TrueNorth Companies by North American Constructors Journal

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TrueNorth Companies:

They’ve Got You Covered Top 50 agency TrueNorth Companies employs approximately 400 individuals with offices in Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Tennessee and Texas. Written by Kevin Doyle Produced by Stephen Marino

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stablished in 2001, privately held insurance broker TrueNorth Companies of Cedar Rapids, IA provides integrated risk and insurance solutions through specialists. “As TrueNorth has evolved, we have come to realize that regardless of the area of insurance, the key to a successful engagement is not only to structure the appropriate risk finance strategy, but to engage resources as a part of a formal plan to help the client to gain control of losses. Compression of cost of an insurance program will always be a factor, but the methodology to gain control is what sets TrueNorth apart, says Principal and Practice Leader Dan Cook, who oversees Transportation services. Named a Top 50 agency in September 2020, the company generated revenues of approximately $100M last year. It employs approximately 400 individuals with offices in six states – Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Tennessee and Texas. National account team members stationed from coast to coast provide a range of specialized capabilities and resources for clients. It joined the Blockchain In Transportation Alliance (BITA) in February 2018. The company’s Construction

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TrueNorth Companies | 4 Specialty Group has been up and running for more than a decade and understands the intricacies of the construction industry. It is committed to working with clients to help them manage inherent risks while creating opportunities for improved outcomes. Additionally, the company offers employee benefits programs that include fully insured and selffunded health plans, short-term disability and long-term disability plans and retirement plans ranging from 401(k) to profit sharing, executive benefits and business succession plans. In order to determine the best plan for each client, TrueNorth’s specialists conduct discovery interviews to analyze risk and develop a timeline, encouraging client engagement and input as part of the process to tailor specific strategies while avoiding a “one size fits all” approach.

Day To Day When it comes to potential business partners, the company seeks out those with shared interests and values. “We look for like-minded organizations that are clientcentric and work to achieve winwin outcomes,” says Principal

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and Practice Leader Stu Haker, who came to the company in 2005 and is a Certified Worker’s Compensation Advisor (CWCA). “Our platform is about integration and synergy. In many cases we leverage an open architecture’ service platform to provide the right solutions at the right time, for the right price. When we enter an engagement with shared interest and values the client experience reflects it.” Cook – a specialist in Mergers and Acquisitions who joined TrueNorth in 2013 with more than 30 years

of industry experience – explains the company’s approach is far removed from the industry norm of business owners seeking advice on how to reduce their costs from agents who are, first and foremost, salespeople that get paid more when premiums increase. “We think the opposite should be true. We help our clients’ transition from ‘buying insurance’ every year to a process of managing and financing risk, a C-Suite activity that is impactful on the future success of an enterprise. Buying insurance is a purchasing exercise

“We help our clients transition from ‘buying insurance’ every year to a process of managing and financing risk, a C-Suite activity that is impactful on the future success of an enterprise.” - Principal Dan Cook www.truenorthcompanies.com

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that many times is considered to be a ‘necessary evil’. Personally, I get more energy focusing on strategies that help clients maximize their future,” he says. That “entrepreneurial spirit” is a key element of the company’s culture. Cook says the company is driven to achieve growth through innovation

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and by providing a positive customer experience. “If we are solving problems for clients, we will realize success. Another is the desire for winwin outcomes. Whether in client relationships or with our colleagues, if we make decisions that lead to a win-win, it will have a

TrueNorth Companies | 7 Dan Cook

positive impact on our culture,” he adds. The company was named “Coolest Place to Work”, honoring companies that have created the most engaging and rewarding work environments; and chosen “Best Business Insurance”, reflective of its mission statement “to assist companies and people with protecting and maximizing assets, resources and opportunities” in the Corridor Business Journal’s “Best of the Corridor” issue in July 2020.

Meeting Challenges The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has impacted insurers and their clients like never before. Companies are seeing their business interruption claims summarily denied or delayed for extended periods. “Insurers are finding themselves in courtrooms regarding the intent of the business income

language in the insurance forms. In addition, premium is down due to reductions in policyholder revenues and payroll. Some States have mandated carriers pay workers compensation benefits for COVID-19 illness claims regardless of proof that the virus was contracted at work. All these issues lead to poor returns for the carrier and increased premium and/or reduced capacity for the business owner,” Haker elaborates. According to Haker, increased cybercrime activity, severe weather-related losses and wildfires, and nuclear verdicts in the auto space have resulted in “nearly every line of coverage looking down the barrel of a rate increase in Q4 2020 and Q1 2021.”

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“We look for like-minded organizations that are client-centric and work to achieve win-win outcomes. Our platform is about integration and synergy.” - Principal Stu Haker

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TrueNorth Companies | 9 Stuart Haker

Associates, Meeker-Magner, CSB Insurance Group, Rowles Hayes Carney (RHC), Gateway Insurance Services and Jewell Insurance. That trend seems likely to continue when a proper fit presents itself. Haker’s advice to a younger version of himself just starting in the industry sums up the company’s approach nicely: “Specialize in an industry. Understand your customer. Add value every day. Make a commitment to those things and you’ll have a wonderful career,” he concludes.

More recently, the company has been involved with helping clients and families navigate the FEMA claims process after the devastating winter storms that slammed the Midwest in February.