Tyler, Texas, located 100 miles southeast of Dallas, boastspicturesque antique shops, mom-and-pop specialty stores andcharming brick streets. It is here that Kenneth W. Threlkeldestablished Threlkeld & Co. Insurance Agency (TCI) in 1982, andit has grown to one of the premier insurance agencies in EastTexas.

Threlkeld began his insurance career with Clyde-PrestridgeInsurance Agency in 1965 as an accountant and producer. Whenpartner Prestridge became ill, Threlkeld bought 50 percent of theagency, and in 1974, took a financial risk and bought the remaining50 percent of the company. Success of the agency hinged onretaining the largest client, T.B. Butler–which Threlkeld did.

The T. B. Butler Publishing Co. Inc. is in its fifth generationof family ownership, publishing the Tyler Morning Telegraph, theSunday Tyler Courier-Times-Telegraph and the online editionwww.tylerpaper.com.

In 1975, Clyde-Prestridge Insurance Agency merged withHibbs-Hallmark Insurance agency, the largest independent agency inEast Texas. Thus, Hibbs-Hallmark-Threlkeld Insurance was born.

After deciding to go out on his own again, Threlkeld establishedTCI in 1982, leasing a space of 1,500 square feet for the firstoffice. Threlkeld purchased the office building in 1983, and nowuses more than 17,000 square feet. Threlkeld is now the chiefexecutive officer.

After graduating from Texas A&M University in 1987, ToddThrelkeld joined his father at TCI. Todd is the agency's presidentand the top selling producer and produces 45 to 55 percent of theagency's commercial lines revenue. His focus is commercial linesales and service, while his father, Kenneth, focuses onadministration and financial planning.

Because TCI is a family-owned business, a buy/sell agreement isbeing executed between father and son. Ensuring the agency'ssuccess is an ongoing concern, and TCI is constantly on the huntfor new talent. Producers are offered a lucrative bonus plan forachieving certain levels of revenue production payable uponretirement.

The carrier connection

TCI splits its services between 65 percent for commercialproperty-casualty, 23 percent group life-health and 12 percentpersonal property-casualty. Kenneth and Todd's balance of knowledgeand experience enables the agency to boast many carrierrelationships, including Travelers, Texas Mutual, ACE, Bituminous,Liberty Mutual, Republic and Towerstone on the commercialproperty-casualty side; Blue Cross Blue Shield, United Healthcare,Principal, Aetna and Assured Benefits on the group life-healthside; and Central, Kemper, Travelers, Republic and Hartford on thepersonal lines property-casualty side.

These carriers have helped TCI grow from annual sales of$652,000 in 1983 to nearly $5.5 million in 2008, and from 6employees in 1983 to 42 employees in 2008. Also helping the agencygrow is its value-added services, which include an acclaimedin-house claims department, access to certificate tracking service,access to disaster recovery service and access to 24/7 customerservice.

One of TCI's advantages lies in its employees, and the proof isin the number of employees who have been with the agency for manyyears. Four have served the company for more than 20 years; fivefor more than 15 years; and four for more than 10 years. “Employeesstay because TCI continues to open up opportunities for advancementand provides all training needed for promotion,” said Suzi Stein,chief financial officer.

“Our claims department is our pride and joy,” Stein said. “WandaLock-Troquille has been with our agency for 25 years. She serves asthe liaison between our customers and our companies. Throughout theyears, we have received tons of letters from our customers abouthow great it is to have someone like Wanda on our team. She won'tlet a situation drop until both sides are satisfied.”

Engaged employees

Members of the staff have chaired and served on boards for theIndependent Insurance Agents of Tyler, Independent Insurance Agentsof Texas, East Texas Assn. of Health Underwriters, National Assn.of Health Underwriters, East Texas Area Claims Assn., TexasProfessional Insurance Assn. and others. TCI staffers also serveson statewide committees for the Independent Insurance Agents ofTexas and the Kemper Advisory Council.

The Threlkeld family and TCI employees are known for theirinvolvement and service in the community. Staffers hold an annualgarage sale at the agency to benefit Tyler's Cystic Fibrosischapter. Employees also participate in the Susan G. Komen Race ForThe Cure, Cystic Fibrosis chapter, the American Cancer Society'sRelay for Life and Junior Achievement Bowl-A-Thon. During the pasttwo holiday seasons, employees “rang the bell” during their regularworking hours for the Salvation Army's Kettle Drive. IncludingKenneth Threlkeld, 20 employees participated. The staff at TCI alsohas provided gifts and necessities to several families during theChristmas holidays.

Whether it is a hard or soft market, TCI's strategy is to pushfor new sales. Producers are given annual new business quotas, andthe agency measures each producer on a quarterly basis and rewardsthose who succeed with higher commission rates. Those who do notmeet their quotas receive lower commission rates. The agencymeasures retention rates quarterly. If more business is lost thatwhat is allowable, then quotas are adjusted to make up thedifference.

Support staff is compensated with a salary plus incentives,which are 100 percent growth driven.

On the technology side, TCI uses Vertafore's AfW for itsautomation system. The agency continues to fine tune its electronicprocessing and is nearly all the way with front end scanning. TCIuses an image software call Cabinet NG. “This is a little differentfrom what most agencies use, but we would not trade it foranything,” Stein said. “Cabinet NG (CNG) can be customized to anagencies needs. We chose it because when the staff clicked on theCNG button, the application looked just like their old paper filingcabinets. It was such an easy transition.” Now items are scannedfrom the front desk and work flowed to the staff for processing.Managers have the ability to quality control from their owndesks.

Technology is a large expenditure for the agency. TCI has astaff position dedicated to finding new technology and staying ontop of updates. In addition, the agency pays attention to whatother agencies are doing by networking on the local, state andnational levels, and uses Web boards and e-mail to stay in touchwith fellow agents.

Recognizing the importance of continuous learning, TCI pays alleducation expenses for its employees. Production and support staffare encouraged to obtain every designation available to them. TCIensures it has strong attendance at technology conferences,management conferences and trade shows related to targetspecialties. Managers are required to read two to three booksrelated to management each year.

“There is really only one major difference between you and thecompetition: your staff,” Stein said. “You can invest in the latestand greatest tools all day long, but if you haven't invested in theright people to run your operation, you will end up just running inplace.”