Co-owners grow
Rhode Island family agency
By Elaine Tolen
Nancy Mendizabal and David Brush continue the Rhode Island agency started by their father, Donald A. Brush.
When David Brush, CIC, and Nancy Brush Mendizabal, CIC, were growing up as brother and sister in Greenville, Rhode Island, they never imagined that someday they might co-own an insurance agency. Sure, their father, Donald A. Brush, CIC, was the founder and sole principal of Apple Valley Insurance, Inc., in Greenville. But David and Nancy had better things to do with their childhood than contemplate their role in the family business.
Displaying an entrepreneurial bent at an early age, as a child David owned 35 hens and sold their eggs, delivering them on his bike. Part of the summer was spent at his grandmother's beach house. As a teenager, he sailed, hiked and learned to snow ski, which he enjoys today.
During her childhood years, Nancy owned a pony that she rode in parades and showed competitively. She enjoyed a variety of sports, including cross-country running, in high school. Her leadership skills were honed by serving as class secretary for three years and as student council president during her senior year.
Fast-forward about 20 years. In January of this year, David and Nancy completed a four-year process to purchase Apple Valley Insurance, Inc., from their father, as well as Scituate Insurance Agency, which also belonged to Donald Brush.
Each of them took different roads to the destination of joint ownership. David, who is the second of the five Brush siblings, left home after high school for the University of Rhode Island, where he earned a bachelor's degree in natural resources, with a concentration in water resources. After graduation, he worked for an engineering firm.
As one of only eight New England Region recipients of Travelers' 2003 "Personal Lines High Achiever" award, Apple Valley Agency Personal Lines Account Manager Joan M. Larochelle, AAI, ACSR, (seated) meets with Travelers Personal Lines Agency Manager (New England Region) Paula Brewer.
The eldest Brush sibling, Nancy graduated from Bentley College in Waltham, Massachusetts, with a degree in economics and finance. Through the National Association of Professional Insurance Agents (PIA National), she received a four-year scholarship to Bentley from the Kemper Foundation. During college she worked summers at Kemper Insurance in claims and long-term planning as well as in the insurer's Washington, D.C., legislative office, "never expecting to own an agency one day." After graduation, Nancy worked in the banking industry in Boston. In the late 1980s, she wanted a career change and began looking for other opportunities. About that time, Donald Brush was presented with the chance to buy Scituate Insurance Agency, in nearby North Scituate, which he wanted to retain as a separate entity.
"I hadn't given much thought to working in the agency," Nancy remembers, "but I remarked to my dad, 'You never get bored with your work; you seem to really enjoy it.' Soon after, he asked if I'd run the Scituate agency. I told him I'd give him an answer in a couple of days. He claims that I called him back in a half-hour," she laughs. In 1990, Nancy began working in the family business.
"When I joined the agency," she says, "I wasn't sure it was the right thing. I didn't realize that it would come so naturally."
In 1991, the engineering firm where David was employed downsized, so he came to work at Apple Valley. "It was going to be temporary," he chuckles, "but I never left."
In 2000, Donald Brush, while not yet ready to retire, was ready to start planning for agency perpetuation. David and Nancy began purchasing stock in both agencies and in January 2004 became full owners. They formed a holding company under which to run both agencies.
Commercial Lines Account Manager Rita T. Proulx, AAI, CPIW, a 28-year team member at Apple Valley, has observed the agency's continued growth under David and Nancy's watch.
Between the two agencies there are eight full-time employees, including David and Nancy. Personal lines represents about 70% of Apple Valley's business, although the commercial lines business is growing, according to David. While only six miles away, the Scituate agency is in a more rural area, Nancy explains, so it does more personal lines business. Being close to the Connecticut border, the Scituate agency is also licensed in Connecticut and does a small amount of business in that state.
While brother and sister have equal ownership in each agency, Nancy handles operations at the Scituate agency and David heads the Apple Valley agency. "We share back-office operations," David explains. "For instance, we have one database (AMS) with two divisions. We also have the same company representation."
Learning from the past, looking to the future
With brother and sister at the helm, the agency is building on its strengths and refocusing in some areas to assure its continued success.
David and Nancy credit their father for the agency's strong foundation. "Dad is a true salesman," Nancy says. "He genuinely likes people. We learned from him that 'every client is a person,' and treating people the way we want to be treated is the core of our business."
David continues: "Dad led by example and was so patient with people. He never burned bridges--with companies, employees or clients. We still benefit from the great relationships he developed."
In fact, Nancy says, "We look at companies as our partners--Dad taught us that. We plan to have long-term relationships with companies, and we align ourselves with companies which share that view."
In considering how to perpetuate the agency, Nancy says, "We'll be in this business for another 20 years or more. We don't have a boss to give us unbiased guidance, so we looked for someone who could act as a coach."
The search took them to performance coach Roger Sitkins and his "Sitkins 100" group of agencies. According to David, as a result of his training with Sitkins, "We refocused on production and service. I understand the importance of profitability in agency perpetuation and providing a place that will continue to be successful for all involved.
"I've learned three things that are vital in growing a healthy agency," David continues. "One, people are the greatest asset. Before, I thought the material things like computers and buildings were integral to the organization. Two, it is Nancy's and my job to lead the agency. We have to work 'on' the agency to succeed, and this is just as important, if not more so, than working 'in' the agency. And third, unprofitable growth can kill an agency."
Nancy adds: "It's easy to be profitable---you just maintain your book of business. But what does it take to be great? We want to be a great agency, to provide a stable environment for our employees and clients."
"To do that, we began concentrating on writing larger accounts," explains David. "Roger helped us see that we have the ability to write larger accounts. We have changed the way we deliver service--providing more tailored service to clients. Also, we now have 'value-added services' and are becoming risk managers as opposed to vendors who just write insurance."
David is a Certified Workers Compensation Advisor, which has enabled him to bring related value-added services to the agency. These include claims review, workers compensation experience modification audits, written safety plans, back-on-the-job program and payroll reviews. "If you had told me two years ago that we would be changing the business with these value-added services, I would have said, 'There's no way we could do that.' But we have," muses David.
The team members of the Apple Valley and Scituate agencies have embraced new principles of growth and service.
Having been in business for 42 years, Apple Valley Insurance has a number of long-standing personal and small commercial accounts. Transferring some of these clients to a service center has freed agency staff to focus more on larger accounts.
Through the years, the agency allowed "walk-ins," especially small business accounts. Now, says Nancy, "We want 'full-time clients'--those who place all of their insurance needs with us. If someone comes in and wants just workers comp, for example, we tell them we'll write it as part of the bigger program.
"It's not in their best interest for us just to write one piece of their insurance," Nancy continues. "If you're writing the entire package, you can see where the gaps are."
Culture change
"Of course, before an agency can make the changes we just mentioned," David explains, "the internal culture has to change. Employees must embrace the changes in philosophy, and sometimes that's not easy. Fortunately we didn't have that problem. Our employees were already 'on board.' They've attended Sitkins training sessions and understand the benefits of this new approach. We have a wonderful team."
Spending time together is important to the Brush family. Andrea (far left) and her brother, Andrew, are pictured with their parents, Nancy (Brush) and Roberto Mendizabal. Their cousins, Hannah and Kara, are pictured with their parents, David and Camie Brush.
The entire team understands the importance of maintaining strong company relationships, David adds. "There are relationships on multiple levels--with underwriters, billing departments, marketing representatives and customer service," he explains.
"Our team members have also embraced education," Nancy says. "Six of the seven female team members are active in NAIW (National Association of Insurance Women). Almost all of them have insurance designations. Insurance is their career."
Part of the Apple Valley and Scituate culture is a "focus on fun." Employees get to take a day off for their birthday when it lands on a work day. On the first Wednesday of each month, Nancy answers the phones at the Scituate agency and David mans the phones at Apple Valley so the other team members can go out for lunch together. "They enjoy this very much," David observes.
Business connections
Shortly after joining Apple Valley in 1990, Nancy became involved in the Independent Insurance Agents of Rhode Island (IIARI). She explains that because the state is so small, young agents are involved directly with the state organization, rather than operating as a separate group. She has been on the IIARI board for more than 10 years, serving as a district vice president and on a variety of committees.
David represents the agency in the local chapter of Business Network International (BNI), a business referral group. Members provide referrals--not leads--to other members.
A testament to their consistent level of service over the years is that Apple Valley and Scituate have provided service to four generations of the Dexter family. Flanked by Nancy and David is family head Allen Dexter (the adult in the middle), who has been a personal and commercial lines client at Scituate for at least 65 years. His daughter and son (the adults on Allen's right) purchased Allen's oil delivery service, which was Scituate's largest account for a time. On Allen's left are two of his adult grandchildren who have been agency clients. The younger children represent the fourth generation to benefit from the services of Apple Valley and Scituate agencies. Several other family members and spouses also own businesses that are insured by the agencies.
Also, Apple Valley is an affiliate of the agent-owned Summit Insurance Company, formed by 17 Rhode Island agents/agencies in 1994. "It was a hard market then," Nancy remembers. "Some of our companies were restricting production; they would not allow agencies to grow in the area of personal automobile insurance. They were threatening to pull out of Rhode Island because of the personal automobile tort climate. Agents wanted more options and control over the market, and to provide a more stable environment for clients. Dad joined the other agents who were forming Summit," which is licensed in Rhode Island. Summit's first policy--a personal lines package--was issued to Nancy.
Today, New London County Mutual Insurance Company (NLC) is a major investor in Summit Insurance Company. Its services for Summit include policy processing, billing and claims.
Family connections
Family members in the insurance industry are not limited to Donald, David and Nancy. David's wife, Camie, is the agency's marketing coordinator. David and Nancy's youngest sister works for an agency in the Midwest, and a cousin and brother-in-law work for insurance companies.
"Family is a big part of our lives," Nancy observes. "I love this career because of the flexibility. I can work from home if I need to." This flexibility gives Nancy, her husband, Roberto, and their children time to enjoy a variety of outdoor activities and travel. In fact, their travel has taken them to 25 countries together.
And while being a co-owner is very demanding, David says he's actually gained personal time since implementing some of the Sitkins 100 principles, "like working on the vital things, and letting go of the trivial things that just make you busy ... I now spend my free time going to the zoo, carousels and parks, and I enjoy finger-painting with my daughters."
Land of opportunity
David's advice to young producers: "As in any business, you have to be willing to embrace and adapt to change." Young producers have a lot to choose from in the insurance business, Nancy and David believe. "There are many facets to this industry--workers comp to bonds to benefits to P&C--something for just about anyone," David says.
Nancy agrees: "Whether you're interested in production, sales or support, there is a lot of opportunity in this dynamic industry. As owners, it is our job to find where each employee 'fits' in the agency and to help them be the best they can be." Nancy and David use Caliper for testing employees' personality and intellectual strengths.
David Brush and Nancy Brush Mendizabal emphasize that they never would have begun a trek from children to co-owners without their father's influence. "What we learned from our dad over the years about the agency and insurance wasn't technical knowledge. That's easy to learn. We learned an appreciation for relationships and truly enjoying what you do in your professional life," David says. *