SPECIALTY LINES: RECREATIONAL BOATING

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1 SPECIALTY LINES: RECREATIONAL BOATING MARKETING: TRAVELERS NEW PP AUTO PRODUCT TECHNOLOGY: HACKERS ARE BECOMING MORE CREATIVE BENEFITS AGENCY: MERGER DOUBLES REVENUES, BOOSTS EXPERTISE SPECIAL REPORT Our135 th Anniversary PROPERTY & CASUALTY AGENTS AGENCY MARKETING INSURANCE MARKETS NEW PRODUCTS MARCH 2014 MARKETING AGENCY OF THE MONTH: VIRGINIA AGENCY S ESOP HAS EVERYONE PULLING TOGETHER ALSO: WORKERS COMP SPECIAL SECTION

2 MARKETING AGENCY OF THE MONTH EVERYONE HEADED IN This Virginia agency s ESOP has everyone By Dennis H. Pillsbury Campbell Insurance, Lynchburg, Virginia, has gone through signifcant changes in its nearly 100 years. And it also hasn t changed at all. Founded in 1918 by Walter Duval Campbell, its principles were based on loyalty, dedication and the commitment of each employee to the agency s clients. So when agency ownership transitioned into an employee owned company in 2010 where the ESOP owns 65% of the agency stock, it certainly qualifed as a change. But this was much more a recognition of the fact that those initial values had been maintained consistently throughout the agency s long history and that the employees, all of whom worked diligently for the agency s clients, really had operated as owners of the agency long before they actually became so in reality. Six executives own the balance of the stock. While the focus always has been on the clients needs, says Celia J. Hudnall, vice president and 18 ROUGH NOTES

3 THE SAME DIRECTION focused on clients both new and current Photography by Paul B Riley The Risk Advisors for Campbell Insurance. Sitting from left: Don Giles, Commercial Risk Advisor; Sheila C. Norris, CIC, AAI, Account Executive; W. David Shields, CIC, CPIA, President; Ashley R. Showalter, Commercial Risk Advisor. Standing from left: Alan M. Biggio, Account Executive; M. Scott Rittenhouse, CLCS, Rhp, Healthcare Risk Advisor; Michael R. Simmons, LUTCF, Commercial Risk Advisor; Philip E. Showalter, CLU, Executive Vice President. commercial marketing manager, those needs have changed over the years. When I joined the agency 35 years ago, it was all about the policy and determining if it provided the coverage needed by the client. Today, the focus is on the clients exposure and how we can best eliminate or mitigate that exposure to loss. It may be through insurance or it may utilize another risk management technique. What hasn t changed, however, she continues, is that we always put the client frst. We never consider what we can get for writing the policy. We ignore the incentives. Donald M. Giles, vice president and commercial risk advisor, adds: We care for each client s business like it was our own. At the end of the day, Don continues, our competitors are selling an insurance product and we are becoming the risk manager for every one of our clients. That s a huge difference. I recently had a client tell me that we never had anyone talk to us about our risk management needs and act like they cared. And that s not a unique experience. I hear things like that all the time. The care we put MARCH

4 The Executive Team. Standing from left: W. David Shields; Celia J. Hudnall, Vice President; Philip E. Showalter; Don Giles. Sitting from left: Vicky J. Rosser, Secretary-Treasurer; Judy J. Anderson, CIC, Vice President. into our relationships really is the key to our success. It s why our retention rate is so high. And it doesn t hurt that we exercise the same care with our companies. They know that we provide them with good business and respond accordingly. It really is a partnership and explains why we have long-term relationships with most of the major writers in our area. It was because of that breadth of representation that I joined Campbell in 1981, says W. David Shields, CIC, CPIA, president and chief executive offcer. David had been with a small agency in northern Virginia but decided to move back to Lynchburg and looked at agencies in the area. He adds that he saw that Campbell was a great place to work where people just don t leave. Today, we have 39 employees with a total of 715 years combined experience at the agency. That means that the majority of our people have been here more than 20 years. That was one of the considerations that made the ESOP seem like the perfect choice. A cultural shift David continues: I am really proud of our people and what they are accomplishing. Our focus has been on changing the culture to a more salesoriented approach where we bring value to our clients. Our people always went the extra mile for clients, but it wasn t a focused effort where we got intimately involved in each client s business or personal risk management concerns so we could provide valueadded solutions. The results have been remarkable. We now are sought out by our clients whenever they have a risk management concern and sometimes other concerns as well and we work to provide them with solutions that may or may not be insurance. Ashley R. Showalter, CIC, commercial risk advisor, represents part of the youth movement at Campbell. She joined the agency in August of 2011 from a direct writer. It was the best decision I ever made in my life. The agency has allowed me to specialize in certain areas in which I am interested and that s a big difference from the direct writer where I was restricted to a territory and had to write everything. I m focusing on health care businesses and construction, and this has let me develop an expertise in these areas so I really feel like I am helping my clients 20 ROUGH NOTES

5 succeed. It also helps that the agency supports education. It was thanks to David that I got my CIC. This really is an amazing place to work. I ve been able to grow as an agent and risk advisor. I can honestly say that I am a better agent now than I was two-anda-half years ago, thanks to Campbell. M. Scott Rittenhouse, CLCS, RHP, health care risk advisor, joined the agency a little over fve years ago to set up the health care practice. He had been a nursing home and continuing care retirement community director. When I approached Campbell about marketing to this niche and only this niche, they embraced the idea and worked with me to fnd the insurance companies that would provide the best products and services for that niche. In addition to fnding the right coverages, the agency also allowed me to build the expertise to provide risk management services to this niche. Today, we serve on risk reduction teams for our clients and often on their safety committees as well. I love working at Campbell. They allow you to be yourself. Of course it doesn t hurt that the program doubled in its frst two years and doubled again in the next two. And the newest employee, Commercial Risk Advisor Michael R. Standing in front of one of two Jeferson-era doors are (from left): Alan M. Biggio; Alyson M. Ramsey, Poplar Forest s Director of Development; Jefrey L. Nichols, Poplar Forest s President and Chief Executive Ofcer; and Don Giles. The door is believed to have been built by Jeferson s enslaved craftsman, John Hemmings. Poplar Forest, Forest, Virginia, was Thomas Jeferson s Bedford County plantation and plantation house. Jeferson designed it and treated it as a private retreat. Simmons, LUTCF, who joined about seven months ago from another agency, adds that in this town, reputation goes a long way and Campbell Insurance is known for doing what they promise to do. Our process of looking at the exposures, explaining to clients what they need and then providing assistance to help them achieve their risk management and fnancial goals has been important in maintaining that reputation. And that s what helped me get in the door to land the largest account of my career. Our process really sets us apart from the competition. 22 ROUGH NOTES

6 No cold-calling Sheila C. Norris, CIC, AAI, AINS, ACSR, CPIW, DAE, personal risk advisor, points out, All our clients come from referrals. It s my job to bring in new personal lines business and we ve put together a network of referral bases that includes mortgage companies and real estate agents and one fantastic fnancial advisor frm. And, of course, our current clients also send people to us a testament to the service we provide. She continues by noting that the agency turns away people who are looking for the lowest price. We want clients who are looking to have their coverage reviewed and are interested in fnding the right coverage. Our goal is to establish a relationship of trust, where we provide not just the best coverage, but the best risk management advice for their unique situation. Referrals also have come in thanks to some unique marketing and advertising. The agency runs an ad in Lynchburg Living. Campbell also ran a two-month ad campaign at one of the movie complexes where the ad appeared with the previews on all 14 movie screens. I was at the movies and saw the ad, Sheila says. It was pretty awesome. No one had done this before. This kind of outside-the-box thinking has helped us grow. Philip E. Showalter (left) and W. David Shields visit with client G. Thomas Battle Jr. (center), Headmaster of Virginia Episcopal School, an independent boarding and day school for grades Jacqueline H. Wilkes, CIC, client risk services, points out that we learn from our clients. For example, today we are almost at the OSHA posting deadline. Clients have been calling us about that and we help them through that process. The great thing about this kind of relationship, Jackie continues, is that we learn from the questions and concerns. If the caller s business is dealing with a particular issue, then there s a good chance that some of our other clients are as well. That allows us to proactively contact them and provide solutions to a problem they didn t even know they had. That s a great asset to our organization. The same level of care and concern extends to the personal lines arena, says Judy J. Anderson, CIC, ACSR, AAI, DAE, CPIW, vice president and personal insurance manager. We talk to our clients and learn about their needs. And perhaps one of the most important things we do is not give them what they don t need. We re not a cookie cutter agency where we sell those policies that we think they should have. She adds that the agency is able to provide 24-hour service, 365 days of the year. Thanks to technology, we are capable of getting all calls through to the person who handles a particular account. We can forward calls to an employee s cell phone and we strive to make certain that every caller is answered immediately or gets a call back within 15 minutes. Rounding out the picture No risk management frm would be complete without a solid life, health and benefts department. Philip E. Showalter, CLU, executive vice president and benefts producer, joined the agency in 1995 and started managing the benefts department in And he brought with him a solid background that let him step right in and provide all aspects of employee benefts. One of the unique things that I offer is that I am a registered investment advisor, a member of the TOT, and a 401k Platinum level advisor with The Principal. Our Total Benefts Approach helps us get better pricing and service and really get into areas beyond the group health arena. In fact, my passion is making sure my participants are ready for retirement. I want them to have the retirement they dreamed about, and through one-onone meetings, education and planning, they can get there. That really sets us apart from those property/casualty agencies that dabble in certain parts of the benefts arena. Philip concludes: One of my fondest moments occurred recently when one of the employees that I worked with for 20 years pointed to me and said, The reason I m retiring is MARCH

7 The Campbell Insurance Team. because of Philip s insistence that I put more aside each year. Alan M. Biggio, benefts producer, was drawn to the agency by the ESOP. Before he joined, he had been a medical carrier rep for a health insurer. I got a good feel for all the agencies in the area and this is the one that stood out. Coming here two years ago was the best decision of my life. Not only were they professional and courteous to me when I was with a carrier, they still are. The benefts department also brings its expertise inside to work with the employees on wellness. We do a lot of fun things that are also healthy, Philip points out. For example, we ran a biggest loser contest. But most important is our focus on fnding the right work/life balance for all of our owners. That allows all of us to thrive and enjoy ourselves. And we continually reinforce that. We celebrate people s successes at least once a month. If our people are having fun, that spills over to the way they treat our clients and everyone wins. We celebrate people s successes at least once a month. If our people are having fun, that spills over to the way they treat our clients and everyone wins. Philip Showalter And speaking of winning, the ESOP has increased in value 37.5% since 2010 through December 31, One of the things that keeps me up at night, David Shields concludes, is making certain that that growth continues. We re always looking for new talent to help us grow, and I frmly believe that the ESOP has been a valuable tool in attracting that talent as well as being an important retirement vehicle for all our people. Celia Hudnall sums it up this way: Thanks to the ESOP, the sky is the limit. The young people who have joined us really are sales driven and that has helped us grow as that drops down to the bottom line. This has always been like a family, but the level of excitement and camaraderie has increased because of the ESOP. It gives me a great reason to wake up in the morning and go to work. And that says it all. That s why Rough Notes is proud to recognize Campbell Insurance as our Marketing Agency of the Month. n 24 ROUGH NOTES