‘Our company’s unyielding commitment to the community goes beyond the business transaction, and we strive to be a contributing corporate member of society.’
<p style=”text-align: right;”><strong>—PIUI President and Chief Executive Officer Shirley Sablan</strong>
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AFTER more than 50 years of being in business, Pacifica Insurance Underwriters Inc. has already built a name for itself as one of the leading insurance providers in the CNMI, and that is already a given. What puts the company a cut above the rest, though, is the robust ties it has built with the CNMI community and the many outreach actions it has taken that solidify its standing not just as a business entity, but also as an active community member.
This year, Pacifica Insurance once again sets itself at the leading edge of community innovation by sponsoring podcasts by We670’s founder and podcaster Mark Sonoda. As part of its initial foray into this initiative, PIUI has sponsored podcast episodes about the “Evolution of the CNMI’s Airline Industry,” “Evolution of the CNMI’s Healthcare Industry,” and “Evolution of the CNMI Hotel Industry.”
These podcasts feature Commonwealth Healthcare Corp.’s Public Information Officer Lee Tenorio and Marianas Visitors Authority’s Managing Director Chris Concepcion.
“In celebration of 50 years of business, we wanted to take everyone back to the early days in the Marianas leading up to the development of our islands,” said PIUI President and Chief Executive Officer Shirley Sablan.
You can find the three sponsored episodes on the We670 YouTube channel, youtube.com/we670, or directly on Pacifica’s company anniversary webpage, pacificains.com/50 (click on the Media tab).
Pacifica Arts Contest
Another PIUI initiative that is now considered a cultural touchstone and is highly anticipated every year is the Pacifica Art Contest, where children in the CNMI are provided a unique platform to showcase their talent and engage in friendly competition with others on a CNMI-wide scale.
“This was the main driver behind…PAC. [It] was designed to support and nurture local talent and the arts in the CNMI,” said Sablan.
Last year, PIUI marked a decade of hosting this competition, and it did that by making the contest archives open to the public. Sablan said PAC introduced a permanent home for its art collection with an online gallery called The PAC Gallery, which is a digital exhibition of talent in the Marianas that is accessible on pacificains.com/artcontest.
Environmental advocacy
As if these were not enough, PIUI is also building ties with environmental stewards in the CNMI to help others protect the planet. In line with this, PIUI has partnered with Evlution Energy to launch the CNMI’s first commercial electric vehicle charging station at the Joeten Center in Susupe. For one whole year, PIUI extended free EV charging to incentivize clean driving. This was supposed to expire last month, but Sablan said that PIUI extended this free EV charging for another six months or until the end of February 2025, in celebration of National Clean Energy Week on Sept. 23-27, 2024. She said the EV charging station is compatible with plug-in hybrids and Tesla vehicles.
Pacifica Insurance also sponsored the podcast episode ‘From PROAs to EVs’ hosted by Sonoda, featuring Shigeki Tenorio, to provide some insight on the history of transportation in the CNMI.
Sponsored episodes can be found on Instagram handle we670ig and on the we670 YouTube channel.
“Our company’s unyielding commitment to the community goes beyond the business transaction, and we strive to be a contributing corporate member of society,” she said.
Community outreach
“Since opening our doors 50 years ago, we have since partnered with countless non-profits and experts to support initiatives that address social, educational, health, and environmental concerns. Non-profits play an important role in addressing the needs of our community, but their survival depends heavily on the support of businesses,” she added.
Over the years, PIUI has sponsored a wide array of causes and initiatives through partnerships with a whole host of non-profit groups, government and private organizations, and even sporting events.
Full line of insurance products
On the business side, PIUI is a full line insurance agency that offers coverage for both personal and commercial risks. The company has diversified its product offerings over years to include property and casualty, accident and health, life, marine, and specialty lines with the help of reputable and highly rated principal carriers and other general agents to ensure that it becomes a one-stop insurance agency when seeking protection.
PIUI turned 50 last December 23, 2023. Its founders include the late Jose “Joeten” C. Tenorio, his wife Soledad “Daidai” Tenorio, Joseph Screen, Tokugoro Kuribayashi (Nanyo Boeki Kaisha), Pete Ada, Jr., Eduardo ‘Edward’ Terlaje, and Tatsuru Ariizumi. Sablan said that that longevity speaks a lot about the company’s strengths and the deep roots it has in the CNMI.
“When Pacifica opened for business, it helped to establish an industry that was vital to the economic development, growth, and viability of the CNMI,” said Sablan.
An eye on the future
She attributes PIUI’s longevity to its longstanding commitment to providing reliable insurance products and services centered around customer needs. After five decades, Sablan said, PIUI has demonstrated the ability to make good on its promise to be there for the CNMI when the time comes and that PIUI has built a corporate culture around core values and principles that maintain and preserve corporate integrity through honest and fair dealings.
“The goal is another 50 years and more,” she added.
Sablan gives thanks to everyone who voted for PIUI in this year’s Best of the Marianas for the category of insurance agency. “Nothing gives us more pleasure than to know the community appreciates and values our professional services, as we strive to give our absolute best each time. BOM is a great survey and polling system with organic data that can be useful for participating organizations. Congratulations to Marianas Visitors Authority and Marianas Variety for a successful 2nd year run with BOM,” she said.
The Pacifica Insurance Underwriters Inc. team is led by President and Chief Executive Officer Shirley Sablan, seated center.
