Growth Beneath the Radar

Don’t be fooled by the news headlines: Not all of the insurance industry is in retreat mode. In fact, in some pockets, agencies, brokers and carriers are continuing to pursue downright aggressive growth strategies. And many are even seeing positive short-term results and have a good outlook for what’s to come.

Take, for example, public broker Brown & Brown Inc. Company CEO Hyatt Brown said although “the current economic downturn is certainly challenging in terms of growing the top line and bottom line … we expect to do just fine. As the old saying goes, ‘it will all work out.'” To grow the company, Brown & Brown has made 45 acquisitions valued at $120 million in 2008, and the company continues to have a “robust” appetite for acquisitions in 2009, Brown said in a Q&A with Reagan Consulting.

David Eslick, chairman of Marsh & McLennan Agency, said “the outlook for the future of our industry has never looked better.” Even with all the turmoil the insurance industry has faced in the past 18 months, it continues to stand strong. The company has targeted the middle market for growth, with a goal to be recognized as a top five middle-market agency within five years. “The value of an insurance agent/broker’s resources and intellectual capital are critical as everyone looks to protection in their lives, at a cost that is competitive,” he added.

The one caveat, Eslick said, is that the industry needs to continue to develop “the human capital talent necessary for the future – and the future is not far away.”

These are just two recent examples of companies moving aggressively to grow and expand amid a business environment that is downright frightening. There are many others that have done so recently. They attribute their growth to developing expertise in a particular business niche, and hiring the right employees to help them reach their goals.

As another example, Kathryn Soderberg, president of Soderberg Insurance Services Inc. in Lynnfield, Mass., a Boston suburb, has made her niche marketing insurance to the Hispanic market. Her first foray into this ethnic community began with a contact she made at a voter registration drive at the local town hall meeting. Now, the amount of business her agency derives from the Spanish speaking community is 25 percent and growing. And, she credits her company’s success, in part to reaching out to this ethnic group, which even during the down economy is still “rockin’ and rollin.'”

When targeting a niche, like the Hispanic community, Soderberg said it’s not always necessary to have employees who are fluent in Spanish. However, like Eslick, she agreed that “you have to have people that have the right attitude.” Those employees or business partners that told her her pursuit of the Hispanic community was not a wise decision probably are no longer on board with her business as she charts her company’s future.

As Wade Reece, chairman and CEO of BB&T Insurance Services summed up, “The business environment for the successful, surviving businesses of the future will provide more and more complex risks. … For those agents/brokers who want to raise their level of expertise, specialize with intense levels of knowledge in the targeted industries, and work extremely hard, the future is bright.”

In the challenging economy, that’s something any industry watcher is pleased to report.

Topics Agencies