In an industry that tends to focus relentlessly on growth and the bottom line, I prefer to take a different approach. While I'd like to see more business and a higher net as much as the next agent or broker, I'm not obsessed with beating last year's numbers. Rather, what fires me up is serving my clients to the best of my ability, developing new clients, giving them the service and insurance solutions they need to become more successful, and fostering the respect of the underwriters we represent. If I can do all this, good numbers will naturally follow.
It's easier to focus on service as a specialist than as a generalist, which is one reason I've developed an interest in the construction industry. Aside from providing surety bonds and insurance for construction companies, we specialize in arranging professional liability insurance for certain professionals--including architects and engineers, the subjects of this article.
We're a small independent insurance agency, with a staff of two. I started the business a little over five years ago without a single client. The only tools in my bag were my prior experience and a passion to provide exceptional service. I got my start in the construction industry over 20 years ago as a home office underwriter with Seaboard Surety Co., where I later was promoted to branch manager. Eventually I became more interested in working directly with construction clients, so I became a licensed agent with a local surety-oriented agency. After that agency merged with a larger firm, I took a leap of faith and started my own company. Shortly thereafter, Jim Bechter, chief operating officer of RA&MCO Insurance Services, suggested that I develop a focus on professional liability insurance, partly because we had previously worked together in providing such policies for contractors doing design-build work with the Ohio Dept. of Transportation.
Since our humble beginning, we've grown slowly, carefully selecting our clients. Today we represent nearly 70 construction companies and other professionals, including about 20 architectural or engineering firms serving a wide variety of businesses and governmental authorities. They provide design and civil engineering services for newly constructed commercial buildings, as well as for water and sewer projects. While most of these A&E firms are relatively small, we're certainly capable of handling large firms--provided they are genuinely interested in our services and not just in obtaining the lowest-possible price. The balance of our professional-services clients consists of land surveyors, real-estate brokerages and various consultants.
We've developed a unique reputation in our area for being "refreshingly different," as we like to promote ourselves. We've done so by providing exceptional service to clients, which often leads to stable, long-term relationships. Our annual premium volume is approaching $500,000.
While we may be selective, we still recognize the need to market our firm every day. The principal territory we target is central Ohio, and we have a secondary focus on other parts of the state. While I'm also licensed to conduct business in West Virginia, we entertain business there primarily from referrals or when our clients find a need to "cross over the border" to conduct business.
Finding prospects can be a challenge for any business. For starters, we use such resources as "The Blue Book of Building and Construction," which includes a listing of architects and engineers. The local chambers of commerce also are good sources for prospects, as are the local chapters of the American Institute of Architects and the Ohio Society of Professional Engineers. By maintaining memberships with these professional associations, we gain opportunities to network and learn more about the members.
Once we've identified a certain prospect, we visit their Web site, on which we often can find some interesting information. More important, we try to learn the names of the key partners. We then prepare a short, easy-to-read letter of introduction to one of the firm's principals. We also include a one-page flier outlining our services or a risk-management brief on a topic of particular interest to those in the prospect's profession. The purpose of the mailing is to portray ourselves as a local agency specializing in serving the professional liability insurance and risk-management needs of architects and engineers. Our letters never focus on price. As the old saying goes, if you sell business on the basis of price, you'll lose it the same way.
Our mailings are designed to encourage the principals to call us when they are looking for alternatives to their professional liability insurance programs. I estimate that close to 80% of our clients have initiated contact with us. However, we still need to qualify callers, as some look just for price. In fact, as I was writing this article I declined to assist a caller with getting a quote, because the inquiry strictly concerned price. Keeping the caller's best interest in mind, I encouraged him to work closely with his current agent to see if better terms could be obtained from the incumbent insurance carrier.
We develop the professional trade associations as potential centers of influence. We look for opportunities to speak at their meetings or write articles for them. Speaking to an audience can be a great opportunity to establish credibility and rapport. I take these invitations quite seriously. If someone decides to extend me an invitation, I want to make sure he or she feels the decision was a good one. If I fall short, it might be my last invitation.
I never take advantage of the invitations by trying to put the spotlight on us via some form of infomercial or sales pitch. My presentations are designed to be strictly educational. Knowledge creates opportunities, so I try to share information that will keep the professionals in the audience ahead of the competitive curve. This encourages them to buy from me, without my being perceived as selling to them.
When first meeting with A&E prospects, our primary objective is to learn what is most important to them. By asking questions, we can determine if they're just shopping for a price or have other important issues. If their issues go beyond price, then we keep asking questions to determine if their concerns center on loss history, claim-handling issues, coverage, exposures, service or risk-management guidance.
Many don't understand how policies are priced; they simply feel the premium just keeps going up. Others feel that they don't receive a prompt response to their questions and that service is generally lacking. A few have questions about specific coverages. Usually, there is a breakdown in communication with their current agent, which affects the relationship and leads the prospect to look elsewhere.
These breakdowns represent genuine opportunities for our firm. To uncover them, I work hard on perfecting good communication skills--sometimes harder than on anything else. You can be technically perfect in your profession, but if you can't convince clients or prospects that you understand them and "feel their pain," they will not feel that you're putting them first. Once clients really feel that I am listening to them, I can move on to addressing their concerns or complaints. For instance, as a former underwriter, I can help them understand how their policy is priced, how loss history affects their premiums, how key exposures can be covered, etc.
To best serve clients and solve their problems, we need to know exactly what professional services they offer, the industries they serve, their key people and experiences, the types of projects they pursue and the risk-management strategies they employ. I can get most of this information from the professional liability insurance application. Since some applications can seem overwhelming, we occasionally offer clients our assistance in completing them. Architects and engineers are detailed-oriented by nature, which can sometimes lead them to "over-think" their responses to the questions. We help them determine what information is really necessary.
If we succeed in establishing a relationship with an A&E firm and writing their professional liability insurance, we shift to the firm's risk-management strategies. We offer to review contracts and project specifications, although only with respect to how they pertain to insurance. We emphasize that we do not provide legal advice and are not a substitute for counsel.
We look for contracts that seem unusually one-sided in regard to hold-harmless and indemnity clauses, and we advise our clients to make sure they have an attorney review the agreements and counsel them on any necessary changes. We also try to make our clients aware of the vicarious liability exposure they may have for other professionals who perform work for them as subconsultants. We advise them to obtain documentation from subconsultants demonstrating that they have proper coverage. It should be easy to ask subconsultants to provide evidence of professional liability insurance--and to ensure that they have limits equal to those our client may be required to carry for a certain project. It's surprising, however, to sometimes find that our clients don't understand the importance of this recommendation or follow up on it. Once I ask clients if they want their professional liability policy to be responsible for any errors their subconsultants make, however, our clients get the picture and obtain the evidence.
Finally, we keep track of our clients' other insurance needs. If a client is comfortable with their current agent and coverage, then we respect that relationship and simply offer to answer any questions, should the need arise. If our client is interested in an alternative proposal for their nonprofessional insurance needs, we ask that they keep us in mind. Once again, our focus is totally on the client, which strengthens the relationship.
The relationships we establish with our clients would not be possible without our equally strong partnerships with the insurance markets we represent. We take the same methodical approach to selecting markets that we do with prospects. First, we look for providers that are committed to serving design and engineering professionals. Second, the markets must be financially strong and stable. Third, they must demonstrate their ability to provide risk-management support. Finally, we look for markets that seem genuinely interested in working with us and supporting our efforts. Over the years, we've received complimentary risk-management information and services for our clients from some markets and, in a few cases, some suggested prospects to pursue. There's a sense of excitement when things click.
While we work with few markets, they all meet our criteria. Our main ones are RA&MCO Insurance Services and Victor O. Schinnerer & Co. They've supported our efforts and have been instrumental in helping us develop business. We also look for assistance in the E&S market when necessary.
Our underwriters are important partners to our business, so we approach them with each new-business opportunity in a professional manner. We provide a written narrative about the prospective insured, a typed application and any supporting documents that can help our underwriters better understand the risk. We also make a great effort to give underwriters genuine opportunities. We know their time is valuable, so why ask them to "practice quote" on business they have no real chance of writing? We always conclude each new opportunity with feedback for those underwriters who were not successful with the proposal they offered us, letting them know why the insured chose another market.
The underwriters appreciate the submissions we provide and the relationships we try to forge. With our selective approach to developing new business, our overall loss ratio is quite low--which is one reason underwriters, as well as clients, find us "refreshingly different."
As I said at the outset of this article, the insurance industry may focus on numbers, but we concentrate on the actions that are needed to ensure good results. Consequently our emphasis will remain on carefully developing good clients, fostering trusting relationships with our underwriting partners and providing exceptional service to both groups. Robert H. Cooper Jr., CIC, is the founding principal of R.H. Cooper and Co. LLC, an independent insurance agency dedicated to serving the surety bond and property-casualty insurance needs of construction companies and the professional liability insurance needs of architects, engineers, land surveyors, consultants and real-estate professionals. Mr. Cooper is a graduate of the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point, N.Y., and has served on active duty in the armed forces. He can be reached at rhcooperjr@rhcooperandcompany.com.
It's easier to focus on service as a specialist than as a generalist, which is one reason I've developed an interest in the construction industry. Aside from providing surety bonds and insurance for construction companies, we specialize in arranging professional liability insurance for certain professionals--including architects and engineers, the subjects of this article.
We're a small independent insurance agency, with a staff of two. I started the business a little over five years ago without a single client. The only tools in my bag were my prior experience and a passion to provide exceptional service. I got my start in the construction industry over 20 years ago as a home office underwriter with Seaboard Surety Co., where I later was promoted to branch manager. Eventually I became more interested in working directly with construction clients, so I became a licensed agent with a local surety-oriented agency. After that agency merged with a larger firm, I took a leap of faith and started my own company. Shortly thereafter, Jim Bechter, chief operating officer of RA&MCO Insurance Services, suggested that I develop a focus on professional liability insurance, partly because we had previously worked together in providing such policies for contractors doing design-build work with the Ohio Dept. of Transportation.
Since our humble beginning, we've grown slowly, carefully selecting our clients. Today we represent nearly 70 construction companies and other professionals, including about 20 architectural or engineering firms serving a wide variety of businesses and governmental authorities. They provide design and civil engineering services for newly constructed commercial buildings, as well as for water and sewer projects. While most of these A&E firms are relatively small, we're certainly capable of handling large firms--provided they are genuinely interested in our services and not just in obtaining the lowest-possible price. The balance of our professional-services clients consists of land surveyors, real-estate brokerages and various consultants.
We've developed a unique reputation in our area for being "refreshingly different," as we like to promote ourselves. We've done so by providing exceptional service to clients, which often leads to stable, long-term relationships. Our annual premium volume is approaching $500,000.
While we may be selective, we still recognize the need to market our firm every day. The principal territory we target is central Ohio, and we have a secondary focus on other parts of the state. While I'm also licensed to conduct business in West Virginia, we entertain business there primarily from referrals or when our clients find a need to "cross over the border" to conduct business.
Finding prospects can be a challenge for any business. For starters, we use such resources as "The Blue Book of Building and Construction," which includes a listing of architects and engineers. The local chambers of commerce also are good sources for prospects, as are the local chapters of the American Institute of Architects and the Ohio Society of Professional Engineers. By maintaining memberships with these professional associations, we gain opportunities to network and learn more about the members.
Once we've identified a certain prospect, we visit their Web site, on which we often can find some interesting information. More important, we try to learn the names of the key partners. We then prepare a short, easy-to-read letter of introduction to one of the firm's principals. We also include a one-page flier outlining our services or a risk-management brief on a topic of particular interest to those in the prospect's profession. The purpose of the mailing is to portray ourselves as a local agency specializing in serving the professional liability insurance and risk-management needs of architects and engineers. Our letters never focus on price. As the old saying goes, if you sell business on the basis of price, you'll lose it the same way.
Our mailings are designed to encourage the principals to call us when they are looking for alternatives to their professional liability insurance programs. I estimate that close to 80% of our clients have initiated contact with us. However, we still need to qualify callers, as some look just for price. In fact, as I was writing this article I declined to assist a caller with getting a quote, because the inquiry strictly concerned price. Keeping the caller's best interest in mind, I encouraged him to work closely with his current agent to see if better terms could be obtained from the incumbent insurance carrier.
We develop the professional trade associations as potential centers of influence. We look for opportunities to speak at their meetings or write articles for them. Speaking to an audience can be a great opportunity to establish credibility and rapport. I take these invitations quite seriously. If someone decides to extend me an invitation, I want to make sure he or she feels the decision was a good one. If I fall short, it might be my last invitation.
I never take advantage of the invitations by trying to put the spotlight on us via some form of infomercial or sales pitch. My presentations are designed to be strictly educational. Knowledge creates opportunities, so I try to share information that will keep the professionals in the audience ahead of the competitive curve. This encourages them to buy from me, without my being perceived as selling to them.
When first meeting with A&E prospects, our primary objective is to learn what is most important to them. By asking questions, we can determine if they're just shopping for a price or have other important issues. If their issues go beyond price, then we keep asking questions to determine if their concerns center on loss history, claim-handling issues, coverage, exposures, service or risk-management guidance.
Many don't understand how policies are priced; they simply feel the premium just keeps going up. Others feel that they don't receive a prompt response to their questions and that service is generally lacking. A few have questions about specific coverages. Usually, there is a breakdown in communication with their current agent, which affects the relationship and leads the prospect to look elsewhere.
These breakdowns represent genuine opportunities for our firm. To uncover them, I work hard on perfecting good communication skills--sometimes harder than on anything else. You can be technically perfect in your profession, but if you can't convince clients or prospects that you understand them and "feel their pain," they will not feel that you're putting them first. Once clients really feel that I am listening to them, I can move on to addressing their concerns or complaints. For instance, as a former underwriter, I can help them understand how their policy is priced, how loss history affects their premiums, how key exposures can be covered, etc.
To best serve clients and solve their problems, we need to know exactly what professional services they offer, the industries they serve, their key people and experiences, the types of projects they pursue and the risk-management strategies they employ. I can get most of this information from the professional liability insurance application. Since some applications can seem overwhelming, we occasionally offer clients our assistance in completing them. Architects and engineers are detailed-oriented by nature, which can sometimes lead them to "over-think" their responses to the questions. We help them determine what information is really necessary.
If we succeed in establishing a relationship with an A&E firm and writing their professional liability insurance, we shift to the firm's risk-management strategies. We offer to review contracts and project specifications, although only with respect to how they pertain to insurance. We emphasize that we do not provide legal advice and are not a substitute for counsel.
We look for contracts that seem unusually one-sided in regard to hold-harmless and indemnity clauses, and we advise our clients to make sure they have an attorney review the agreements and counsel them on any necessary changes. We also try to make our clients aware of the vicarious liability exposure they may have for other professionals who perform work for them as subconsultants. We advise them to obtain documentation from subconsultants demonstrating that they have proper coverage. It should be easy to ask subconsultants to provide evidence of professional liability insurance--and to ensure that they have limits equal to those our client may be required to carry for a certain project. It's surprising, however, to sometimes find that our clients don't understand the importance of this recommendation or follow up on it. Once I ask clients if they want their professional liability policy to be responsible for any errors their subconsultants make, however, our clients get the picture and obtain the evidence.
Finally, we keep track of our clients' other insurance needs. If a client is comfortable with their current agent and coverage, then we respect that relationship and simply offer to answer any questions, should the need arise. If our client is interested in an alternative proposal for their nonprofessional insurance needs, we ask that they keep us in mind. Once again, our focus is totally on the client, which strengthens the relationship.
The relationships we establish with our clients would not be possible without our equally strong partnerships with the insurance markets we represent. We take the same methodical approach to selecting markets that we do with prospects. First, we look for providers that are committed to serving design and engineering professionals. Second, the markets must be financially strong and stable. Third, they must demonstrate their ability to provide risk-management support. Finally, we look for markets that seem genuinely interested in working with us and supporting our efforts. Over the years, we've received complimentary risk-management information and services for our clients from some markets and, in a few cases, some suggested prospects to pursue. There's a sense of excitement when things click.
While we work with few markets, they all meet our criteria. Our main ones are RA&MCO Insurance Services and Victor O. Schinnerer & Co. They've supported our efforts and have been instrumental in helping us develop business. We also look for assistance in the E&S market when necessary.
Our underwriters are important partners to our business, so we approach them with each new-business opportunity in a professional manner. We provide a written narrative about the prospective insured, a typed application and any supporting documents that can help our underwriters better understand the risk. We also make a great effort to give underwriters genuine opportunities. We know their time is valuable, so why ask them to "practice quote" on business they have no real chance of writing? We always conclude each new opportunity with feedback for those underwriters who were not successful with the proposal they offered us, letting them know why the insured chose another market.
The underwriters appreciate the submissions we provide and the relationships we try to forge. With our selective approach to developing new business, our overall loss ratio is quite low--which is one reason underwriters, as well as clients, find us "refreshingly different."
As I said at the outset of this article, the insurance industry may focus on numbers, but we concentrate on the actions that are needed to ensure good results. Consequently our emphasis will remain on carefully developing good clients, fostering trusting relationships with our underwriting partners and providing exceptional service to both groups. Robert H. Cooper Jr., CIC, is the founding principal of R.H. Cooper and Co. LLC, an independent insurance agency dedicated to serving the surety bond and property-casualty insurance needs of construction companies and the professional liability insurance needs of architects, engineers, land surveyors, consultants and real-estate professionals. Mr. Cooper is a graduate of the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point, N.Y., and has served on active duty in the armed forces. He can be reached at rhcooperjr@rhcooperandcompany.com.
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