MARKETING
Midlands Management provides a plethora of insurance
and risk management services
By Dennis Pillsbury
Charles C. Caldwell, Chief Executive Officer, Midlands Management Corp.
When Charlie Caldwell founded Midlands Management Corp. in Oklahoma City in 1990, he tried to focus on niche program business and then "provide all the support elements for those programs," he remembers. The company CEO and founder continues by pointing out that those elements included "underwriting, administration, claims, loss control and so on--bundled or unbundled. We started out with four people. We now have about 160."
Janna Preston, senior excess workers comp underwriter and one of the original four, says: "It's been very interesting to look back over 13 years. Charlie would tell people that we started out without a pencil, working out of the trunks of our cars. I'd been working with Charlie for 11 years before he started Midlands. I'd been a clerk, and then a secretary and went with Charlie on client meetings and learned about the business. Charlie is a wonderful teacher. I learned so much that I was able to move into underwriting."
Midlands is a company that has evolved along the lines of the needs of its clients. It started out as a managing general agency providing complete programs to independent agents "in an environment where quality service was lacking and industry standards had continued to drop," Charlie points out. In order to fill gaps in service, the company developed an expertise in claims administration and adjusting.
In 1994, Midlands Claim Admini-strators, Inc., was formed to provide such services to insurance companies and self-insured corporations.
This was followed by the formation in 1997 of American Agency System, Inc. (AAS), to promote and service workers compensation products. In 2000, accident and health insurance was added to American Agency's purview.
Mark Davis, President, Midlands Claim Administrators, Inc.
In 1998, the expertise that Midlands had developed in the workers comp field led to the creation of Midlands Injury Management, Inc., to oversee both field and telephonic case management services. The company employs licensed registered nurses with a minimum of three years of clinical experience in trauma and orthopedic care.
In 2002, Midlands Intermediaries, Inc., located in Easton, Pennsylvania, was created to handle the placement of reinsurance.
Programs fueled the growth
The holistic approach to its programs was the key to Midlands' growth and diversification. Every program is complete--including claims administration, loss control, pricing and quoting, reinsurance placement and so on--before Midlands brings it to market. Sheryl Case, vice president-program administration, makes certain that "all steps are in place for a program to start. I liaison with the underwriters, the reinsurance placement broker, IT, claims, and loss control to make certain everyone has the tools to do their job. And these days, that includes online quoting."
From left: Janna Preston, Senior Excess Workers' Compensation Underwriter; Donald W. Glaspey, Executive Vice President of Marketing; and Sheryl Case, Vice President/Program Administrator.
Sheryl notes that Midlands has several different types of programs, including excess workers comp, homebuilders liability, independent contractors occupational accident, small boatowners, umbrella, and a small business package. "We customize each program because each one requires unique service and rating. Customizing enables us to deliver a quality product to the insureds and to our customers--the independent agents. All our marketing is done through independents agents, and we will do what it takes to get a deal done. I've been here 10 years," Sheryl concludes, "and find that Midlands really is a problem solver in the industry. We are usually able to help those agents who have had difficulty finding coverage. And we work both with established agencies and new agencies."
Don Glaspey, executive vice president-marketing, adds: "We also look for ideas for programs from our retailers. We work very closely with our agents to tell them about the products we offer and to provide them with new programs that they may need. I joined the company in 1998 after retiring from a large retail agency that I'd worked with for close to 35 years. I knew and had worked with Charlie for many years. After I retired, he called and asked me if I would join Midlands and bring the workers compensation division (American Agency System) up from scratch. We've had a great run with that. Charlie believes in bringing in quality people who are best able to do the job. We were able to hire some of the best underwriters, the best claims people, the best loss control and risk management people, and the best injury management people."
Once AASI was up and rolling, Don moved to Midlands Management Corp. with responsibility to "get the word out to independent agents. Midlands is one of the industry's best kept secrets," Don maintains. "Our people do a very professional job. They have many years of experience and know the business inside and out. It's really amazing that Charlie has built such a terrific team." Don continues by pointing out that the company's success is made clear by the fact that it was in the Metro
50 for five consecutive years. "Every year, the Metro 50 group selects the top 50 fastest growing companies in the area. These companies are from all industries and we've managed
to be there during a soft market. That's amazing for a general
agency operation."
Charles Caldwell and Chief Financial Officer Dennis J. Ottis (left) with a Lloyd's of London "box" at the Oklahoma City office.
Perhaps the most amazing story arising out of the Midlands mélange is Midlands Claim Administrators. "While we are pleased to contribute to the success of Midland's Programs, more than 80% of our business is non-Midlands Management related," Mark Davis, president of Midlands Claim Administrators, points out. "We work for the risk takers and have the trust of the risk takers," he adds. "When Midlands Claim Administrators was established in 1994, it was set up as an autonomous unit."
Mark delineates the three main components that account for Midlands Claim Administrators' rapid growth. "Each component represents an important niche where we can provide services that are often difficult to obtain elsewhere."
The first component is property/casualty claim administration. "We deal primarily with casualty, with a focus on heavily litigated niche business," Mark says. These include general liability, construction, pest control and catastrophic workers comp. The company also handles major property programs for various commercial and residential insurers. "But we also manage standard workers comp, marine, commercial auto, medical malpractice, etc. We really provide the full gamut of claim administration services. Our expertise in heavily litigated areas certainly helps to set us apart, but what really makes the difference is our experience," Mark continues. "Our average claim examiner has more than 25 years of experience."
The second component is the audit division, which also offers a unique level of expertise. "We have commuted and audited more than 1,000 reinsurance contracts," Mark says. "We've dealt with contracts in nearly every jurisdiction. We've audited reinsurers for retrocessionaires. We've done due diligence studies. We often provide expert testimony. We have probably done more commutations than anyone else in the business. We've also audited most major TPAs." He continues by noting that "the expertise in this field came out of our program business. This is part of what we utilize to put programs together. The reinsurance piece is critical, as is litigation management. It's been our philosophy that we need to know intimately every aspect of any program we develop. Just as you wouldn't want to be locked in with a mechanic that won't operate on his own car, we don't think it's appropriate to offer a program when you don't understand all aspects of the coverage and service requirements."
The third component is loss adjusting. "We also run the gamut here from traditional commercial auto to adjusting claims in heavy casualty and property," Mark says. "We've dealt with a number of professional athlete covers and handled claims that involved career-ending injuries. We also manage a lot of catastrophic losses in the personal accident arena." Clients for these services include both domestic and London companies.
"We're really in the catastrophic claims business," Mark concludes. "That is the area where we really can provide significant value-added to our customers."
"The four of us who started Midlands together were in the general agency business and decided it was time to do our own thing," Charlie says. "We're all still together and we've added a lot of additional quality people to the fold. This company was started by people who had the knowledge, ability and guts to strike out on their own. We have continued to bring in people with those qualities.
"We are customer driven and provide quality service to our independent agent customers. The specialty products and support that we offer are unparalleled. Very few others can do what we do. There are many quality general agents out there, but they don't have the support and infrastructure that we can offer," he concludes. *
For more information:
Midlands Management Corp.
Web site: www.midlandsmgt.com