Presented byMarianas Variety News & Views Presented by Marianas Variety News & Views team is led by President and Chief Executive Officer Shirley Sablan 'Our company’s unyielding commitment to the community goes beyond the business transaction and we strive to be a contributing corporate member of society.' —PIUI President and Chief Executive Officer Shirley Sablan AFTER more than 50 years of being in business has already built a name for itself as one of the leading insurance providers in the CNMI What puts the company a cut above the rest 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 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 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) 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 [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 PIUI is also building ties with environmental stewards in the CNMI to help others protect the planet PIUI has partnered with Evlution Energy to launch the CNMI’s first commercial electric vehicle charging station at the Joeten Center in Susupe PIUI extended free EV charging to incentivize clean driving 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 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 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 we have since partnered with countless non-profits and experts to support initiatives that address social 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 PIUI has sponsored a wide array of causes and initiatives through partnerships with a whole host of non-profit groups 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 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 Its founders include the late Jose “Joeten” C Sablan said that that longevity speaks a lot about the company’s strengths and the deep roots it has in the CNMI it helped to establish an industry that was vital to the economic development She attributes PIUI’s longevity to its longstanding commitment to providing reliable insurance products and services centered around customer needs 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 Email notifications are only sent once a day Your browser is out of date and potentially vulnerable to security risks.We recommend switching to one of the following browsers: and no internet when PIUI embarked on a historic-first investment that would help usher in improvements and economic growth in the Northern Marianas 50 years later It was something ‘new’ for the islands back then PIUI’s giant strides transformed the company into an industry leader This transformation will continue—sustaining success will be both critical and essential According to PIUI President & CEO Shirley Ann T critical in sustaining the growing needs of the business is embracing digital transformation While the benefit of technology is endless there is also the potential for risks that would require protection for insurance businesses “(W)hile the benefit of technology is great and infinite it can also expose us to potentially catastrophic financial risks that will require the benefit of ​insurance for adequate protection,” explains President & CEO Sablan “Technology has become the apparatus of change  It has changed the way insurance companies operate around the world  While some of us are slowly adjusting to these technological changes other more advanced parts of the world have already begun to fully utilize technology to streamline the process and improve customer experience From marketing to automation in facilitating insurance services the insurance industry has entered the era of digital transformation (T)here is no question that technology is our future: Many things have been automated and our marketing strategies have long begun to leverage the internet and (its) use (in our) communication such as social media and similar technology-driven platforms to get our message across,” President & CEO Sablan pointed out PIUI has already embraced technology use for its operation increasing operational efficiency and enhancing tasks through automation resulting in fast and seamless processing of customer needs and customer experience so adapting to change should be second nature Either we change with the times or get left behind—businesses must acclimate to this constantly evolving and tech-driven environment…,” the company leader pointed out “This world has become a platform for personal computers The (internet) has become a staple in every classroom investing heavily in technology to keep up with changing consumer preferences and habits,” adds President & CEO Sablan Sablan admits that not everything can be met and delivered through technology use; there are needs for services that require the use of traditional channels to stay in touch with customers and carry out certain processes still needs/requires manual intervention to maintain a personal connection we are mindful that a good portion of our population is still very traditional; they would rather continue conducting business in-person and transact with hard copies  We won’t abandon this set of clients and will maintain traditional service platforms to ensure their continued satisfaction and comfort,” explains President & CEO Sablan “There are still opportunities for our industry as a whole to fully utilize available technology to streamline processes and make it easier for everyone there are technological infrastructures that need to be in place and some of which are beyond our control as private companies But with collaboration with industry friends we should be able to address issues collectively.”