THE CHANGING FACCE OF THE INDEPENDENT AGENT
Changing course
Set on a career in finance, Ray Tedder fell in love with insurance
By Elaine Tolen
As a sophomore finance major in 1989 at Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina, Ray Tedder Jr., CPCU, CIC, AU, AIS, CBIA, was on a clear career path headed for financial management, securities brokering or perhaps working as a chief financial officer in a Fortune 500 company. Then he took “Principles in Insurance and Risk Management” as an elective.
That course totally changed Ray’s career plans. “I’ve always enjoyed working with numbers but had never given insurance a thought until I took that class,” Ray remembers. “I absolutely loved the course.” The change in direction led Ray to graduate from ASU’s Insurance and Risk Management program 17 years ago and embark on an insurance career. “I have loved this industry ever since,” he says.
Now a vice president and account executive at BB&T McPhail Bray Insurance Services in Charlotte, Ray began getting practical insurance experience while still in the classroom. While at ASU, he held a part-time position in record keeping and database management with Jackson Sumner & Associates (JSA), an excess and specialty lines MGA, and interned with Royal Insurance Company, in Charlotte, North Carolina.
“The college courses gave me a head start on my career, including a thorough education about insurance concepts and coverage issues. In fact, one part of the CPCU exam was waived by the time of graduation due to my completion of three national exams while at ASU,” Ray explains. “But interning at Royal gave me a different perspective. Handling interruptions from phone calls and dealing with the public is different than the classroom.”
Sometimes an internship means getting stuck in the mailroom or doing other repetitive tasks, but Ray’s experience at Royal was nothing like that. “I was assigned to the Corporate Environmental Claim Unit, where we handled a variety of coverage issues and claims such as leaks resulting from underground storage tanks as well as asbestos-related claims. We also worked on class action lawsuits; it was eye-opening to see how one incident could harm so many people and so much property.”
Best laid plans.....
When he graduated from ASU in 1991, Ray had his career all planned out. “I was going to be an underwriter for four or five years, then go to an agency, make a lot of money, and play golf,” he laughs. Unfortunately, underwriting recruiting at most insurance companies was frozen at that time, Ray explains. “I did get several job offers—Royal wanted me to come back to the environmental division, and Harleysville offered me a position, not as an underwriter but as a multiline claims trainee. To get broader experience, I chose Harleysville. It was one of the best decisions of my life.
“At Harleysville, I was exposed quickly to a variety of coverage areas—property, general liability, commercial auto, workers comp and various marine coverages,” he continues. “I learned more than I ever could have imagined.” Ray soon became a multiline adjuster, eventually specializing in workers comp claims management.
After nearly a year with Harleysville, Ray was contacted by Aetna, with which he had interviewed while in college. The firm had begun hiring underwriting trainees again, and Ray saw it as a good opportunity. At Aetna, going through a rigorous 12-month underwriters training program and getting branch office experience with veteran insurance professionals helped Ray advance to commercial middle market account senior underwriter, where he was assigned to work with agencies to develop both middle market and large accounts.
“Having the coverage background from ASU, Royal and Harleysville, I was able to ask questions that the agent might not ask the client,” Ray says. “This helped me partner better with agents and offer more comprehensive packages.”
After more than three years at Aetna, Ray went to Fireman’s Fund, where he started in underwriting with the goal of moving to production. “After moving to the production side at Fireman’s Fund, I was asked to rebuild the company’s middle market presence in North Carolina and South Carolina after a four-year exit from that market. I had to redevelop agency relationships as well as reappoint and manage a targeted agency plant.” In a two-year period, Ray’s efforts helped agents generate more than $3.5 million in written premium in the middle market.
“The assignment was a challenge,” Ray admits, “but it put me in more agents’ offices, which led to professional relationships and eventually led me to BB&T Insurance in 1998.”
Working in a bank-owned agency offers several advantages, according to Ray. “Being owned by a bigger entity like BB&T provides a wide range of opportunities to offer my clients, such as access to additional carriers and value-added services like our in-house loss control and claims specialists. BB&T’s referral system is also phenomenal.”
And while agency ownership is important to some, Ray says, “For me, the goal isn’t ownership—my goal is to take care of customers’ needs. Most of my clients have become friends; our relationship has grown beyond the workplace.”
As a vice president and account executive, Ray arranges coverage for a variety of commercial risks, with the majority of his book in the construction industry. To that end, he serves as a construction team specialist in BB&T Insurance’s construction practice. When needed, he also assists other BB&T agencies in western North Carolina that don’t have an on-staff construction specialist.
“When I was with Aetna, I got a lot of construction training,” Ray explains. “Construction is unique—you’re working with both general contractors and subcontractors and there are tiers of risk transfer. OCIPs or wrap-ups can also be complex to navigate. This has been yet another opportunity to learn and grow.”
Be part of something bigger
Another opportunity for Ray to grow in the business has been through his industry involvement. Since 2002 he has served on the Independent Insurance Agents of North Carolina (IIANC) Young Agents Committee (YAC), which has a tradition of being a strong group.
In 2001 and 2002, the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America (IIABA) recognized the IIANC’s YAC for outstanding membership development, and in 2003 and 2004 the committee received national accolades for political involvement. The YAC consistently ranks high in the number of young agents contributing to state and national PACs as well as the most dollars contributed. For several years, 2008 included, the group has been the first IIANC committee to reach 100% participation in their PAC contributions. “This year, we were at 100% committee participation in PAC donations by January 9,” Ray proudly reports. “That speaks to how committed this group is.”
In both 2006 and 2007, the North Carolina Young Agents Committee earned the IIABA’s highest national award—Outstanding Young Agent Committee of the Year.
“The high caliber of the group comes from the high expectations that each committee member embraces,” he explains. Young agents who want to serve on the committee’s 24-person board must apply through the IIANC and agree to meet some rigorous requirements: commit to a four-year term; attend 70% of the YAC’s monthly meetings and conference calls; attend at least three major IIANC events during the year; contribute at least $100 each to InsurPAC and NC State PAC annually; serve on a YAC subcommittee; and support ASU and UNCC (University of North Carolina-Charlotte) during career day, recruiting, fundraising, and other events.
“One of the big strengths of the IIANC YAC has been its leadership,” Ray continues. “Our immediate past chair, Kenny Richardson, was an inspiration to the group and kept us charged up. Jason Byers chairs the Habitat for Humanity project as well as the YAC’s InVEST committee, during which time he has established a program at a Charlotte high school. Another outstanding young agent is Scott Wheeler, who chairs the YAC PAC committee and is passionate about that area.
“This is the most high-powered, dynamic group that I’ve ever been a part of,” Ray continues. “The committee is a fantastic group of young professionals. It’s amazing what we’ve accomplished in these last few years that will leave a lasting impression on the industry.”
Leave something behind
The IIANC Young Agents Committee has taken on several big projects in the last few years that will definitely leave a lasting impression on the industry and in individuals’ lives. Among them are:
• A two-year project, completed in 2006, to fund an endowment for scholarships for insurance students at UNCC. Through individual and agency donations, as well as with the support of the IIANC board, the young agents raised $54,515.
• Raising $70,000 in 2007 to build a Habitat for Humanity house in North Carolina. To promote the Habitat project, the YAC wrote articles for the IIANC magazine, had a booth at every IIANC meeting and conference, mailed donation forms to agencies, and had a “Habitat-a-thon” involving phone calls to agencies throughout the state.
“This project brought together agencies, individual agents, and carriers,” Ray says. “When we began publicizing the project, four carriers came to us—unsolicited—to make significant contributions. More than 300 individuals representing 25 agencies gave money towards the project. We met our $70,000 goal in mid-December 2007.”
This year, the Habitat project has moved into the “build phase,” according to Ray. “In February, the builders broke ground, the slab was poured and the framing started,” he says. “The young agents will help with much of the building process also.”
Making the time count
As if running a busy insurance career and overseeing the YAC with its 1,600-plus young agent members isn’t enough, Ray is also president of the Independent Insurance Agents of Mecklenberg County chapter and is active and involved in volunteer work with Habitat for Humanity. For his involvement on the state level, Ray was named IIANC Young Agent of the Year in 2007.
Ray admits that his greatest challenge is how to balance his busy schedule. “This isn’t a nine-to-five job. You’re basically ‘on call’ most of the time,” he says. “I constantly have to remain flexible and reorganize myself to survive. However, my 20-month-old son, Brennan, and wife, Angie, keep me going. At the end of the day, my family is the most important thing to me. When things get tough in my job, or elsewhere, I know I have my family to look forward to. They are truly my inspiration.” *