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Agency of the Month Building on its history, people and process Peoples First lives up to its name by putting clients first
By Dennis H. Pillsbury Peoples First Insurance, Rock Hill, South Carolina, traces its roots back to 1906, when it was part of a bank. And that relationship remained until the 1960s, when the bank was sold and the agency became a separate entity, continuing to serve the Rock Hill community and the surrounding area, which, because of its location in the north central part of the state, includes both South and North Carolina. Around 1983, the agency became Peoples First to reflect a philosophy of putting customers first that also traced its roots back to 1906. "We've been in Rock Hill the whole time," says Jimmy Galloway, president of the agency. "We've changed buildings a few times, but we have remained loyal to the community and our customers have remained loyal to us." And that history is important, particularly in a region where tradition is so significant. "People have grown to rely on us as part of the fabric of the community," Jimmy continues. "Even as we expanded, we remained focused on providing service to our community—not just in terms of insurance and risk management, but also by giving back through support of local charities and business organizations. We also stood by the community when a competitor decided to close its Rock Hill office by purchasing the office and providing jobs to its employees. Of course, the acquisition also made financial sense as it helped us to grow and gain some talented people." While the history of more than a century of service to the community and to its clients is important, it is the people who exemplify this commitment that make the agency an important partner to its constituents every day of the week. Jimmy's son, Ben Galloway, who serves the agency as vice president, treasurer and operations manager, points out that "the employees are heavily involved in community activities, oftentimes serving on boards of local charities and business groups alongside some of our customers. They volunteer for the United Way, the Arts Council of York County, the Chamber of Commerce, and the Parks and Recreation Board, to name just a few. The agency also sponsors numerous art events and festivals. The local influence is extremely important to us. We know nearly everyone in our community and the surrounding area." And going the extra mile for the community also extends to the agency's customers.
"After the last acquisition, we started to look at increasing the ways that we could add value to the relationship with our customers," Jimmy points out. "We had added several young, intelligent people and saw this as an opportunity to try a unique approach that would really differentiate us from the competition. I had met Scott Addis a number of years ago and we liked his approach of really becoming partners with clients and helping them reduce and/or eliminate risk." "We started using what we called our Risk Watch™ process," says Ken Cushman, CIC, vice president, commercial lines. "We made a decision to do the right thing in terms of risk management, even if it meant turning down a potential customer. In essence, we pre-qualify our clients and ask them to become part of the process. By taking that approach, we team up with those clients and prospects who want to create a safer workplace, want to reduce losses, and are willing to work to do so. Our new producers start out by viewing themselves as business partners with clients, not sales people. That's a whole lot different from our competitors." Commercial lines producer Mac Ellerbe says, "It's a much better way to do things. For me, it changed the way that I do business with prospects and solidified relationships with prospects and customers. I've been in this business 45 years," he adds, "and with Peoples First for the last seven. They had just started the transition to the Addis approach as a way to reignite the agency and make it a leader. It's really turned out to be a great move. It's been a breath of fresh air for me. I feel much more productive and far more helpful in my dealings with clients. I'm having fun at what I'm doing," he concludes, noting, "It's kept me young. I have no interest in retiring." Perhaps the best example of how a Risk Watch process can benefit clients comes from Keith Richardson, CIC, CRA, vice president and commercial lines producer. Keith joined Peoples First when he found out they had the process. He's been involved in the insurance business for 26 years. "I was fascinated by the idea of truly becoming a partner with my clients. Now that I've implemented this with my clients, I really wish that I'd always done business this way. When I came on board, I took over a book and was able to provide clients with something new. Not everybody bought into the concept and you can't force it on them, but those who agreed to work on improving their safety culture and loss mitigation efforts have been blown away by the results."
Risk Watch involves four basic steps: identify exposures, define strategies, implement programs, and monitor and adjust the program as things change. The initial step requires Peoples First to really understand every facet of a client's business. That means meeting with management and employees to find out what the primary risk factors are and what can be done to mitigate them. "It does mean that you need to spend more time with your clients," Keith continues. "But what's bad about that? It also means that you're helping them change to a more efficient and safer environment." When I first interviewed Keith, he was on his way to two meetings. The first was a forklift training session. The second was to meet with a manufacturer who had implemented the program and was about to reach five years without an accident. "Because the process includes employees, there's real buy-in," Keith notes. "They understand that management cares about them and wants them to enjoy an accident-free environment. Twenty-eight people were there for the forklift training," Keith told me later, "and you could have heard a pin drop in the room. They were all paying attention." At the manufacturer, Keith worked with management to develop a safety innovations program involving employees, with the winner receiving the Peoples First Safety Innovation Award, which is displayed in the break room. "Last year, we received six innovative ideas from employees—and they were all good. It's great to see a workplace where every person is looking out for everyone else. Employees are rewarded for helping out. They have a Safety Community Watch that is a lot like a Neighborhood Watch program designed to prevent crime. I just love this. I'm working with people who really care. Morale is high and the owners understand how important this is. They even brought in interior designers to make the workplace a pleasing environment, in addition to being a safe environment. They really get it!"
Jimmy's grandson, Alexander Galloway, commercial lines account executive, has been with the agency for three years, coming to the agency three weeks after graduation from Davidson College. "I haven't known any other way of doing business, although I've been around the agency for a long time and did see people working in other ways. But this process works like a charm. It helps us, as well as the client, because we really get to know the client holistically. Our conversations are rarely about price. It's always focused on ways we can work together to reduce risk. We truly are aligned with the client's goals and objectives. And when that's the case, we never have to worry about losing the client. That's why our retention is in the high 90s, year after year." The diagnostic approach relies on the agency's ability to touch the client on a number of occasions. "We make certain that we have several touches a year," says Debbie Jarriel, corporate secretary and commercial service manager. "We have plenty of arrows in our quiver both for those clients who have adopted the Risk Watch approach and for those small commercial accounts and personal lines accounts that have not. We can produce a variety of spreadsheets for clients who want that, including quarterly claims reviews. It all centers around our desire to have a good, trusting relationship with every one of our clients."
Of course, the agency has not abandoned its personal lines and small commercial accounts that don't necessarily fit into the Risk Watch approach. John Moore, a producer who retired but forgot how, works with the benefits group and with small commercial clients to make certain that they, too, feel the impact of Peoples First's caring approach. "We understand that we need to reach out to those small accounts and reassure them that we're not just a big account agency. Small commercial and personal lines are critical to our success. That's one of the things that's really great about working here. Everyone respects everyone else. Producers work alongside each other. When a large account needs help with a personal lines problem or has a benefits problem, the producer is very willing to introduce others to their account. They understand that cross-selling and maintaining a large community of smaller accounts is critical to our long-term success."
"The benefits arena has been an extremely important area recently, thanks to the enactment of the PPACA," Delcine Dunham-Hunt, benefits account manager, points out. "We are in touch with all our accounts frequently to keep them informed about deadlines, notifications, exchange options, and so on. It's a constant moving target, where we are always watching what is happening and keeping clients informed. It seems like deadlines often lead to postponements, which means new deadlines, and on and on. Information is critical in this ever-changing environment and a key part of our job is keeping clients informed. Of course, we also try to develop relationships with clients and prospects so we can increase the business we write—in our spare time."
And, last but not least, the agency has a separate claims department that makes certain that, when claims happen, they are handled quickly, fairly and efficiently. Susanne Player, claims manager, says, "We live up to our name when it comes to claims. We put clients first. We work as an advocate. When one of our clients has a claim, they call us and we report the claim for them. We work with the adjusters, all of whom we know well, and get involved if there are any communications issues." Rough Notes is pleased to recognize Peoples First as its Marketing Agency of the Month. Their process creates an important dynamic that truly exemplifies what the independent agency system offers clients—a process based on, as Ken Cushman observes, "doing the right thing for clients, employees and insurance companies. When you do that, everybody wins."
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