Kristen Young represents the third generation of her family to work in the agency.
Kristen Young represents the third generation of her family to work in the agency.
Growing up in an insurance family, you're likely to take one of two radically different courses when it comes to choosing a career: You follow your parents' footsteps into the family agency, build a successful career, and carry on the proud tradition; or you resolve to become a stunt pilot, an organic farmer, an astrophysicist--in other words, you decide to do virtually anything except selling insurance to earn your living.
For Kristen Young, the choices weren't quite so dramatically divergent--but although she's now the third generation of her family to work in the agency her grandfather established, she frankly admits that insurance wasn't her #1 career choice. "When I was younger, I told my grandfather I'd never sell insurance," Young says. "He just laughed." She had worked at Young & Perry during the summers of her high school and college years, handling data entry, phones, mail, and other office tasks--but when she graduated from Rider University in New Jersey in 1992 with a degree in journalism and public relations, she had her sights firmly fixed on a newspaper career. After encountering difficulty in penetrating that job market, she took stock of her situation and decided to put her years of insurance agency experience to work by joining Young & Perry.
Founded by Kristen's grandfather more than 50 years ago in Lebanon, New Jersey, the W.R. Young Agency became Young & Perry in 1975 when Kristen's father, Bill, merged his agency with the Perry Agency of North Plainfield. Young & Perry is an all-lines agency that over the years has grown both by building volume internally and by acquiring other local agencies. The agency is located in Bridgewater, New Jersey, in the north central part of the state, and employs 15 people. Total premium volume is $9.6 million, of which $5.8 million is commercial business and $3.8 million is personal lines; the agency also offers a full range of life and health insurance products. Two successful niches for Young & Perry are construction risks and the Emergency Services Insurance Program for emergency medical services (EMS) providers offered by McNeil & Co. in Cortland, New York, for which Young & Perry is the exclusive broker in New Jersey.
Carving out a niche
When she joined the agency in 1992, Young already had a clear idea of the role she wanted to play. "I knew I didn't want to do service work--just sales," she says. "I created my own job as an in-house producer of personal lines." She now serves as manager of the agency's Family and Business Division, which offers both personal lines and small commercial coverages with premiums of up to $10,000 or $15,000. By structuring the unit this way, Young explains, the agency is able to meet all the insurance and service needs of its personal and small commercial clients in one department staffed by people who are experienced in this market. Young reports to her father, Bill, but for the most part she operates independently, setting her own schedule and appointments. Much of her work is done by phone and fax, and she's supported by a staff of three CSRs.
When it comes to auto insurance, the very mention of New Jersey is enough to make any agent groan. With its heavily regulated rates, restricted markets, and packed residual facility, the Garden State is no bed of roses for either vehicle owners or their agents. Young finds this segment of her business both challenging and frustrating. With its complex system of tier rating and a new "basic policy" that offers no bodily injury or uninsured/ underinsured motorists coverage, just $5,000 for property damage, and $15,000 for personal injury protection, Young says, New Jersey continues to be a difficult place to write personal auto. On a more optimistic note, she observes, "Auto insurance is becoming profitable again. Companies are starting to say they want business. We formed a partnership with one company with which we're interfaced, and we got immediate binding authority." In most states, that might not sound like a big deal--but to a veteran of New Jersey's often slippery playing field, it's a noteworthy accomplishment.
As manager of the agency's Family and Business division, Kristen Young depends heavily on technology, so it's no surprise that she has assumed leadership roles in the AMS Users' Group, both on a local and a national level.
"The boss's daughter"
In many situations, being "the boss's daughter" is not an unmixed delight. Co-workers may be wary, resentful, or overly deferential, fearing to speak and act forthrightly lest the penalty be the loss of a job. The son or daughter may feel ostracized, isolated, and frustrated--and the results can be unhappy for all concerned. Fortunately, the scenario at Young & Perry is far brighter. With a staff of just 15, the agency atmosphere is friendly and convivial, with no signs of an "us vs. them" mentality between family and non-family staffers. With her father at the helm and her mother in charge of accounting, Young says, her own entry into the agency was treated as simply a matter of course. What's more, she adds, Chris Perry, the son of Lee Perry, her father's partner, manages the agency's EMS program; and Chris's wife, Marilyn, is a personal lines CSR.
Commitment to automation
With property/casualty premium volume of close to $10 million, it's worth asking how Young & Perry manages this business with a staff of just 15 people. Kristen Young's answer is swift and simple: "automation." As a long-time user of the AMS system, she says, Young & Perry is known as a leader in using automation to streamline its operations. "We were one of the first agencies in New Jersey to adopt transactional filing," Young observes. "We started with personal lines about eight years ago, then went into our commercial files. T-filing has revolutionized the way we work--and it gives us much more time for service." Then a college student, Young did a lot of the T-filing conversion herself, so she knows firsthand just how big a role it plays in helping the agency achieve efficiencies that go right to the bottom line. "We couldn't operate without it," she declares. "Just getting rid of all that paper was one of the most important steps we've ever taken." The agency also is strongly committed to agency-company interface, Young notes. "Our position is simple: If a company wants to do business with us, it must be capable of full interface."
Because automation plays such a strong role in Young & Perry's operations overall, and in her job in particular, Young became active in the AMS Users' Group several years ago and is currently serving as president of the Garden State AMS Users' Mini-Group. The group focuses on issues involving agency automation on both the local and national levels; its motto is "Agents Sharing Insurance Computer Knowledge." Young has acted as a speaker and presenter for several AMS Mini-Group meetings in New Jersey and Pennsylvania; she also has been active in the organization's National and Leadership Conferences for the past three years. Most recently, she was named a Mini Group vice president at the National AMS Conference in San Antonio. Of her activities in the users' group, Young says, "I love being involved. It gives me a chance to help others deal with the issues we've faced." The Garden State group is growing rapidly, she observes: "Sixty-five agencies joined last year."
PIA Young Agents
Another group in which Young is involved and active is the New Jersey Young Insurance Professionals, an organization for producers age 40 and under who belong to the Professional Insurance Agents. "A friend whose father was in the PIA with my father invited me to a meeting of the Young Insurance Professionals," Young says. "I went--and I was nominated for a seat on the board of directors. After an interview, I was elected to the board." The group meets once a month, and Young finds the meetings an excellent way to network, make contacts, and talk to company representatives. "I absolutely love it," she says enthusiastically. "I really like having the chance to talk insurance with other people my age." The 12-member YIP board meets on the same day as the regular PIA meeting, and there's a reception after each meeting, Young observes. "Company people are at the reception also and this gives me an opportunity to talk to them about problems and find new markets." Young also serves on the YIP's special events and member relations committees.
Looking to the future
What's ahead for Kristen Young, who represents the third generation of her family to be involved in Young & Perry? "Selling personal lines is a great way for a young agent to get started," she says, "but I don't think I want to do it full time forever. In the future I'd like to get more involved in marketing--analyzing sales, establishing goals--and using automation to help me do that." Looking at her insurance experience thus far, she says, "Everyone I've met is great and is dedicated to making insurance easier to deal with. With that kind of commitment, we can work together to make things happen." *
©COPYRIGHT: The Rough Notes Magazine, 1999