MARKETING AGENCY OF THE MONTH
Strong focus on safety and loss prevention
enhances the professionalism
By Dennis H. Pillsbury
Nine of the 10 stockholders of Gibson Insurance outside the Plymouth, Indiana, office.
When Gibson Insurance Agency approaches a potential client, the goal is not to sell insurance to that business. It is to become a professional risk management advisor to that client, and that is made clear from the start. "We will not work on a given risk if they don't allow us to implement our risk management process," says Bob Sturtevant, CPCU, ARM, AAI, vice president and secretary. "If somebody just asks for a bid, we turn them down."
"We have two full-time people whose only job is to work on safety and loss control issues," Greg Downes, CPCU, CLU, ChFC, AFSB, president and chief operating officer, points out. "One has a master's in Occupational Health and is working toward her Ph.D."
Greg continues that another unique aspect of the agency is "team selling. We've been able to create an environment that really nurtures unselfish teamwork. There's a lot of team selling going on within and across profit centers."
Ron Jordan, executive vice president and sales manager, adds, "We have a group of people who have a common interest in others doing well. At times, there is direct financial sharing, but many times, the mentoring that goes on is completely outside of the financial arena. There's a belief that if one person in the agency does better, then everyone else will too."
"The people here are very unselfish," says Keith Stone, CPA, vice president and chief financial officer. "I came to Gibson from an electrical contractor for which Gibson was and still is the agency. I was very impressed with the professionalism of the people at all levels in the agency. Everybody works together; there are not a lot of turf battles. When Greg (Downes) talked to me about a position, after getting my employer's okay to do so, I was delighted at the opportunity. I love it here. The people all treat each other with respect. The pervading attitude is: If it's good for the agency, it's good for everyone."
Members of the Plymouth Commercial Lines Team.
The Gibson Insurance Agency, Inc., started out in the small, Northeast Indiana town of Plymouth. It was founded by Dan Gibson in 1933, and grew as a local independent agency until Dan's son, Dave, joined in 1970. "Dave was a strategic visionary who wanted to make it more of a regional operation," Greg points out. "Dave brought in Don Crews from Marsh & McLennan, to enhance our risk management offerings and to begin the new perpetuation plan that involved making ownership available to non-family members."
Don Crews, CPCU, AFSB, vice president and treasurer, joined the agency in January 1975. "I had been with little Aetna and then Marsh and wanted to buy into an agency," Don remembers. "The Gibsons (Dave and Dan) offered me an opportunity to become an owner after three years if I met certain criteria. I did and became the first non-family owner under this new program they had put into place to perpetuate the agency and guarantee its independence." Don continues: "I guess I was kind of a guinea pig. My experience proved it could work."
"One of the things that we take pride in is we have been able to create a perpetuation program that will allow us to maintain our independence," Dave Gibson, CPCU, CLU, ChFC, ARM, chairman and CEO, says. "That's a prime part of our culture."
Dave Gibson, chairman and CEO, proudly displays the "Pledge of Performance" that the agency adheres to as part of being a Trusted Choice agency. With Dave is Mike Miley, Account Executive. The portrait on the wall in the background is Dave's father, Dan, who founded the agency. Interestingly, all three men have served as President of the Big "I" of Indiana.
Since that time, the number of stockholders has grown to 10. The agency is organized as an S corporation. It employs 25 people in Plymouth and 45 in South Bend, an office which it opened in the late 1980s. The agency expects to close out this year just under $9 million in commission and fee revenue. Total revenues will be in excess of $9.5 million.
It starts and ends with the people
"The quality of our staff has been the most important factor in our success," Dave Gibson maintains. "We have a significant number of people with professional designations and that has allowed us to be successful in our core niche areas where expertise is at a premium. Our technical expertise also has helped us maintain a stable market with our carriers. We've placed an emphasis on investing in our staff and it's paid off many times over."
Sandy Wallace, CPCU, AIM, CPIW, vice president-client services, adds: "We really take time to screen people in the hiring process in order to get the most talented people. We also work with them to plot their career and really push education. We have an excellent training program," she continues, "that includes a lot of one-on-one. That takes a lot of time but pays off in the end. Most of our people have been here for a long time. I've been here 33 years and cannot imagine working anywhere else. It's a great place to work."
The agency's benefit package is part of the investment in the staff noted by Dave. "We don't usually lose people over benefits or compensation," says Kathy Patrick, CEBS, MHP, SPHR, vice president and director of human resources. The package includes a health plan, short- and long-term disability, a 401k where the agency matches the first 5%, a discretionary profit-sharing plan, an employee assistance program, an education bonus, a computer purchase program, fitness membership sponsorship and more. Kathy emphasizes: "I'm very proud of the commitment to employees this company has made. When I came here from another agency, they (the agency's management) really gave me an opportunity to be what I wanted to be. I could follow any avenue and this is the direction I wanted to go. I think it says a lot that our staff has a total of more than 900 years of experience. They tend to stay."
Students of sales
"One of the unique things about Gibson Insurance is the way we are perceived by our suppliers," notes Bob Sturtevant. "We have taken good technicians from the industry and made them into sales people. This has really enhanced our reputation with the carriers we represent. They know that our people understand the underwriting process. Nearly everyone here in production has had a technical position within an insurance company.
"At the same time, these people have become excellent sales people. We are students of sales and have invested heavily in making sure our producers have the best training and support. For example, we will actually shut down all sales activities for two days of sales training and bring in well-known sales consultants to do in-house training. That's been very effective."
"We are students of sales and have invested heavily in making sure our producers have the best training and support."
--Greg Downes
Greg Downes adds that the combination of technical expertise and strong sales skills makes "our people uniquely able to fulfill our mission to provide the highest quality, most cost-effective risk management products and services to our clients. We actually view ourselves as part-time risk managers for our clients."
Members of the South Bend Commercial Lines Team.
He continues by pointing out that the sales effort is "fairly assertive. In a typical year, we plan to produce more than $1 million in new commission and we have done that." That's especially impressive in a marketing territory that includes the population of northern Indiana and southwest Michigan, excluding any major metropolitan areas.
The agency's strength is commercial lines with niches in manufacturing, construction and surety and some public entity, particularly public school corporations. "Last year, we achieved our first association endorsement from the American Mold Builders Association," Greg reports. "The association has heavy membership in the Midwest, but has members throughout the country." Gibson Insurance is licensed in all states and can accommodate the membership. All told, the agency insures more than 1,000 businesses.
The agency also has a significant presence in employee benefits. That operates as a separate division and accounts for approximately 15% to 18% of total revenues and covers more than 10,000 employee lives.
The personal lines division insures some 4,000 families and accounts for around 10% of revenues. "That's a significant increase and we intend to grow that business," Greg notes. "As part of our reemphasis on personal lines, we made our first agency acquisition five years ago when we purchased Taylor & Moyer Agency on September 1, 1998." Taylor Moyer was located in South Bend and had a sizable book of personal lines and small commercial business.
Communication keeps everyone in the loop
Gibson Insurance holds four quarterly agency meetings in which the entire organization participates; three are full-day meetings. "We share the results vs. the plan and goal so that everybody is on the same page," Greg points out. "As far as employees are concerned, our primary goal is to be the employer of choice by providing tools to succeed, ongoing training, appropriate rewards, open communication, a connected work environment, and continuous improvement. We've always had a real commitment to people having careers rather than jobs. To further enhance this, we really emphasize continuing education.
Ronald Jordan (left), Executive Vice President and Sales Manager, mentors many of the staff at Gibson. Here he works with Dean Mandis, Vice President and stockholder.
"These meetings are used to develop our plan for the year. We start planning in August, right after the quarterly meeting and create a plan that will be reviewed at the November planning retreat. The planning process starts with each individual, and then goes to the teams. Goals are set and reviewed and discussed to determine how they fit in with the overall strategic objectives. Everyone is involved and they really feel like they are part of the process. It also lets them know what will be expected from them in the upcoming year.
"In addition, the stockholders get together every other year to look over our five-year plan," Greg adds. "This helps keep us focused on the long term."
"We do regular performance reviews that include input from team members and from individuals throughout the organization with whom the person being reviewed might interact," Greg notes. "For new employees, there is a 90-day review, one at six months and one at 12 months and then annually after that. We share with the person how their peers evaluate and perceive them. It takes a lot of time, but it has really paid off.
"We've also created recognition programs for someone who has done something out of the ordinary like providing unusual outstanding service. People who are so recognized receive Gibson Dollars which can be used to purchase clothing, attaché cases, golf balls and other materials, all with the Gibson logo on them."
Community involvement is encouraged. "We have a reputation for being good corporate citizens and allow our employees to be involved," Greg says. "We're a Pacesetter with United Way in two counties and our people are involved in numerous other charities as well. Fifteen of us are now mentoring at the elementary grade level."
"We've also been recognized for our performance results by Marsh Berry and by Reagan & Associates," Dave Gibson points out. "We were awarded the Agency Peak Performance Award by Marsh Berry last fall and were recognized as a Best Practices Agency by Reagan. We're also a founding member of the CPCU Roundtable."
Greg sums it up by pointing out that "We're really pretty much a bread and butter organization. We don't do anything fancy, we just adhere to our seven core values (see Sidebar) and that has led us to success."
Gibson Insurance exemplifies the spirit of integrity that has been the hallmark of the Independent Agency System. And for that, we recognize them as our well-deserved Marketing Agency of the Month. *
Ethical practices
We will conduct our business at all times in an ethical manner in order to build long-term, trusting relationships with our clients, employees, and suppliers demonstrating unparalleled integrity.
Client satisfaction
We will exceed the expectations of our current and future clients. We will be proactive in identifying the dynamic needs of those we service, utilizing creativity and innovation to identify problems and develop cost-effective solutions. We will listen and be responsive to changes in needs and market conditions.
Employee focus
We will attract and retain the highest quality individuals and provide them with a working environment that will promote maximum productivity and professional growth, including the best technology and facilities available. We will promote maximum flexibility and freedom to encourage teamwork, individual initiative, and creativity, at the same time maintaining the highest professional education standards. We will provide a competitive compensation and benefit program and share our success with our employees.
Industry relationship
We will represent a limited number of the highest quality risk management providers, recognizing the importance of profitable results to both our suppliers and the agency. We will be included under all available "key agent" programs. We will support and participate in our industry's professional associations.
Market leadership
We will be the leading provider of risk management products and services in our marketing area. We will pursue any potential acquisition or other strategic alliance that would favorably impact our professional capabilities, broaden our client base, and/or open new markets or unique products/programs to us. We will become one of the top 100 property and casualty brokerage firms in the United States.
Financial integrity
We will maintain a level of profitability that will generate the resources needed to finance our future growth and increase our corporate value. We will exceed the productivity standards of the top 25% of our Best Practices peer group. We will promptly collect receivables and pay our obligations when due. We will conservatively invest our Trust Account in short-term U.S. Government guaranteed instruments or high-grade bonds.
Independence and perpetuation
We will maintain our independence in both operations and ownership with the equity in our organization being held exclusively by current active team members. We will provide the resources and planning for future internal perpetuation. We will honor our civic and charitable responsibilities as both an organization and individuals.