The people at J. Rolfe Davis Insurance believe in getting the most out of their resources, both for their clients and from their own people.
That attitude has fueled innovation and success for the Maitland, Fla.-based agency, while earning the firm an Honorable Mention in the sixth annual “National Underwriter Commercial Insurance Agency of the Year” award program.
Bottom line, J. Rolfe Davis does not simply want to provide their accounts with insurance coverage. Instead, they want to work with clients to make them better risks.
“Many times, there is a significant potential for long-term savings through risk management, loss control and a careful crafting of the treatment of risk,” said David McKinney, the firm’s chief executive officer. “Too often, clients try to make it all about the premium. Our approach is to point out areas of immediate savings and project them over a protracted period of time.”
Effectively, Mr. McKinney noted, the main message JRD presents is that the firm does not want to quote business but instead asks to be brought in as a “strategic business partner” for clients.
“We focus on, ‘If you spend a million dollars, do you want to understand why, or just spend a million dollars?’” said John Turner, president of the firm. Those clients who are only looking for a quote are not for JRD, which has some advice for those looking at multiple agencies for simply the lowest premium.
“If you want to create an auction, you should hire an auctioneer,” he said, noting JRD’s agents will walk away from a potential client if the prospect is simply looking for a price for coverage rather than working to improve its risk profile.
That position, he said, has made some reconsider their thinking on insurance. “That’s pretty powerful”—when prospects see the firm is willing to give up on potential business to stick by its risk management principles, he added.
Instead, JRD agents go into a prospect meeting with a risk management plan. The exact pitch depends on the particular client, but one service he said the agency always provides is to offer high-level recommendations to better limit the account’s exposure while demonstrating what kinds of solutions JRD will offer down the road. “It’s like a teaser,” he said.
Even before that initial meeting, JRD agents will have done their homework to understand the potential client’s business. “If you don’t go into the first meeting knowing something about them, you’ve got a problem,” according to Mr. Turner.