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30 years of stable growth

Keystone Insurers Group prepares to enter ninth state, maintaining its original principles

Elizabeth Schenk and Colin Buzzard have been key players in the growth of Keystone Insurers Group. Schenk, currently vice president, franchise sales and marketing, will take over Buzzard's role as vice president, sales and marketing when he retires at the end of the year.

 

 

 

 

 

By George "Rusty" Capulet

 

French novelist Alphonse Karr's epigram that "the more things change, the more they stay the same" is nowhere more apparent than at Keystone Insurers Group. Rough Notes magazine has featured Keystone a few times over the last 15 years, and several of Keystone's partners have been named Rough Notes Agency of the Month.

When Keystone was featured in the magazine about two and a half years ago, it was expanding in Kentucky and preparing to take its  model as a franchisor to Tennessee. Now it has pretty much completed Kentucky and Tennessee, has successfully expanded into Georgia, and this October will enter its ninth state in 14 years, Illinois.

Keystone will end 2013 with nearly 300 franchise partners and more than 70 employees. About 65% of the employees work at corporate headquarters, which was recently expanded by more than 10,000 square feet to accommodate the growth.

"We joke that, if you actually need Keystone, we're not interested, but it is the truth. We want growth-oriented, profitable partners for a lifetime."

-Elizabeth Schenk

"We're working on initiatives that will be game changers, but our commitment has been and always will be to doing the right thing by Partners, carriers, and employees."

-David Boedker

President, Keystone Insurers Group

 

 

 

Keystone, which is owned exclusively by its partners and employees, has changed dramatically in the last few years. Among the developments:

• They own a Bermuda-domiciled captive.

• Partners are realizing huge success from the Group Benefits Division, having anticipated the evolving benefits marketplace years in advance.

• Financial Services is putting "boots on the ground" as it provides the bench strength for partner opportunities that generate new revenue streams.

• The Claims Division has helped partners realize approximately $2 million in additional profit sharing in 2012 through reserve takedowns, subrogation, and management of larger losses.

• The Sales Culture Division has schooled hundreds of Keystone producers and principals on sales techniques.

• The Business Development Division has helped Keystone partners realize significant revenue by providing the expertise and markets necessary to write accounts with seven zeroes both nationally and internationally

Such rapid growth and expansion often trumpets a philosophical shift, but the basic principles that have guided Keystone and that have provided the impetus for expansion and investment haven't wavered: integrity, vision, passion, and experience. Keystone President David Boedker sums it up:

"Thirty years ago, four agencies opened the book on Keystone. The pages were basically empty, but through the years, based on great ideas from Partners, we've put words on those pages. The book is called Opportunity and it is timeless. Our focus is bringing the best together in Partners, carriers, and employees. We're working on initiatives that will be game changers, but our commitment has been and always will be to doing the right thing by Partners, carriers, and employees."

Keystone has no outside ownership and 87% of those who entered Keystone prior to 2009 took the opportunity to acquire stock when offerings were available; those entering after 2009 will have the first shot at Keystone's next offering. The closely held stock has realized increases every year since 2000, with 13% in 2012.

So, Illinois in October 2013—then where? Elizabeth Schenk, vice president, franchise sales and marketing, and formerly with W.R. Berkley and Liberty Mutual, predicts no end to the Keystone march, with states like Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Missouri on deck.

"I've been passionate about Keystone since my carrier days when I had responsibility for the Keystone relationship. These folks were having a lot of fun; they were like a band of brothers and sisters; and they worked their tails off! Their model is so pure, their dedication to bringing the best together is solid, and their fair and equal treatment of all is incredible."

Schenk was identified in Keystone's early days as the successor to Colin Buzzard, who will retire at the end of 2013. "Elizabeth has some unique qualities," notes Boedker, "a combination of aggressive enthusiasm and grit. No load is too heavy. There are no excuses, no quitting. In her own pleasant, persistent way, Elizabeth will get any agency she determines should be in Keystone."

Schenk learned early that the type of agencies Keystone desires do not line up at the door. "It's not simply achieving a number; we aren't interested in start-ups, agencies with weak financials or high loss ratios," she says. "We joke that, if you actually need Keystone, we're not interested, but it's the truth. We want growth-oriented, profitable Partners for a lifetime."

Keystone and its Partners believe in the perpetuation and strengthening of the independent agency system and are active in their state and national agency associations, Young Agent groups, institutions of higher learning that offer risk management and insurance curriculums, and in recruiting/testing/training new producers.

When you pull together a group of people with equal passion for the task at hand, you can't not succeed. Keystone is set for the future. As for me, "all endings are beginnings; we just don't know it at the time."

For more information:

Keystone Insurers Group

Web site: www.keystoneinsgrp.com

   

 

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