I’ve spent my career split evenly on both sides of the insurance equation. That gives me a unique perspective on a day in the life of an agency account executive versus an insurance company underwriter.
There’s real value in understanding both.
Starting as an underwriter, I learned everything I could about workers’ compensation insurance and began sharing my knowledge with my brokers. In return they taught me about life on the “front line.” I learned an agency account executive must translate insurance terms into everyday examples for their clients. They are tasked with knowing other lines of insurance. I thought: How can they know all this each time their phone rings?
Knowing the learning curve was steep, I joined the broker community.
With the roles now reversed, I developed relationships with my underwriters who shared their knowledge with me. My “go-to” underwriters came through on those “what if” questions. I found I didn’t need to know all the answers—just where to find them.
After 16 years as a broker, I returned to my underwriting roots at A.I.M. Mutual, ready to market the benefits of a monoline insurer. Brokers give us high marks in five key areas:
#1 – Fast Answers. We respond to questions quickly and effectively. “We place value on the ease of doing business with you,” noted one broker.
#2 – Custom Action Plans. It’s not uncommon to have a quick call with both a broker and policyholder to address their needs. With renewals, we review the experience of the risk along with its unique characteristics.
#3 – Experience Mod Deep Dive. We proactively review each policyholder’s experience modifications to ensure their accuracy. When appropriate, we file revised data to the rating bureaus to lower experience modification factors, which impacts premiums.
#4 – Subrogation Success. We go the extra mile. When subrogation efforts are successful, we report them to the rating bureaus, again, to lower experience modifications.
#5 – We Listen. Really. As underwriters, we are not governed by extensive manuals and prohibited classes of business. This allows us to find solutions whenever possible.
Ultimately our goal is to provide a workers’ compensation experience that ensures peace of mind for all. If we improve public perception of the industry along the way, that’s a plus.