first when new needs arise. You do not need a new product.

You do not need a complex rollout. You need awareness, a simple question, and a trusted referral. When you bring those together, you are not just helping your members manage insurance costs. You are helping them run stronger businesses.

Connect with NewtekOne to learn more.