Congratulations to Cottingham & Butler—2007 Marketing Agency of the Year
Dubuque, Iowa
The votes are in, and the winner of Rough Notes magazine’s 2007 Agency of the Year is Cottingham & Butler of Dubuque, Iowa. Originally featured on the cover of last February’s issue and featured this month in our “Capitalizing on Benefits” article, the agency was chosen by representatives of agencies that have appeared on the cover of Rough Notes in prior years.
Cottingham & Butler was founded in 1887 and spent its first 70 years as a small mom-and-pop agency that primarily wrote personal lines coverages. Under the leadership of John Butler, who has been with the agency for 50 years, the agency began to expand its commercial lines business. John has watched the agency grow more than a hundredfold to reach 340 employees and revenues of $49 million in 2006. All this while being located in a city of only 60,000 people.
The agency’s success stems from its ability to understand clients’ needs and to serve them. “We’ve built this on a very simple philosophy,” John explains. “We always try to get behind the desk solving problems with our clients rather than on the other side of the desk selling policies.”
Those solutions to clients’ problems have run the gamut of risk transfer solutions and risk mitigation services, including captive management, loss control expertise, safety consulting, claims management, an employee benefits TPA, a managed care facility, and so on.
Rather than viewing its location as an impediment to growth, “our people saw being in a small community as an advantage,” notes President/COO Dave Becker. “They had to be creative to attract and retain clients who are located more than 50 miles away from here.” In fact, 96% of the agency’s business comes from outside its traditional marketing territory, including clients in 47 states. The agency has two airplanes that are almost always in the air, taking producers to clients and prospects. The agency also is an Assurex partner, allowing it to provide coverage and services for clients that have international exposures.
The solutions-driven approach means that Cottingham & Butler focuses on developing customized programs for clients that help them reduce costs through redesign of their current risk transfer program. The agency will use both the traditional insurance industry and, where appropriate, captives and other alternatives. It also works with clients to determine the optimal SIR level that will result in cost savings without jeopardizing profitability. The program also includes safety and loss control recommendations supported by the 10 loss control professionals on staff.
The agency continues on a path of growth, and intends to double revenues to $100 million in five years. It is expanding its presence outside of Dubuque by opening offices in Naperville, Illinois; and Chattanooga, Tennessee. This projected growth will be fueled by the creative people at the agency and the addition of the “best and the brightest” who should be attracted to the agency’s “culture of meritocracy where new ideas are rewarded,” Dave says.
The owners of Cottingham & Butler will be presented with the Agency of the Year award at a dinner in late March, attended by members of the Rough Notes editorial review board, other agents, and Rough Notes executives. A follow-up story on the agency will appear in a future issue.