THE CHANGING FACE OF THE INDEPENDENT AGENT
Charlotte Hicks' energy and enthusiasm for
work and giving is year 'round
By Elaine Tolen
Charlotte S. Hicks, CPA, CIC, AAI, is senior vice president of the Glasgow Hicks Company in Wilmington, North Carolina. The agency bought and renovated this office building which is located on the city's historic Front Street.
At this time of the year, there's a lot of talk about giving--to family, friends, community, charities. But talk is cheap. Taking the time to put talk into action gives it worth, and time is a precious and expensive commodity. No matter what month of the year, though, it's always the season of giving for Charlotte S. Hicks, CPA, CIC, AAI.
Managing the Glasgow Hicks Company in Wilmington, North Carolina, is enough responsibility to fill Charlotte's week. Add community, church and industry work and you have a pace that only the Energizer Bunny could keep up with. Charlotte's accomplishments were recognized earlier this year when IIANC (Independent Insurance Agents of North Carolina) named her Young Agent of the Year for 2001.
Charlotte is the third generation to lead the agency that bears her grandfather's name. Glasgow Hicks founded the company in 1924. Charlotte's father, John Hicks, attended the United States Naval Academy and served in the U.S. Navy before joining the agency in 1960. Having grown up around the insurance industry, Charlotte gained practical experience during high school and college by working in the agency.
In the harbor behind Charlotte is the WWII battleship USS North Carolina, which is now a tourist attraction in Wilmington.
After graduating in 1984 with a degree in economics from the University of North Carolina, Charlotte went to work with Hanover Excess and Surplus, an MGA focusing on hard-to-place risks. Her father and uncle began this company in 1970, anticipating the growth in the surplus lines industry. After working for Hanover for a year, Charlotte had an opportunity to enter the Systems Engineer Development (SED) program at Electronic Data Systems (EDS) in Dallas, Texas.
Upon completion of the SED program, Charlotte moved to Detroit to work on a new CAD-CAM system for General Motors (GM). She then moved back to Dallas to write the initial inventory and plant systems for GM's new Saturn Corporation. After that, she worked on a special project that involved establishing an automated security system that controlled access to the EDS corporate systems such as wire transfers, payroll and human resources. During that time, she earned a master's degree in management science (accounting) as well as the CPA designation. Charlotte then moved to the corporate tax department where she spent seven years handling the corporation's state, federal and international tax planning and compliance.
In 1996, John Hicks began to consider both his retirement and the future of the family agency. "It was either 'pass it on or sell it,'" Charlotte recalls, "so I decided to move back and join the agency.
"You hear a lot about the problems between generations when a younger person takes over, but that's not the case here," she continues. "This has been a really good arrangement." While John still handles certain aspects of the business, like high-end quotes, Charlotte is responsible for day-to-day operations and management of the agency.
As Charlotte looks to continue Glasgow Hicks' history of success, her father has been receptive when she has new ideas about doing business. One area in which she has introduced some new modes of operation is "technology, which is changing the way we do things--in this agency and in the industry," she says. "It can be difficult to come into an established agency like ours and change traditions."
Not all traditions must be changed, however. In fact, the agency preserved the past by purchasing and renovating an historic building in 1980. According to Charlotte, the city of Wilmington was trying to revitalize the historic Front Street area and, in conjunction with HUD, offered financial incentives to companies that would join the process. Until then, Glasgow Hicks Company had been renting space in a nearby office building. Glasgow Hicks Company uses the first floor of the Front Street building, renting out the remainder of the building. Charlotte says this provides additional revenue while allowing for future physical growth.
Being a 77-year-old insurance agency in a metropolitan area of 100,000 means that the Glasgow Hicks Company is well known in the community. Like her grandfather and father, Charlotte is active in the community, and the family is deeply rooted in Wilmington. Marketing the agency has not been much of a task.
However, a new marketing challenge has arisen in the last few years. Charlotte says that "there has been a huge influx of retirees--a large portion of the area's 30% growth rate is from them. We have to get our name out to these newcomers ... We stay highly visible in the community and also do some marketing, like radio ads. We also do a lot of one-on-one contact because that's still how we're going to get a lot of our business. Somebody knows somebody, who knows somebody who recommends our agency.
"I tell my employees: 'We'll grow the business by being the best agency, by dealing honestly and giving good service.' We're not going to trick people into getting their business," Charlotte says.
The retirement industry also draws into the area new businesses that aren't familiar with Glasgow Hicks Company. Charlotte is active in several business associations as well as the Chamber of Commerce. She says being involved in the Chamber has been helpful in getting to know the new businesses.
One of Charlotte's business associations is the Wilmington Regional Association of Realtors. She has spoken at Realtor association meetings and has served as an insurance industry liaison to the association. While Realtors and insurance professionals don't usually walk arm in arm, Charlotte acknowledges, they have worked well together in determining needs at the state capital and in Washington, D.C. "It's more effective if we can go in agreement before the legislature," she explains. Communicating with Realtors has helped each group have more of an understanding of the other profession, Charlotte says, "and this has helped avoid some problems."
Charlotte is also a member of the Wilmington Association of Independent Insurance Agents, Society of CIC/Academy of Producer Insurance Studies, Women's Leadership Forum, and the National Society of Agents for Consumer Education, as well as local, state and national CPA professional associations.
Enduring the elements
The 12-employee Glasgow Hicks Company has a 50/50 mix of personal and commercial business. "We have a broad cross-section of accounts," explains Charlotte. "You really have to look at what to do to keep the company stable ... to have business that isn't dependent on the weather and won't be critically affected by storms."
Charlotte, with her father John Hicks, represent the second and third generations to lead the Glasgow Hicks Company, which was founded in 1924 by John's father, Glasgow Hicks.
Charlotte says this because hurricanes and related weather dominate the insurance industry in eastern North Carolina--particularly in coastal areas like Wilmington. The last several years have been especially difficult; five hurricanes have hit the southeast North Carolina coast in the last six years, causing $2.7 billion of insured property damages in the state. That total doesn't include damages from lesser storms that pound the coast annually.
In 1996, Hurricane Bertha hit the southeastern North Carolina coast in July, followed by Fran in September. According to one report, "Fran was the worst recorded natural economic disaster ever to occur in North Carolina." One lesson from Fran (estimated $1.3 billion of insured property damage in North Carolina), says Charlotte, "is that people got more intelligent about protecting their property."
Insurance agents have also learned some lessons from the last few years of severe weather, says Charlotte. "Agents understand more that they are responsible to make sure that people understand their coverage. We need to sit down and explain all the coverages." Insureds assumed they had certain types of coverage, such as flood insurance, and found out too late that they did not.
Charlotte says that Hurricane Bonnie (August 1998) did less damage, although there was an estimated $240 million of insured property damage in North Carolina. Hurricane Dennis occurred August 30-September 5, 1999, followed less than two weeks later by Floyd. "One of the big problems with Floyd was the flooding," she explains. "Even areas that weren't in the 500-year floodplain were flooding." She says that the Wilmington area got 20 inches of rain in a 24-hour period.
"Here the effects have been severe. Lots of property/casualty insurers have pulled out of North Carolina," Charlotte explains. "A lot of them won't write coverage for areas east of I-95 or along the coast. Some of the markets have dried up. The coastal exposure has created a greater reliance on the excess and surplus lines industry. We spend much more time shopping for property coverage now," she says.
Charlotte points to the WWII battleship USS North Carolina--now a tourist attraction in Wilmington. The state of North Carolina had a difficult time finding coverage for the historic vessel and its other coastal property, she says. "It was even hard for the UNCW (University of North Carolina at Wilmington) president to obtain coverage on a house he was buying. When the university president can't get coverage, that gets the government's attention."
To address the lack of available insurance in the area, the IIANC formed a Coastal Markets Task Force in 2000. Charlotte is a member of the task force. One of the many challenges of being on the task force, she says, is that "you come up with a plan, then the environment changes."
Since 1969, the North Carolina Joint Underwriting Association (NCJUA) and North Carolina Insurance Underwriting Association (NCIUA) have provided the FAIR (Fair Access to Insurance Requirements) Plan and Beach Plan, which write insurance that most companies won't. The FAIR Plan covers the entire state excpet those barrier islands adjacent to the Atlantic Ocean. The Beach Plan originally covered only the barrier islands, but in 1998 was expanded to cover 18 coastal counties for windstorm and hail damage. Charlotte says the Beach Plan has grown substantially as a result of the last decade's hurricanes.
In addition to the tremendous influence that weather has on North Carolina, Charlotte points out that the September 11 terrorist attacks have become a factor in the insurance equation. "It makes you realize how inter-related events around the world are and the globalization that exists," she says. "Since September 11, the reinsurance market has changed. Insurers aren't willing to take as many risks as before."
Community involvement
Despite the weather's continual and unique challenges to business, Charlotte carves out time for several community organizations. Rotary Club is one of those, in which she has been active in fund-raising efforts for such needs as domestic violence victims, service dogs for the blind and youth soccer fields.
Charlotte's "give it all you've got" mindset extends to several charities in which she is involved. Her favorite is the Yahweh Center for abused and neglected children. According to Charlotte, these children are so badly treated that "they need more intensive care than social services can provide." She was active in raising funds for the center's new facility, where the children can have a safe place to live and get counseling. Before the center opened, Charlotte helped lay sod for the landscaping. "One of the little girls came out to the new property and saw her new home," she remembers. "The girl started to cry and said, 'People did that for me?' I don't have the personality for counseling, but I can do other things--like raise money and use my business skills--to support them."
The Wilmington Independent Insurance Agents group has also helped the community in various ways. Last year, the group donated $25,000 from its operating fund to the Cape Fear Community College scholarship fund. "We had been so busy re-marketing accounts and focusing on our businesses that we hadn't been too active as a group," Charlotte explains. So when the Wilmington Agents realized how much money had accumulated, they decided to give it to local education.
Young Agents--the future of the industry
Charlotte reports that there are about 100 active Young Agents in North Carolina. Many of their activities revolve around educating new and young producers. "The annual conference in June, for example, is sales-focused. Most attendees are new producers who need to know how to sell," she says. There is an annual fall sales boot camp, which the IIANC financially sponsors.
A goal of the North Carolina Young Agents is to provide more mentoring of young agents as well as provide more leadership and sales skills training. "We need to grab them and say, 'This is a great industry and let us help you be successful,'" she explains.
"I know in my own experience that being involved with the Young Agents has provided incredible opportunities and invaluable professional development," Charlotte says. In addition to serving on the IIANC's Coastal Markets Task Force, she is a member of the IIANC Board of Directors, serves as the Board liaison to the Beach and FAIR Plan committee and is a member of the Technical Committee. She has also served on the NC Young Agents Committee and the finance committee.
The success of North Carolina's Young Agent group, according to Charlotte, is due to the support of the IIANC board. "The board is committed to developing young agents in the state. They realize that today's young agents will run the industry tomorrow. They don't just give lip service to support the Young Agents; they put money into it. Our board's support has paid off much more than anyone could have expected," she says.
"I encourage all states to put an emphasis on developing young agents," Charlotte continues. "It's for the good of the industry."
Besides education and mentoring, the North Carolina Young Agents are also active politically, Charlottes points out. She says that the North Carolina Young Agent contingent represented 15% of all the Young Agents at this year's IIAA's National Legislative Conference in Washington, D.C. The NC Young Agents also participate in a State Day on the Hill where they meet with their state legislators on pending insurance-related legislation.
Looking at the state of the industry and its future, Charlotte says: "Before, there was so much new technology coming at us that everyone was overwhelmed. Now, we're getting to the point of leveraging the technology to work for us. We're being smart and using the technology and tools that we've already got."
To be successful in the future, Charlotte says that "it's important to position ourselves as trusted advisors, not just sales people. People can go anywhere and buy insurance products; we need to carve out a niche that only we can fill."
A challenge for young agents is that "they will have to know what their predecessors knew, plus more," she says. "It's a difficult time to be a visionary, but we must ask ourselves, 'How can I react to these changes and come out ahead?' Some people see problems and are discouraged. I see things and want to figure out how they work and how to make them better."
Never stopping
As if Charlotte's agency and business-related activities, community and charity involvements don't drive her Palm Pilot into overload, Charlotte spends a lot of time at the two-year-old North Grove Evangelical Presbyterian Church. There is much to be done in such a young church and Charlotte says it is "a big commitment" of her time. She sings in the choir, is the church treasurer and serves as backup on the keyboard and soundboard.
"There are so many things I want to do in the agency and in life. How can people say they get bored?!" Charlotte asks.
How does Charlotte do so much
in life?
"It requires setting priorities and having good time management skills," Charlotte explains. "The hard part is setting aside time for myself." But in this season of her life, Charlotte Hicks wouldn't have it any other way. *
"It's important to position ourselves as trusted advisors, not just sales people. ... we need to carve out a niche that only we can fill."
--Charlotte S. Hicks