Miss. Nominee Chosen as 2004 National Outstanding CSR of the Year

Ruth Phillips, CISR, CPIW, of the Morrell Agency Inc., in Magnolia, Mississippi, was awarded the 2004 National Outstanding CSR of the Year Award.

The Society of Certified Insurance Service Representatives (CISR) and the Society of Certified Insurance Counselors (CIC) selected Phillips as the winner of this award from a field of 33 state winners. After five finalists were chosen from this field, a blue-ribbon panel of four judges evaluated the finalists based on their individual contributions to the insurance community, and the strength of their essays written on the topic, “Four Ways CSRs Can Make or Break an Agency.”

Phillips is a licensed resident agent and a surplus lines retail agent, performing CSR and agent duties. She is a member of the National Association of Insurance Women (NAIW) and Professional Insurance Agents (PIA) of Mississippi. She was selected NAIW’s 2003 National Rookie of the Year.

“Since her entry into the insurance industry in 1999, Ms. Phillips has shown a continuing quest for knowledge and enthusiasm for education that sets an example for those around her,” said Dr. William Hold, CIC, CPCU, CLU, President of The National Alliance for Insurance Education & Research. “As Chairman of the Education Committee of her NAIW association, her commitment to education makes her an excellent emissary for CSRs and everyone within the insurance industry.”

In her essay, Phillips picked customer service, knowledge, trust, and personality as the four main “make-or-break” areas that determine a CSR’s success within an agency. She emphasized that “A strong CSR knows that customers are never interruptions. Insureds are the reason for our work.”

Phillips receives a cash award of $1,000, a distinctive gold and diamond lapel pin, and her name is inscribed on a sculpture on permanent display at National Alliance headquarters in Austin, Texas. A scholarship will be awarded to her employer, Morrell Agency Inc., for participation in any National Alliance program.

In addition to the selection of Ruth Phillips as the national award recipient, four national finalists were chosen from a particularly competitive field of applicants:

Sarah Barber, CISR, Lyman & Sheets Insurance Agency, in Lansing, Michigan; Susan Emile, CISR, Liberty Mutual, in South Easton, Massachusetts; Dana McDaniel, CIC, CPCU, CPIW, Messer – Bowers Agency, in Enid, Oklahoma; and Keri Morris, CIC, CISR, ACSR, AIM, Legacy Texas Insurance Services, in Plano, Texas. They each receive a special gold and garnet lapel pin, and publicity in a national trade journal.

Topics Texas Training Development Mississippi