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Rewarding professionalism
and performance

Carolyn Bergman recognized for leadership, people skills, integrity and hard work

By Phil Zinkewicz

Carolyn Bergman, commercial lines service manager for the Florida-based insurance agency BB&T-Wyman, Green & Blalock, is described by her peers as “an amazing person, critical to the success of the agency’s commercial lines business” and “the glue that holds the commercial lines service team together.” She is called “a good learner in a state regulatory insurance market that is constantly changing,” “a good teacher to the young and inexperienced CSRs who come into the agency” and “an overall real trouper when it comes to adapting to change within her own organization.”

It is not surprising, therefore, that Carolyn is the seventh recipient of the Irma Platt Lifetime Achievement Award, presented annually by the Florida Association of Insurance Agents (FAIA)—although it came as quite a surprise to her.

“The office was told we had a special visitor coming, Tom Cotton, who was going to update our staff on the work the FAIA was doing to help agents in a turbulent Florida market,” says Carolyn. “He did address that subject, but then he began talking about the upcoming convention and the awards FAIA gives out.” When she was announced as the Irma award winner, Carolyn says she was “floored.”

The FAIA has given the Irma award, named after Irma Platt, the award’s first recipient, since 2001. The award goes to agency support staffers who exemplify professionalism, display wholehearted dedication to clients and co-workers, and have served their agencies with distinction for many years.

According to John C. Laurie, vice president and agency manager, Carolyn possesses those qualities and more. “Carolyn has integrity, a strong work ethic, the proper client service mindset and, being an exemplary insurance professional, also helps others outside the work environment. She is a team player and is always willing to do herself what she asks of others.”

Born and raised in Kentucky, Carolyn attended Murray State University, where she met her future husband, Stewart. They were married in 1969 and moved to New York State. They had two children, Kimberly and Michael. Carolyn’s involvement in insurance came quite by accident. In 1971, when Kimberly was about 18 months old, Carolyn was toying with the idea of getting into the work force.

“My neighbor was on unemploy-ment,” Carolyn remembers. “The unemployment office set up an interview for her with Travelers Insurance. She went to the interview, but when she came back she told me she was not happy with the prospect of working for an insurance company. She gave me the number of the man at Travelers and I called, set up my own interview and got the job.”

She worked in the claims department at Travelers for seven years, until her family moved to Florida because of a job opportunity for her husband there. In 1978, Carolyn went to work for Lincoln National Life, where she processed applications and handled general office duties.

Then, in 1980, she switched to the agency side of the business and never looked back. She went to work for the Ingram Insurance Agency as a personal lines CSR, where she stayed until the agency was acquired by Wyman, Green & Blalock, Inc., in 1989.

“Following the merger, I found myself in the commercial lines department as a CSR,” says Carolyn. “I obtained my 2-20 license as a Florida general lines insurance agent and my ACSR (Accredited Customer Service Representative) certificate. In 2002, I was promoted to commercial lines supervisor.”

Rising to challenges

Says Laurie: “This was during a time when our agency was growing rapidly and dealing with the many challenges of the national insurance marketplace following the terrorist attacks of September 11. Carolyn supervised the commercial lines service team, continued training new hires, instituting policies and procedures as we grew our agency, dealing with turnover during a difficult and challenging market and rapidly changing carriers and policy forms.

“In 2006, Carolyn was promoted to commercial lines service manager,” Laurie continues. “She oversees a service team of 10 professionals and has done a tremendous job of dealing with the more recent chaotic times stemming from Florida’s property insurance market crisis following the 2004 and 2005 hurricane seasons. Carolyn continues to fill the voids from vacant CSR positions and helps the staff handle and navigate the stressful carrier non-renewals and an ever-changing property insurance market environment.”

Carolyn agrees that the Florida insurance market today is chaotic. “In the commercial area, there are definite challenges,” she says. “Basically, our clients have to decide whether they can afford to pay more for less coverage or go without protection. Most companies are not including wind coverage in their policies, and not just wind from hurricanes. We do our best by forewarning our clients on market dislocations and offering the best products that can be obtained.”

Recently the agency was acquired by a banking organization, BB&T Insurance Services. Says Laurie: “This was, as you can imagine, a shock to many of our employees and a landmark decision that naturally involved change, coming at a time when we are already dealing with enormous change due to federal and state regulatory developments within our industry, not to mention the intense changes that have come about recently with Florida’s property insurance market situation.

“Carolyn was a real trooper during the merger announcement and henceforth,” he says. “She accepted the change with a good attitude and continues to lead her department with a sense of calmness and positive spirit that reassures. The merger, while good for the agency and for everyone, involved the expectation of ‘stepping it up a notch’ to a new and different level. Carolyn has met that challenge with determination and commitment and continues to be a real leader and role model for others.”

Carolyn says that, when she left her first insurance job at Travelers, her boss said: “When we got you, we didn’t get quantity, we got quality,” referring to her petite size and her superior performance on the job. Carolyn laughs at that and says: “I think that was a compliment.”

We think so too. *

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