18 LONGISLANDPRESS.COM • SEPTEMBER 2019
For more than 100 years, OneGroup has been
providing insurance for New York families and
businesses, starting upstate in Oneida before
expanding to other regions including Nassau County
and Forest Hills, Queens.
Along with that geographic expansion has come an
expansion of its services over the years to include
risk management and business solutions. To better
reflect the rapidly growing portfolio of services,
the firm’s nonbanking companies were combined
under the name OneGroup in
2014, becoming one of the largest
and fastest-growing independent
insurance brokers and risk
management companies.
In December 2015, Community
Bank, N.A. purchased Oneida
Financial Corp. (ONFC)
including OneGroup, expanding
its list of complementary services
to include wealth management,
benefit administration, actuarial
and pension services, retirement
plan services and trust services.
Now, OneGroup employs more
than 200 experts and specialists across 70 areas of
risk management, insurance, human resources (HR)
and employee benefits in 19 locations. In addition
to New York and Pennsylvania in the northern
U.S., its geographic footprint also includes South
Carolina, Georgia and Florida. Its executive offices
and technology hub are located at OneGroup Center
in Syracuse, New York.
We recently interviewed Josephine Bottitta, OneGroup
senior vice president and business risk specialist, who’s
based out of the firm’s Malverne office on Long Island.
Q: What makes your organization special/unique
in your opinion?
A: OneGroup has a unique, proactive and teambased
approach to risk management, insurance, and
OneGroup exec on what makes this one organization
benefits, HR and other business services. We partner
with our clients and truly work for what’s best for
them. We openly share our knowledge so we can make
a real difference for their businesses, find actionable,
proactive solutions and optimize their performance.
We also blend a local focus with our more global
focus. I’ve lived on Long Island essentially my
whole life. I love Long Island’s uniqueness and
beauty and recognize its challenges. It’s expensive
to live here and oftentimes competes with NYC
for economic sustainability and
growth. OneGroup has supported
me and Long Island all the way,
which is fully consistent with its
mission to support our clients and
community.
Q: What is your organization’s
mission?
A: OneGroup’s mission is to create
one company, working as one team,
with one focus, and one mission: to
serve each client as our one client.
Q: What role does technology play
in accomplishing that mission?
A: OneGroup is on the cutting
edge of industry technology. We don’t just keep
track of what’s happening in the insurance world,
we actively make our own waves. Some of our most
popular products are technology based, including
OneLink, our HR/employee benefits automating
software, and the OneGroup Risk Management
Center, our online portal for documents, trainings,
data tracking and more.
Q: Can you tell me a bit about your job?
A: My favorite part of my profession is engaging
with my clients. I love being able to learn about their
organizations and then help them with the issues
that keep them up at night. I have a lot of experience
in several different yet relevant fields that I can call
upon to help my clients explore innovative solutions.
Q: What was it that attracted you to the work you do?
A: Like most of my peers, my career has encompassed
a multitude of roles. I have been a child abuse social
worker, general practice attorney, and human
resources director, to name just a few. All of these
gave me a wealth of experience that I enjoy sharing
with my clients.
Q: What is the biggest challenge of your job?
A: We’ve found that no matter what industry our
clients are in, there will always be consolidation,
growing expenses with reduced revenue, and a
need to be efficient and save money. OneGroup
lends support and resources to not only find the
best price and coverage insurance options but also
finds innovative ways to deal with each issue in
these challenging times. We believe an insurance
broker should be more than transactional in selling
an insurance product. We commit the time, effort
and resources to engage and build a longstanding
relationship with our clients. At OneGroup, you see
us more than once a year for renewal.
Q: What new initiatives are your organization
implementing?
A: OneGroup continually reviews new technologies
that will provide clients with more insight, more
time to focus on their businesses and potentially
lower their costs. When a client faces a unique
business problem, OneGroup does not rely on offthe
shelf solutions. For example, one client in New
York was watching workers’ compensation premiums
spiral out of control largely from new hires into
the furniture delivery business. OneGroup created
EmploySmart, a defensible program to help clients
avoid hiring someone else’s workers’ comp claims.
Similar to EmploySmart, OneGroup is again taking
the lead on risk management by providing testing
and solutions to workplace indoor air pollution that
is now known to cause a wide range of illnesses and
affects companies’ profitability.
Custom Computer Specialists is proud to sponsor
Spotlight LI. Since 1979, Custom has been dedicated
to providing Long Island’s schools, local government
agencies, healthcare facilities and businesses with
advanced technology solutions and support. To
learn more about Custom Computer, or to be
considered for a future Spotlight LI, please email
info@customtech.com.
Josephine Bottitta, OneGroup
senior vice president and
business risk specialist
unique, its mission, and more
Custom Computer Specialists
Right People. Right Results.®
Spotlight Long Island
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