Best Agency to Work For – Silver South Central: CoVerica Insurance

At CoVerica Insurance, employees live by four precepts: Die to self (i.e., set aside your pride, biases, prejudices and personal history); Actions sought to support the best interests of all involved; Do the right things for the right reasons; and Conduct open and honest dialogue.

The precepts are more than just a slogan. They shape the company’s culture and philosophy. Employees say the agency lives by its word, offering workers a place where they can find long-term professional success by abiding by the company’s core principles.

Workers also praise CoVerica for providing competitive compensation and benefits, promoting employee growth and training, and actively supporting the community.

Employees at CoVerica successfully nominated the company for Insurance Journal’s 2023 Best Agency Work For – Silver award winner for the South Central region. The Dallas-based agency, which turns 40 this year, specializes in commercial, personal and life/health insurance solutions.

“It feels like a validation that what we’ve been doing is the right thing to do be doing,” Mike Sterlacci, founder of CoVerica, said of his employees’ actions. CoVerica is a big believer in the whole person, Sterlacci said, a sentiment shared by its employees.

“You could be an intern or you could be an executive and the door is always open,” said Garrett Cooper, director of technology innovations at CoVerica. “And it’s life, it’s not just work.”

“I feel like CoVerica really cares about me as an individual, and not just worker #72,” an employee wrote. “They really are thinking about their employees, and how they can make everyone’s present and future lives better.”

One way CoVerica ensures that employees are well situated for success is by using Culture Index, which explores a workers’ personality to understand what drives them.

The objective is to find a role that matches an employee to their strengths.

CoVerica meets with members one-on-one annually to review their Culture Index survey and address whether any changes need to be made.

“Have always had a positive experience with these,” one employee wrote. “Always gotten good salary bumps and performance feedback is very constructive.”

Several employees commended CoVerica for its open and consistent communication. The transparency extends beyond office walls to how the company sells insurance.

“The watchwords at CoVerica are to be Open and Honest – in every aspect, in all dealings, with everyone we come in contact with,” one employee wrote. “Every decision asks one question – is the decision good for all parties involved? Only if it is, should we move forward. This is rare in a business world where so many companies seek to win in a transaction.”

CoVerica employees also praise the agency’s compensation and benefits. These include tuition reimbursement, full funding for certifications, generous PTO, a 401k plan and an employee stock program. Additionally, CoVerica’s office includes a gym with personal trainers, a social deck and a full kitchen, as well as workplace chaplains.

“They really are thinking about their employees, and how they can make everyone’s present and future lives better,” one employee wrote.

CoVerica and its employees are in turn highly motivated in giving to local fundraising and volunteer initiatives. The agency’s charity arm, CoVerica Cares, donated $40,000 last year.

“Our values of empathy, positive impact, helping others, facing challenges, and unwavering integrity are evident in our team,” said an employee.

Sterlacci encourages other agency owners to locate their North Star and understand what success means to them.

“What is it that you’re working for? Why is that you get up and go to work every day? And then when you can figure that out as an owner, then you’re clear about that to your staff, so you’re clear about where you’re coming from and where you’re going,” he said.