Opened as a practice group specializing in casualty placements, Tave & Assocs. LLC (Tave Risk Management), Northbrook, Ill., has expanded to provide a full range of services and was one of six insurance companies from across the country recognized as a Top Performing Agency last year by IIABA Best Practices.
Ruth R. Tave founded Tave Risk Management in January 2000 with the vision to improve servicing quality to complex risk management clients. Tave began her insurance career in 1978 and started the firm after more than 20 years' experience with various global brokerages.
Tave and approximately 25 employees are responsible for the day-to-day operations of the firm and focus on quality customer service out of the one office in Northbrook. "Having all associates transacting business within a single office ensures close teamwork on our largest clients," Tave said.
Tave Risk Management specializes in commercial property-casualty lines of business including merger and acquisition due diligence, management liability and environment risk management, with an estimated premium volume of $40 million. The agency also recently added a private client advisory group to provide personal insurance to high net worth individuals and families.
Market targets
Although the agency has many Chicagoland and Midwest-based clients, it also has other clients located throughout the U.S.; and though it may be challenging to conduct face-to-face meetings with distant clients, Tave Risk Management service, execution and offerings are the same whether they are 5 miles away or 5,000 miles away.
Tave Risk Management provides effective solutions to companies with complex risk management challenges, enforced by account executives who have an average of 20 years' experience handling complex insurance placements.
"We have deep, real-world experience assessing every detail of our clients' areas of exposure and identifying comprehensive risk management programs to address them," Tave said. The types of programs include due diligence, loss forecasting, budgeting, coverage analysis, risk management cost allocation, along with other special projects that address distinct client needs.
To be more competitive in the industry, Tave Risk Management offers clients highly responsive and personalized service that cannot be found in larger brokerage firms. The firm refined renewal processes, starting each client's renewal even earlier, in many cases 150 days in advance. The team developed internal renewal meetings that involve senior management, and present options for all clients to ensure they have opportunity to review the design of their insurance programs.
The current market makes it crucial to strengthen existing relationships on all levels, and having knowledge of clients' needs is important. The agency offers its clients an integrated team of advisors who work together to address needs; also, it assigns each client a primary risk counselor to coordinate personalized, professional service across all coverage.
"Our firm's customized approach ensures clients never get lost in the shuffle," Tave said. "Our attentive and personalized service has made Tave Risk Management a preferred risk management partner for many privately owned companies. Our service ethic has resulted in strong and lasting client relationships. As a result, many of our clients often refer us to other business partners."
Staff advantage
To better serve its clients, Tave Risk Management emphasizes employee development. Because the agency has excellent rapport with its carriers, it partners with them to deliver customized product training for its associates. Each staff member has a modified training plan encompassing a wide array of topics including the use of agency management systems, marketing strategies and best practices implementation.
Tave Risk Management uses Applied's TAM agency management system to manage core aspects of the agency such as policy renewals, endorsement processing, claims reporting, billing and invoicing. The firm also has built electronic repositories to house all incoming policies and endorsements, and leverage a process in combination with the Applied system to review and issue these to clients quickly.
The agency hasn't yet engaged social media to market the brand, but it has used public relations outlets, produces monthly client and prospect communications, publishes articles and industry journals, presents at the annual RIMS conference and attends a variety of events to increase name recognition. Tave Risk Management also is involved with several different charities throughout the year such as the Lutheran Social Services of Illinois' back to school Back Pack Program, United States Marines Toys for Tots Foundation, Greater Chicago Food Depository and Jeans for Wishes, a program that benefits children from the Illinois Make-A-Wish Foundation.
Balance sheets, profitability, productivity and expense comparisons are completed on a quarterly basis using the IIABA and Reagan Consulting Best Practices system. Any significant variances between the average and top 25 percent performers in Best Practices are evaluated to determine strategies to improve Tave Risk Management's performance.
Looking forward
Tave Risk Management has recruited and developed key professionals and will continue to do so for agency succession, Tave said. The agency has a business operations group that acts as executive management and compensation is based on performance.
The company has both short- and long-term business plans that focus on steady and sustainable growth averaging 5 to 10 percent every year. Tave Risk Management also is exploring opportunities for growth in areas of construction, real estate and environmental.
The foundation of a solid agency is to focus and grow with the entrepreneurial culture of the organization. The base of the organization depends on having excellent processes in place and developing systems that people will be able to use and follow, Tave said. She believes the ultimate goal to a successful agency is to provide excellent service to clients, while providing associates a dynamic environment to reward them for their dedication.
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