A path to growing business, fostering
strong relationships, and realizing better
ways to integrate technology and operational scalability
By Lori Widmer
For any carrier or agency looking to grow business, foster strong relationships, and realize better ways to integrate technology and operational scalability, there is good news: Many view insurance networks as the fastest, most valuable way to improve business and create real change within the organization.
In a recent podcast, four members of the Insurance Networks Alliance (INA) discussed their companies’ membership in the organization and the value it has brought to each. Each executive sat down to talk about how membership in an insurance network has enhanced business and helped them to develop key relationships. They talked about the value of the INA network, the successful partnerships they’ve built, and how a network has helped them achieve operational discipline through selective membership and ongoing network development.
“[W]hen a member of INA is engaged in the different forums that occur throughout the year, … that’s a really good sign of a network that has a professional strategy.”
—Paul Morrissette
President
Chubb Insurance Solutions Agency
Building successful partnerships
For Marcus Reidell, regional vice president, Personal Insurance Field Sales Northeast at Travelers, the INA network has helped carriers build better partnerships. He pointed out that carriers vetting a network are looking for clear governance with defined leadership structures, along with strict member standards regarding underwriting quality and production. Clear governance, he said, is “first and foremost.”
He also views member standards as a must. Who they’re going to bring into their network matters. “Documented expectations of what member agencies should be doing around production, underwriting quality, training, and even their use of technology” is what creates value in a network, Reidell said.
Every action a member organization takes, he added, signals their discipline and ability to bring value to the network. How rollouts are handled, whether there is consistency across all member agencies, and how they measure results and communicate through the network regularly is all something he feels networks should be reviewing. “When we see those elements in place, we really feel good,” Reidell explained. “It builds confidence that we want to partner with this network and invest our time and our resources with that network.”
Good bones
Paul Morrissette agrees. Morrissette, president of Chubb Insurance Solutions Agency, said that a professional management operational infrastructure influences greatly one’s confidence in the network. “It means everything,” he explained. “That’s a big reason why we want to be involved in INA and have been since the very beginning.
“We know that when a member of INA is engaged in the different forums that occur throughout the year, but in particular at the annual conference, that’s a really good sign of a network that has a professional strategy. It’s really rewarding to see professionally managed networks that have thought through all those things.”
A well-managed insurance network can also help strengthen relationships with carriers, peers, and industry partners. Nick Petrocelli, president of the Agent Support Network of America (ASNOA), said the members in the network bring valuable information and resources to the room. Petrocelli explained, “It really has opened up doors that maybe we didn’t think of. There are these ideas that are floating around in those rooms that I haven’t even thought of yet, and that’s really cool. Not only are carriers collaborating with us, but our peers are, too.”
The right foundation
As a new organization ten years ago, FirstChoice (a MarshBerry Company) joined INA and established a strong foothold in the industry thanks to their relationships built within those first meetings. “When we first started our journey with INA, we were able to really form some terrific relationships with IT vendors who helped us build our portal,” said Diane Wagner, vice president of Education and Strategic Planning for FirstChoice. “We were still growing our carriers suite at that time, and that deepened the carrier relationships with the ones we’d already partnered with.”
Today, Wagner looks back at those first days in INA as being the foundation of ongoing partnerships. She is now paying it back; she and a colleague spend time at meetings touching base with other members. “With our national liaisons, we are really deepening those relationships, and then we bring two more people just to help us cover the ground.
“There are so many carriers and so many strategic partnerships there, and we want to make sure we value all those folks that have taken time to come and meet with us. There has been a lot of resources that have been shared, which has brought a lot of value for us.”
Opportunities abound
Value within relationships is exactly what Petrocelli sees. His experience teaches him that conversations with peers can boost business in unexpected ways. “The people in this group have a wealth of knowledge,” he said. For him, the value has come from “digging into what the true problems are and being able to collaborate and talk about what solutions actually look like and bring them back to my organization,” said Petrocelli. “There’s just a lot of opportunity to help each other.”
The network, according to Wagner, allows leaders to stay engaged with their peers, which she believes is critical. “There’s so much changing. The rate of change in our industry is just off the charts, and there is always something new to learn. We’re big on peer advisory and education. It’s really neat to see what others are doing to benefit the member base.
“It’s interesting at the INA,” she added. “We have to look at it from two standpoints: what are we bringing that helps networks grow, and what are we bringing that helps networks help their members grow? What are you doing with engagement? How are you marketing in your territory? How are you finding new members, and there’s always been that willingness to share.”
“The rate of change in our industry is just off the charts, and there is always something new to learn.”
—Diane Wagner
Vice President of Education and
Strategic Planning
FirstChoice
Building that trust and strengthening carrier network relationships, according to Morrissette, lies in how membership aligns with carriers and each other. Regarding relationships, “We want to see that the network is really trying to align with each of their carriers in a way, and not just truly providing market access, but professionally managing each relationship,” Morrissette said. “What are the strengths of our products? How do we
fit in with that particular network? I’ll give credit to the INA for driving a lot of this, where there’s much more professional management involved.”
The author
Lori Widmer is a Philadelphia-based writer and editor who specializes in insurance and risk management.
