Rough Notes - July 2008

SPECIALTY LINES: EMPLOYMENT PRACTICES LIABILITY MARKETING: WEATHER PROTECTION VIA CAPITAL MARKETS TECHNOLOGY: AGENCIES AND E-COMMERCE BENEFITS: REBIRTH OF AGENCY’S BENEFITS DIVISION

PROPERTY & CASUALTY AGENTS

AGENCY MARKETING • INSURANCE MARKETS • NEW PRODUCTS JULY 2008

MARKETING AGENCY OF THE MONTH:

NORTH DAKOTA FIRM THRIVES ON MARKETING & COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT ALSO: PREVIEW OF VCIA ANNUAL MEETING

MARKETING AGENCY OF THE MONTH

BEING DIFFERENT

AND MAKING A

DIFFERENCE Dawson Insurance is a standout in the Fargo/Moorhead environs

Tom Dawson, CPCU, CIC, President (on left), and Dan Armbrust, CIC, CPIA, CPCU, CRIS, Vice President and Sales Manager.

Reprinted from the July 2008 issue of Rough Notes magazine

By Dennis H. Pillsbury

“T

here’s just a constant awareness of being different,” says Tom Dawson, CPCU, CIC, president of Dawson Insurance, Fargo, North Dakota. “We’re not just relying on good service and being around 90 years. That’s been a real change in recent years. We focus on ways to differentiate ourselves from the competition through value-added services to our clients and to our community.”

Of course, it certainly doesn’t hurt that Dawson Insurance has been serving the Fargo area since 1917 when it was founded by Tom’s grandfather, Charles A. Dawson, as a crop insurance general agency and an independent agency for other lines of business. Tom’s father, Bob, and his uncle, Jim,

Dan Armbrust meets with GPK Products, Inc., President Spencer Hildre.

Wayne Lauwers, CIC, Surety Manager (on left), meets with Darin Pfingsten, President of PKG Contracting, Inc., on the site of an effluent reuse facility which generates water for use at an ethanol production facility.

both joined the agency in the ’40s after World War II. Jim concentrated on the crop insurance side, while Bob began to build the independent agency side of the business. In 1995, the crop insurance business was sold and Dawson Insurance became strictly an independent agency.

As of 2007, the agency has grown to reach $6 million in revenue with 40 full-time employees and a few parttime people. There are 13 producers, including several young producers “who like to knock on doors,” Tom says.

“We still do that, although we’ve become more focused on prospective clients and industries. We have criteria in terms of the size and types of accounts we are after and we spend a lot of time analyzing how much of an opportunity we have by securing a new account.”

The agency also brought in an additional life producer last fall. “He had been in radio advertising for

Agent Todd Anderson, CPCU, CIC (center) meets with Steve M. Scheel (left) and Steve D. Scheel, 4th and 5th generation owners of Scheels, the world’s largest all sport store and co-sponsors with Dawson Insurance of the Scheels Fargo Marathon.

many years so he knows how to sell,” Tom says. “We can teach him insurance, but we can’t necessarily teach him how to sell.” Another producer recently joined the agency from Gallagher.

“A turning point in our agency came in 1980 when we merged with Allied Insurance Agency which was owned by Dan Armbrust,” according to Tom. “Dan is an insurance professional, having earned CIC, CPIA, CPCU and CRIS designations.

He is our vice president, sales manager and a significant stockholder and, at the time of our merger provided a strong focus on sales, which we needed,” Tom says.

“We have also made two other acquisitions which have not only contributed to our growth but have added key personnel and companies.”

“Because of our desire to provide value-added services and differentiate ourselves from the competition, we

began developing niche areas of concentration where we could really stand out,” says Dan. “One of our first moves in this direction occurred 12 years ago when we hired a surety specialist. Wayne Lauwers gave us the expertise to concentrate on construction, and that has been one of our major focuses since then. We work closely with the Association of General Contractors, participate in their conventions and meetings and make sure that we have a presence at their other events.”

Learning from others “One of the things that greatly benefits us is our relationship with Marsh, Berry & Company and the APPEX Group,” Tom says. “APPEX (Agency Peak Performance Exchange) helps us concentrate on the financial side of our business by allowing us to compare ourselves to our peers and use benchmarks to help us improve.

“Our people also are active in the Chamber of Commerce, and last year we were honored to receive the Fargo/Moorhead Business of the Year Award from the Chamber. We’ve also received several awards from United Way and other local charities. That visibility in the community definitely helps us get in the door when prospecting for new clients,” says Dan.

Commitment to the profession

The management team (from left): Dan Armbrust; Kevin Bruggeman, CPCU, Commercial Lines Manager; James E. Nyhof, Financial Services Manager; Mary Bjerke, CPCU, Operations Manager; Steve Miller, Accounting Manager; and Tom Dawson.

We have also developed our own dashboard allowing us to better focus on those specific areas where we see the most opportunity to improve efficiency and profitability. We share this information with everyone in the office at our quarterly staff meetings where we discuss our successes and, as important, what we need to do to improve. APPEX has been a very important outside relationship for us.”

“MarshBerry also has been really helpful on the marketing side,” Dan continues. “They have taught us the importance of differentiating ourselves.

One of the things that we have done is to work with a specialized workers comp program that helps us analyze a client’s or prospect’s experience mod.

We then work with the client to improve their mod, as well as to make certain that the insurance company’s rates reflect the correct mod if we find any discrepancies.”

Community service “Another unique difference within our agency is something that we have taken pride in for a long time: our community involvement,” Tom says.

“We have a close connection to the Fargo/Moorhead community. Our people are very involved, from several local service clubs to coaching youth teams and committee work for community churches and the MinnKota Red Cross.

“In addition, the agency is recognized in the community by supporting the United Way, the Plains Art Museum, and several other local charities including the Fargo/Moorhead YMCA, YWCA, and Dollars for Scholars. We are also a sponsor for the Scheels Fargo Marathon and partner with Clara Barton Elementary School as an Adopt-A-School Business Partner.”

In addition to giving back to the community, the people at Dawson Insurance also are involved in devoting their time and talent to the industry.

Tom, Wayne, and Todd Anderson are all past presidents of the North Dakota Association of Independent Agents and Dan is past president of the North Dakota Professional Insurance Agents.

Currently Tom is the State National Director from North Dakota for the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America. Tom also served on the Board of Governors for the Society of Certified Insurance Counselors and Dan is currently a member of the Agent Advisory Council for the North Dakota Insurance Reserve Fund.

Several producers in the agency have also been on numerous company agent advisory boards. To show its support for the Big “I,” the agency promotes the Trusted Choice brand in its marketing.

Tom and Dan both agree that industry involvement is very important.

“The insurance industry is fortunate to have so many outstanding people and being involved in these professional organizations allows us to help our staff learn and grow,” says Tom. An example of how involved team members are in industry education is the number of CPCU and CIC designations earned by employees. Of the 40 employees, 6 have earned their CPCU, 15 have earned their CIC or CISR, and 8 others have additional designations.

“Being a local, privately owned business is also a big plus,” Tom continues. “Fewer and fewer of our competitors can say that. Many are bank owned. Here in the nation’s heartland, many of the individuals and businesses are loyal to local organizations. They know us and know how we do business. They know they can count on Dawson Insurance,” Dan points out. “In fact, for several years our marketing slogan has been ‘Neighbors You Trust.’ ”

As part of a community-wide promotion, the agency provides “green” shopping bags for its employees.

of North Dakota and Minnesota,” Tom points out.

About 80% of the property/casualty business is commercial with the balance being personal lines. The life and benefits division accounts for approximately 10% of revenue. “We now have two producers in that department and expect that to be a strong growth area,” Dan says.

Future growth

Producer Ryan Hoffman, CPCU, AIC, leads a CPCU in-house training class.

Work is a three-letter word—FUN “We have a staff of highly qualified and talented people, many of whom have been with us for several years,” Tom notes. “We work very hard to provide a positive atmosphere so our people have fun working here. We have a program called SWAT—Spectacular Workers Appreciating Teamwork— a monthly program designed to recognize employee birthdays and employment anniversaries with unique themes, activities and fun. It’s organized each month by a different group of employees, so there’s plenty of variety,” Tom adds.

The agency sponsors several programs and events throughout the year including: summer barbeques for staff and clients; a wellness reimbursement program to help with expenses for health club memberships, weight loss programs, and stop-smoking efforts; and a $250 annual clothing

allowance for all the support staff to assist in the purchase of business appropriate clothing.

Several team members also participate in the four or five customer appreciation hunting trips the agency sponsors each year. Many of these events and support programs have come from suggestions made at employee meetings.

“The result is that we have extremely low turnover,” Tom says proudly, “and a staff of people whose attitudes are unparalleled. No question, our biggest asset is our great team of people and the agency is committed to keeping the work environment fresh, fun and positive.”

Dawson Insurance writes most of its business in the Fargo/Moorhead and West Fargo area. “There are about 200,000 people in our metropolitan area, and that’s where 90% of our business is concentrated, although we have accounts throughout the states

“With the depth and experience we now have, the agency is growing in new directions,” Tom says. “We’re expanding our marketing reach in North Dakota and Minnesota. We’re capitalizing on our areas of expertise, targeting new towns and prospects. We see excellent growth in our future.”

“We’re fortunate that we’re located in an area that is enjoying steady economic growth,” Dan says. “We weren’t affected by the subprime mortgage fiasco, so there’s been little fallout affecting the construction and real estate businesses. We’re also lucky to be home for three universities educating approximately 25,000 students, a significant Microsoft campus, large health care providers, and several regional support facilities for national companies. Of course, agriculture remains a mainstay of the region, and last year was one of the biggest years for agriculture in decades.”

Dawson Insurance focuses on making a difference—for their customers and their employees—by maintaining an atmosphere of fun and camaraderie. It all adds up to making them an ideal employer. We are pleased that we are able to recognize them as our Marketing Agency of the Month. ■

Photo courtesy Dawson Insurance

The people on the Dawson Insurance team are known in the Fargo/Moorhead area as “Neighbors You Trust.”