Instead of each person wearing many hats, the Allen Insurance Group allows each employee to specialize in his/her area of strength. Back row, from left: Marion Allen, Tricia Allen-Adams and Gary Allen. Front row, from left: Eddie Moreland and Denny Wilson.
"To cultivate kindness is a valuable part of the business of life."
--Samuel Johnson (1709-1784)
In 1952, the first year that a presidential campaign was ever broadcast on television, Dwight Eisenhower was elected president. The Korean conflict was in full force; the U.S. detonated the world's first hydrogen bomb; and Dr. Jonas Salk developed the polio vaccine. The Yankees beat the Dodgers in the World Series. Norman Vincent Peale first published The Power of Positive Thinking, and seeds were sown that would one day grow to be The Allen Insurance Group.
Actually, Marion Allen started Allen Insurance & Realty Company, in Fort Valley, Georgia, specializing in both insurance and real estate sales. At that time, Marion was involved in a number of other enterprises as well, including being a peach grower, a home builder and an auctioneer. In 1954, Marion was elected mayor of Fort Valley. However, since he was only 24 years old, he could not legally serve as the mayor until he turned 25; so, an attorney was appointed to serve from the time he won the election in March until his 25th birthday in October.
By the 1960s, Marion had a wife and two small children at home, and the insurance agency had prospered and become Marion's main focus. In 1961, long before "working moms" were fashionable, Marion's wife, Jeanette, joined the Marion A. Allen, Inc. of Georgia Agency to allow Marion to go on the road to pursue sales for the agency.
"Back in those days you had to grow up fast," says Marion. "I was out of school and an ex-service man. I needed to make a success of my life...back then, you just didn't go back to daddy," he muses.
The first big plant that took root, which Marion actually credits with really landing him in the insurance business, was in trucking or, more specifically, in livestock hauling. Says Marion, "My uncle had a bunch of big trucks and he asked me to come look at the insurance...this was a big account." Marion managed to get through it and wrote the account. His uncle was so impressed that he called all the livestock haulers in the Southeast. "We were in the insurance business big time," laughs Marion. "Nowadays, there are a lot of firms that call themselves 'transportation specialists.' We were 'transportation specialists' long before anyone had heard that term."
By 1965 there was a need for an office in southern Georgia, and in 1966 they added a location in Florida. The seedlings were standing firm and the root system was growing deep for what would one day be known as the Allen Insurance Group. The Allen Insurance Group today includes a total of six offices across Southeast Georgia and one in Florida.
But how did they grow so big? Some people have dreams of greatness that never are achieved. According to Marion, "One policy we have always had is to have the highest integrity. Because of that, we get lots of referrals." Also, Marion humbly attributes his success to the contributions of others. According to Marion, "You don't make anything yourself; alone, you're nothing. It's the people who are around you who make you. You choose the right people who stay knowledgeable and they serve the client. There's no secret to it." Marion has used the "team" approach to build his company, relying on good partnerships with agencies and with companies along with recruiting an excellent in-house staff. That's not to say, according to Marion, that he hasn't made his share of mistakes. He says that he has made bad hiring decisions but, "if you make a mistake, you correct it and you move on."
Marion has given notice to the agency that he is ready to slow down a bit...he is working on getting a continuation plan finalized. Says Marion, "I don't want to get out completely...I want to be on the board and help young producers, but I have a lot of other things to do."
The agency is in capable hands with the next generation of Allens. Remember those babies born in the late '50s and early '60s? Gary and Tricia Allen (now Tricia Allen-Adams) are grown now and already have many years of experience working in the agency. Both joined the family business after college and have been instrumental in determining the direction, vision and the continuation of the company.
Gary was elected president of Marion A. Allen, Inc. of Georgia in 1988. Along with being an officer and overall business manager of all of the family-owned Allen companies, he has become proficient at computer programming, hardware and software assessment, installation and maintenance. Gary focuses his effort on computer technology that can enhance customer service efforts and thereby make employees more efficient and better able to serve clients. Gary also has overcome tremendous personal adversity, surviving a small aircraft crash from which he was not expected to live. According to Denny Wilson, senior vice president, Gary has saved the agency hundreds of thousands of dollars in computer programming expense through his knowledge and creativity. Since many of their clients use monthly reporting policies, Gary has automated the entire process. Says Denny; "Gary has automated many areas that our vendors aren't automating. Because of Gary's expertise, we have customized certificates and many line item programs embedded in our system." All of these enhancements contribute greatly to providing excellent customer service to their clients.
Tricia Allen-Adams has worked in every department of the Allen agency. This has given her a unique, broad perspective. Tricia works closely with many of their companies in structuring programs to fit the niches they select. Tricia is a big advocate of niche marketing; but rather than choose the niches that the companies have already developed, Tricia likes to find under-served markets and create new programs. "We have aligned ourselves with the companies that we felt were the strongest for our growth and have worked with the underwriters and the executives of those companies to develop new niches to go after. We are expanding the producer force for those programs so they won't just be out on the street calling on anything; they'll be 'niching' the programs that we decide to market."
Denny Wilson joined the company in 1993 as senior vice president and is responsible for recruitment, production and marketing enhancements, program development and the expansion of the Marion A. Allen, Inc. of Georgia branch offices, while continuing and maintaining his own book of business. Denny also is focused on providing superior service to insureds. Denny pointed out that all employees are licensed so that they possess a significant amount of knowledge to bring to the job on a daily basis. Then, when developing a niche market, each employee working in that market is given specific training so that he/she is an expert in that field.
Marion Allen, seated, has announced he's ready to "slow down a bit" and focus on helping young producers. Gary Allen, standing, was elected president of Marion A. Allen, Inc. of Georgia in 1988.
In the program business there is a high level of service and knowledge, from the account manager to loss control to the claims manager. There are multiple levels of servicing, and on each level there is expertise and knowledge. Each area is departmentalized so that there is a single focus. The trucking department deals with trucks. The mobile home department deals with mobile homes. There's no commingling of talent. "Our employees concentrate in one area and do that job better than anyone else in the field," Wilson says.
Another successful strategy has been the partnering with existing agencies. "We have an agency partnership strategy and we try to also leverage our company relationships," says Tricia.
Denny adds that an example of this kind of partnership is in Gainesville Georgia, where Wendell Bagwell specializes in three programs: agricultural businesses, LP gas distributorships and petroleum jobbers. Bagwell is able to round out his business using programs offered by the Allen Insurance Group. Another agency specializes in workers compensation while still another specializes in contractors. Most of the partner agencies are well-established firms which retain the principals in the branch agencies while Allen Insurance Group maintains controlling interest.
Members of the Allen Insurance Group team include (from left) Denny Wilson, senior vice president; Gary Allen, president; and Tricia Allen-Adams, senior underwriting manager and agency treasurer.
When looking to structure new programs, current company relationships are leveraged. "We always attempt to use our current company relationships with companies like Old Republic, Fireman's Fund, American Southern, Atlantic Mutual, Capitol City and CNI to build new programs around," Tricia says.
Tricia also was responsible for obtaining an agency contract with the Allstate Insurance Company to handle the personal lines needs of the agency's existing commercial customers. The personal lines operation writes business in Georgia only while the commercial lines division writes in 14 states.
The Allen Insurance Group has a number of interesting programs in many diverse areas. For General Electric, they provide contingent exposure liability coverage for most of the modular units manufactured by GE Capital Modular. The agency also structured coverage for Transport International Pool (TIP) which leases trailers and needed property damage coverage as part of the lease. TIP has approximately 68,000 leases, so it's a substantial contract. "We try to be on the upper level of the marketing chain," according to Denny. "Brokers come to us looking for programs and we have in-house producers as well."
Health insurance
Approximately 10 years ago, the agency formed a third-party administrator, Allen Medical Claims Administrators, Inc. (AMCA). AMCA provides claims administration services for large, self-insured major medical plans, mostly based on ERISA health insurance programs. AMCA covers approximately 10,000 employee lives, which represents over $25 million in annual paid claims.
In addition to self-insured programs, AMCA offers a fully-insured major medical plan underwritten by Gerber Life Insurance, partnered in a joint venture with a local hospital, Central Georgia Health System, and its affiliated preferred provider network, Secure Health Plan. This program is sold primarily to small employers in central Georgia that are located within the 30-county service area for the provider network.
Workers compensation
Another division of AMCA is Innovative Claims Management, Inc., which provides large self-insured accounts with workers compensation claims administration services. This approach involves a relationship between the client employer, the injured employee and the medical provider. ICM clients represent over 4,000 employees and in excess of $2 million in standard premium.
ICM also provides fully-insured workers comp programs using Reliance National and Fireman's Fund. The Fireman's Fund program is a joint venture established with Georgia Motor Trucking Association (GMTA) Insurance Management, Inc. and works toward solving the problems of the GMTA members and associates.
Employer organizations
Within the past 18 months, the agency has formed its own professional employer organization (PEO), Employ American, Inc. It is licensed in the state of Florida to provide a "personal touch" approach in providing the small employer with an alternative to traditional payroll, workers compensation and benefits programs.
The agency also makes effective use of a sales center. Tricia says that the sales center makes calls and sets appointments for sales reps to meet with new customers, thereby maximizing efficiency of the more than 25 producers spread throughout the seven offices.
And they haven't overlooked the use of the Internet and the need for quality communication. From the sales center, weekly faxes and e-mails go out discussing new or pending legislation, EPLI concerns, ERISA concerns, etc. Eventually they would like to offer more services, such as the ability to access accounts online and to obtain certificates of insurance on line. The agency has its own Internet Web site at http://www.allenins.com.
At the Web site there is a new program for custom brokers and freight forwarders to use when exporting cargo across the world. Working with programs offered by E.W. Blanch and Squire Blanch, those utilizing the program can input the information online and rates can be determined immediately. The agency has joined the association for freight forwarders and recently sent producer Mike Miller to Marine school at the NY Port of Authority. All of those involved in the agency's affinity group marketing readily agree that understanding any particular affinity group is the key to success.
While Marion Allen may be looking to slow down a bit and pass more of the responsibility on for the day-to-day agency activities, the Allen Insurance Group has no plans to slow down. With Tricia, Gary and Denny looking into the future, the agency is being well tended and nurtured for the next generation. Building on the success of its founder and mentor, Marion A. Allen, the Allen Insurance Group plans to continue to build the company.
Says Denny, "We hope to continue that 'tradition of excellence' by building the same long-term relationships that Marion has. We have made a commitment to expanding our existing staff with sales professionals of the highest integrity. We believe the foundations of a full training program and a long-term commitment to success will cement the continued success and growth of our agency." *
©COPYRIGHT: The Rough Notes Magazine, 1998