The Rough Notes Marketing Agency of the Year for 2000 will be chosen this month from the 11 agencies featured in last year's cover stories. The votes of Rough Notes magazine subscribers will determine the winner.
Ballots may be submitted by e-mail, toll-free fax or by mail, and are due by January 26. The paper ballot is on page xx of this issue, and the e-mail ballot is prominently displayed at the Rough Notes Company Web site (www.roughnotes.com). The voter's name and zip code must appear on the ballot to verify results.
Summaries of the 2000 cover stories appear on the following pages. More information on any of the "candidates" is available in last year's issues--either in the printed copies or by visiting the Web site and clicking on "back issues."
Representatives of the winning agency will be presented with their award at a dinner held in their honor in late February. The winner also will be featured in another Rough Notes story following the award presentation.
FEBRUARY
ISG International, Inc., Cambridge, Maryland
Steven R. Robinson and G. Philip Feldman on the cover
Back in the information technology "Stone Age," when offices ran DOS-based applications on minicomputers with tiny hard drives and clock speeds to match, Phil Feldman, president and CEO of ISG International, saw that the future would be dominated by information technology. Since beginning in 1992 with an insurance program targeted to the National Association of Business Computer Consultants, the agency has expanded its offerings to address virtually all segments of the IT market. Unprecedented growth in this dynamic niche led to the creation of a brokerage division to support producers who provide coverage to IT clients that have risk profiles with which they are completely unfamiliar. Today, $20 million of ISG's total premium volume of $30 million is in the IT niche. "To be successful in marketing any niche product, you have to assume the mindset of your target market," says Steve Robinson, ISG's vice president of marketing. "That is why we have been so successful. We have an information technology mindset in everything we do--from the way we market to the way we communicate with customers and agents."
MARCH
The McLaughlin Company, Washington, D.C.
Theodore M. Pappas on the cover
A simple twist of fate often has the power to change our destiny by pointing us in a direction we'd otherwise never have considered taking. That's just what happened to The McLaughlin Company's predecessor agency in 1934 when it was approached by the United Mine Workers to place the union's property and casualty insurance. The UMW chose Tongue, Brooks & Zimmerman because it believed the agency represented an insurer on whose board President Franklin Roosevelt was serving. When John McLaughlin told the officials that wasn't the case, they gave him the union's business anyway. From its headquarters in Washington, D.C., home to virtually every major labor union in the country, The McLaughlin Company devotes itself to meeting the unique coverage needs of this key segment of the American economy and has a well-earned reputation as a responsive problem solver. What's more, the agency itself is a "union shop": since 1989 the members of its non-management staff have belonged to the Communication Workers of America.
APRIL
NIA Group, Paramus, New Jersey
Roger Gross on the cover
"A department store with boutiques" may seem like a wildly inappropriate way to describe an independent agency, but it's exactly that analogy that today guides the growth of the NIA Group. "In the old days, independent agencies were department stores for insurance coverages. They offered everything," says chairman emeritus Paul Gross. "Today, you still need to be a department store, but you've got to have boutique departments as well." Among the offerings in NIA's boutiques are a national auto wholesale program, a program for shore properties, an equine mortality program and an elevator maintenance program that operates much like an HMO. As new competitors place increasing pressure on independent agencies, NIA meets it head on by entering into joint ventures with banks, accounting firms and a dot.com company. This realistic, proactive mindset, combined with a focused acquisition strategy, has propelled the growth of NIA since it was established in 1926. From premium volume of just $23,000 in 1957, when Paul Gross took over the agency from his grandfather, NIA now boasts nearly $50 million in revenue, 550 employees, and 15 offices in four states.
MAY
Seattle Insurance Agency, Inc., Seattle, Washington
Peter Beeson II, CIC, CPIA, with his father Peter Beeson on the cover.
"We make house calls" summarizes the client-focused approach that the Seattle Insurance Agency, Inc., offers its clients. Formed five years ago to serve the needs of entrepreneurs, the agency specializes in construction and high-value personal lines, while at the same time being a generalist with a focus on small entrepreneurial enterprises. The Beesons leverage technology--laptop computers and celluar phones--to be sure people can reach them even when they're not in the office. The agency also creates custom CDs for clients--highlighting a home's special features and articles that should be scheduled. Another unique marketing technique which the Beesons use is to simulate a restaurant visit in which the client is presented a customized menu of coverages to consider and a "bill" reflecting the amount due in a restaurant-style billfold.
JUNE
Hunter Keilty Muntz & Beatty, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Greg Belton, foreground, Robert Keilty (left rear), Brooke Hunter, and Neil Morrison on the cover
One of Canada's two largest independent brokers, Hunter Keilty Muntz & Beatty has 130 employees and writes $100 million in premiums of which 90% is commercial and 4% comes from life and benefits. Its success can be traced to its "solution" approach to each client's needs--an approach that emphasizes service and a holistic approach to risk. HKMB established a separate entity--Capital Solutions Corp.--to convert out-of-the-ordinary capital markets into revenue by using traditional insurance products in innovative ways. This enables HKMB to enhance existing client relationships by offering an insurance or financial guarantee as an option to the client's putting up its own capital for a business risk it wishes to avoid or mitigate. The brokerage also has a number of production groups that focus on a particular industry sector such as high-tech, life sciences, sports, entertainment and culture. And HKMB has a group that focuses exclusively on international insurance. Its international country database contains information on all the considerations relevant to a properly structured global insurance risk management program in order to provide seamless service in every major commercial center on six continents.
JULY
Seitlin & Company. Miami, Florida
Stephen Jackman on the cover
To Seitlin & Company, cross-selling is a function of problem solving. So, in addition to property/casualty insurance, which represents 70% of the agency's total revenues, the agency offers risk management consulting, alternative risk financing, credit enhancement, financial and estate planning, employee benefits, human resources outsourcing and surety bonding. Such diversification benefits the agency as well as its clients. During the recent soft market, the agency increased revenues from $9.7 million in 1995 to $15 million in 1999. Its HR outsourcing program assists clients with hiring, then helps develop and coach managers. A Seitlin HR professional is at the client's site each week. Seitlin also serves its internal customers--its employees--with Seitlin University, which handles the continuing education requirements for the staff. The director of Seitlin University offers its services to other agencies and companies as well, making the University into a profit center. The agency's ESOP makes it possible for employees to become owners. Outside the ESOP, there are a number of agents, key personnel and top associates who are owners--all part of the Seitlin perpetuation plan.
AUGUST
Schiff-Kreidler-Shell Insurance and Risk Services, Cincinnati, Ohio
Thomas Dietz (left) and Robert Schiff on the cover
An organization doesn't get to be 125 years old without a well-conceived perpetuation plan. Able to trace its roots back to 1876, Schiff-Kreidler-Shell Insurance and Risk Services identifies itself as the largest independently owned agency in the area and is making plans for its next 125 years by expanding the ownership of the agency. Of the 85 employees, there are 20 employee owners, none of whom owns more than 15%. By creating an alternative risk transfer department and being a member of Assurex International, SKS is preparing for a more global marketplace. And to be sure that the sales force is prepared for the changing marketplace, SKS' sales manager coaches producers, establishes credible goals for them and makes sure they're on track. In addition, the sales manager evaluates programs and then organizes the sales force to take advantage of it. As a value-added service to special clients, producers may invite them to a breakfast meeting held at a prestigious local club to hear top-notch presenters speak about leadership, cyber-liability and international insurance.
SEPTEMBER
CFG Insurance Services, Inc., Minneapolis, Minnesota
Eldon Oldre on the cover
Eldon Oldre has transformed CFG Insurance Services from a two-person shop in 1974 into what is today--one of largest privately owned agencies in Minnesota, with 126 employees and more than $11 million in annual revenue. Non-traditional approaches to products and people have made the difference. To supplement its P-C lineup, the agency created a human resource consulting division staffed by four lawyers who help clients comply with state and federal regulations governing the workplace. The department provides applicant assessment tools, employee handbook development, sexual harassment, and training compliance, among other services. CFG is counting on this department and its employee benefits business to be significant revenue contributors in its quest to reach $20 million in revenues by 2004. CFG also has taken an innovative approach to its own human resources needs. An aggressive college campus recruitment program resulted in 22 college graduates from the June 2000 class joining the agency last year. Oldre also has taken his human resources expertise "on the road" and staged a two-day national conference and trade show to provide HR professionals with a wide range of information affecting their jobs.
OCTOBER
The Holmes Organisation, Jacksonville, Florida
Margie Arrowsmith on the cover
What do you do when you're thriving in your career as an independent agent in Oklahoma and your spouse is asked to move to Florida for a job relocation? When Margie Arrowsmith faced that situation in 1989, she obtained financial backing from two principals at The Holmes Organisation, her Tulsa, Oklahoma, agency employer to set up a brand new agency of the same name in Jacksonville, Florida. Starting the Florida firm from scratch, with no employees and with no prior history in the area, Arrowsmith has built a book of business that reached $6 million in premiums in 1999. When final figures are in for 2000, she expects premiums to reach $7 million. Arrowsmith's focus has been primarily on small business accounts, and she emphasizes the basics--particularly account rounding, including health insurance. "Finding health insurance is a major problem for small businesses, and few agencies are willing to deal with it due to the low commission levels, Arrowsmith says. "Solving this problem for clients always creates an opportunity to write the balance of the account and ties the account to us," she says. The Jacksonville-based Holmes Organisation now has a staff of eight full-time and four part-time employees. Producers are out in the field about 80% of the time, often doing the quoting and application work right at the client's place of a business on a laptop computer.
NOVEMBER
Bollinger, Inc., Short Hills, New Jersey
Jack Windolf on the cover
Bollinger, the 16th largest privately held agency in the country with $37.5 million in commission revenue, has surprisingly few large and jumbo accounts. Instead, it relies heavily on smaller commercial and personal lines customers, employee benefits business and two sports-related divisions. In 1999, in the thick of a soft market, Bollinger produced $3.9 million in new commission income, and when final figures for last year are in, Bollinger expects to have generated $5 million in new revenues in 2000. The agency's fast-growing Benefits Division operates on both a retail and wholesale level. Its products include student accident and health insurance, which it writes for more than one million students from kindergarten through college. The agency's Amateur Sports Division covers teams and associations, insuring two million softball players and more than two million youth soccer players--from local amateur leagues up to Olympic teams. In the Commercial Lines Division (which produced $6 million in commission income in 1999) the average account size is $35,000 to $40,000. The Personal Lines Division has 17,000 customers for auto, HO and related coverages, and it provides life insurance for 45,000 customers. With 189 employees, Bollinger produces $200,000 in revenues per employee. It has 29 stockholders and an ESOP owns 45% of the firm.
DECEMBER
Sinclair Insurance Group, Wallingford, Connecticut
David N. Sinclair on the cover
David Sinclair was the largest producing agent for Nationwide Insurance, writing 99% commercial lines, when in 1987 the company decided to get out of the commercial market. He left Nationwide and built an independent agency that reached $68 million in premiums by 1991 with only 27 clients. Then, when his largest client (Ames Department Stores) filed Chapter 11 and changed brokers, Sinclair decided to change his client makeup to avoid being so vulnerable to the loss of a few accounts. He gave up some large accounts, closed offices and essentially started over with existing revenues of about $75,000. He acquired three agencies in '91 and one more in '92, boosting revenues to around $1 million. Sinclair has continued that acquisition strategy ever since, and today his annual revenues stand at around $10 million--about 50% commercial lines and 50% personal. The agency operates out of four hubs in Connecticut and purchases agencies that can be integrated with each hub. Marketing affiliations are adding to volume--including one with the AAA of Connecticut for long term care coverage, one with a large Connecticut real estate firm which generates business from people moving from out of state, and another with a local bank which provides commercial and personal lines leads. The agency is a Best Practices firm.
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©COPYRIGHT: The Rough Notes Magazine, 2001