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TECHNOLOGY

The better way

This Florida's agency's use of technology enables it to respond no matter which way—or how hard—the wind blows

By Nancy Doucette

“Good-to-great companies think differently about the role of technology,” observes Jim Collins, author of the much-read, oft-quoted book on management strategy, Good to Great. He notes that great companies don’t adopt technology for its own sake. Instead, they use technology as a tool to accelerate momentum.

The management team at Gulfshore Insurance, Inc., (GSI) based in Naples, Florida, knows a lot about using technology to accelerate momentum. According to Jack Powers, vice president of sales and marketing for GSI, agency revenues grew by 16% last year. “That’s typical for us,” he says. “We do over $100 million in sales a year. We’re a sales centric organization and devoted to growth. We couldn’t be what we are without technology.”

But with sales, comes service and with some 10,000 clients—8,000 of which are personal lines clients—the agency is reliant on its agency management system. “This area of southwest Florida is growing rapidly,” Powers continues. “There are a lot of high-value homes in this area and we have a lot of clients to keep track of. So we have to be as efficient as possible. Our AMS Sagitta system helps us achieve that.”

In terms of revenue, though, 65% comes from commercial lines. Since the agency opened its doors in 1970, it has grown along with its neighbors. “We’ve been fortunate to get involved in larger, more sophisticated business accounts,” Powers explains. “Those accounts need strong risk management services and financial planning assistance. We continually evolve to meet the needs of our expanding client base.” As a result, GSI’s commercial clients are loyal. This is evidenced by a 96% retention rate.

As part of that evolution, Gulfshore Risk Solutions was established as part of the commercial lines division to assist businesses seeking alternative risk solutions and loss control. Powers says that Sagitta helps Dennis Slabaugh, the head of that division, review account histories and determine the best sources for insurance for individual clients. Additionally, Slabaugh uses Sagitta’s capabilities for claims reviews, especially for workers comp.

In some cases, evolution requires GSI to adopt an “if you can’t beat ’em, join ’em” philosophy, Powers says. “Florida probably leads the nation in professional employer organizations (PEOs). We did battle with them for a number of years—we saw them as the competition. But eventually we decided to start a Human Capital Solutions division. We now represent seven or eight PEO organizations for large businesses that like that model, or smaller ones with three or four people.”

In other instances, a more traditional approach to employee benefits suits the client’s needs. Among the services available through Gulfshore’s Financial Services department are group life/health insurance products for businesses as well as long term care, term life, and annuities. Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Michelle Gleeson explains that both the Human Capital Solutions division and the Financial Services department depend on the AMS Benefits management system to store prospect, client, carrier, and staff data. She notes that there is a separate support staff for the Financial Services department. However, the information that’s in the AMS Benefits database synchronizes with Sagitta so a complete client picture is available should it be necessary to find out who the proper service person is to send a client inquiry to.

“Since we began using the AMS Benefits solution just over a year ago, we’re able to manage the information more effectively and, therefore, serve our financial services clients much better,” Gleeson says.

“Our sales folks are more confident about going after larger accounts since we implemented the AMS Benefits solution,” says Powers. “There’s a huge amount of service involved on a benefits package for a company with a lot of employees. There’s often more turnover so making census changes is easier with this solution in place. It’s a better way of tracking activities so we can be on top of customer service issues.”

GSI is indeed committed to finding that “better way” of conducting business, Gleeson notes, and frequently that better way is dependent upon using technology. The agency has been scanning since 1996, she reports. In 2005, the agency added a bar code system that works in conjunction with the scanning program. Now, all service staff create their own bar code pages, and scanned documents are automatically directed into the folders in which they belong. “All service staff members have all-in-one units (printer, fax, scanner) on their desks,” she explains. “The desktop units are used for single-sheet scan needs. For the high volume scanning jobs of bar coded material, GSI has three high-speed, all-in-one units in the building.

“We are paperless within the day,” Gleeson continues. “We keep the paper documents for 90 days and then shred them.”

About 4% of GSI’s budget is earmarked for technology. Powers explains that hardware upgrades are “strategically initiated based on agency growth. Upgrades are based on a needs analysis which is reviewed at regular operational management meetings.”

Gleeson adds: “The management team realizes that getting the right tools for employees is one of the best things we can do. And if the staff feels that we’re making investments that are going to make their jobs a bit easier every day, that’s a good message that we’re sending.”

Let’s get back to Good to Great for a moment. Author Collins amends the adage “People are your most important asset.” From his perspective, the right people are an organization’s most important asset.

Gleeson concurs. Naples received the brunt of Hurricane Wilma—a record-setting Category 3 storm that hit in October 2005. But GSI didn’t miss a beat. “Not only was our technology up and running 24 hours after Wilma hit, but 85% of our people were here and ready to work. Some staff arrived as early as 7 a.m. It’s not only having the right tools but having the right staff,” she says.

One of the technology solutions that was working behind the scenes was CSR24. GSI has been using CSR24 for about five years. At the close of business each day an automated process that is part of CSR24 takes a copy of all GSI’s client and policy data which it then stores at its hosted site. Among the services available, CSR24 provides 24/7 Web-based policy access and after-hours call support. “Prior to leaving the building once a hurricane warning has been issued, we have our telephone service provider forward our phones to CSR24,” Gleeson explains. Following Wilma, the telephone service provider was unable to restore the telephone function right away so calls continued to go to CSR24 while the staff was in the lobby of GSI’s building taking claims. A permanent electronic record of each contact was e-mailed immediately to the agency.

As part of the agency’s disaster recovery plan, GSI has a contract with a firm that guarantees them a generator. “It’s large enough that it needs to be pulled on a trailer,” Powers explains. GSI had the first floor of its building wired a couple of years ago to accommodate the generator. Gleeson says that once the hurricane warning is issued, they call the electrical contractor with whom GSI has a relationship to arrange to have the generator hooked up once the storm has passed. After Wilma, GSI was running on the generator for about five days. And, should the water supply be shut off, GSI also has a contract with a Port-O-John company. Fortunately, GSI didn’t lose its water supply after Wilma.

Gleeson recalls that in 2004, Hurricane Charley went north of the Naples area. That gave GSI a chance to do a test run of its disaster plan, she says. In 2005, GSI had prepared for several other hurricanes but Wilma “really put us to the test. And while we were satisfied with how the disaster plan worked, we have configured the electricity so the second story of our building can be on the generator as well. After Wilma, we could use only the first floor of our building. By having our entire office space wired to be on the generator, we’ll be even better equipped to serve our clients.” *

Author’s note: Gulfshore Insurance received the Automation Excellence Award at the 2006 AMS Users’ Group National Conference. The award celebrates innovative ideas that enhance agency efficiency, profitability, and streamlined operations. In presenting the award, AMSUG’s then-President Jerry Fox noted: “By taking advantage of the technology and tools we have available, Gulfshore has gone from good to great. Their continued commitment to automation has paid off for them in a big way—particularly this year.”

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