SPECIAL REPORT 2021
THE REGION’S BUSINESS MAGAZINE
The Clements Agency A HUB INTERNATIONAL COMPANY
PHOENIX
TUCSON
F L A G S TA F F
Serving Arizona’s Business Community For More Than Two Decades
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HUB International Acquisition of The Clements Agency Spurs Growth By Christy Krueger Jack Clements, founder of The Clements Agency, had the honor of playing for the late football coaching legend Ara Parseghian at University of Notre Dame. From those impressionable years in South Bend, Ind., Clements took away lessons and life mottos that he still lives by today. “There is no circumstance we can’t overcome,” is a favorite Parseghian quote that Clements uses as a business and personal motto. It goes hand-in-hand with another Parseghian saying: “We have no breaking point.” To Clements it means you don’t give up, even if you’re down in the fourth quarter. This optimistic attitude has worked for Clements, whose firm specializes in business insurance, with clients in construction, real estate, technology and hospitality. HUB International also offers employee benefits along with personal lines products such as homeowners, auto and life. After more than three decades in the industry, most of his new business now comes from referrals and his reputation in the Tucson community. Looking back over the years, Clements feels the biggest highlight is having his two sons, Jim and Sean, working with him. He brags that they’ve been instrumental in building the business.
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They worked hard to learn the business. Both Jim and Sean studied hard and earned several insurance designations to further their careers. They became partners with the firm in 2009. In 2010, The Clements Agency made its first acquisition by purchasing Contractors Choice, greatly expanding the client base in the Phoenix area. In 2016, The Clements Agency acquired Flagstaff Insurance further expanding its footprint to Northern Arizona. Last year, The Clements Agency celebrated its 20-year anniversary and was acquired by HUB International later in the year. HUB International is an insurance brokerage and wealth management company based in Chicago. HUB has 475 offices with over 13,000 employees across the U.S. and Canada and is the fifth largest insurance broker in the world. With the change, Jack became president of Arizona Operations of HUB International Southwest. “Our acquisition by HUB was supposed to be on our exact anniversary date, April 1, but COVID delayed it to June 1, 2020,” he recalled. He said his goals have always been “to grow continuously, but in an honest, ethical continued on page 198 >>>
PHOTO BY BRENT G. MATHIS
Jack Clements
President of Arizona Operations HUB International Southwest
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manner. When it was a family business, the objective was to provide for our three families. Now the added objective is to grow HUB’s presence in Arizona and beyond.” The acquisition with HUB came about after a two-sided courtship process. “We selected each other,” Jack said, “based on our similar culture and a strong personality fit.” Randy Perkins, president and CEO of HUB International Southwest, agreed. “The acquisition of The Clements Agency, with the highest quality of people, has given us leadership and a platform with offices in Tucson, Scottsdale and Flagstaff. We look at people first and the character of people. Jack, Jim and Sean have high integrity and are well-respected professionals who are second to none. It’s a strong fit culturally and geographically.” One year into the collaboration, the HUB people are confident they made a good decision. “Our expectations have been met,” Perkins said. “We started developing a relationship 18 months prior to our June (2020) date. They bring us leadership and
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Sean Clements, Randy Perkins, Jack Clements and Jim Clements
professionalism.” For the Clements family, the acquisition “allows us to deal with larger and more complex clients and still maintain a local presence,” Jack said.. In addition, the company gained 20-plus new carriers, which “can grow our capacity to deal with many different industries.” “The HUB people are fantastic,” Jim added. “It’s a big reason we decided to join with HUB. Randy is a great person, and as our president, he’s very accessible. After one year, the three of us agree it was the right decision.” Added Sean: “For existing clients, HUB gives us a much bigger platform. In addition, there is a lot of room for
personal growth and development within the HUB organization. Being acquired by a firm the size of HUB does result in changes, Jack acknowledged. “But most of them are good. Our mission is to use our existing platform to expand HUB’s presence in Arizona and the Southwest. Part of my role is to seek more acquisitions of both entities and people. All three of us look forward to the future with HUB.” “We’re excited about the prospect to grow our footprint in Arizona” with The Clements Agency, Perkins confirmed. “They have introduced us to opportunities to grow for years to come.” Biz
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PHOTOS: COURTESY SWAIM ASSOCIATES
From left
Sean Clements
Senior Vice President HUB International Southwest
Jack Clements
President of Arizona Operations HUB International Southwest
Jim Clements
Senior Vice President HUB International Southwest
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from Family Firm to Global
Powerhouse
PHOTO BY CHRIS MOONEY
By Christy Krueger Jack Clements smiles knowing insurance as a career is all in the family. His father and brother have owned an insurance agency in Atchison, Kan., where Clements grew up. Now his own sons work with him at HUB International Southwest. Will there be more generations to come? Jack has four granddaughters whom he describes as exceptional salespeople who may very well want to join their dads at HUB International Southwest. They didn’t all set out to work in insurance. Clements earned an accounting degree at University of Notre Dame. After graduating in 1972, Clements went to work for Coopers & Lybrand – now PricewaterhouseCoopers – to open a new Tucson office in 1976 and became partner in 1982. He then worked in real estate and insurance with other firms before founding The Clements Agency in 2000. His sons, Jim and Sean, pursued other careers after college before returning to Arizona to help build the family business. Jim Clements earned a bachelor’s degree in business management and played football at St. John’s University in Collegeville, Minn. “I had the opportunity to visit the campus and loved what I found there. It is an experience I will never forget.” After graduating, Jim spent five years working in the fountain/foodservice division at Dr Pepper/ Seven Up in Texas and California. In 2003, Jim
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moved back to Arizona to work with Jack to expand the operations, opening the Scottsdale office a few months later. “For the first year I worked with Jack to learn the business and develop our business relationships” he said. After younger son Sean graduated from Pepperdine University with a bachelor’s degree in business administration, he worked for Coors Brewing Company in the Southeast United States based in Charlotte, N.C. After discussions with Jack and Jim, he decided to return to Arizona to join the family business. “It was a leap of faith coming from the beer business to insurance,” he said. “Jim and I both had great sales training in our first careers, which was a big factor in our eventual success. With the three of us working together, we have been able to expand our Arizona footprint from Tucson to Scottsdale and Flagstaff.” Jack, Jim and Sean have built the business while adhering to their core values – honesty, integrity and persistence. “Do what you say you’ll do, always treat others fairly, and do what’s right for the client even if it is not in your own best interest,” Jack said. The Clements family is very proud of what they have been able to accomplish working together and look forward to continuing this tradition with HUB International.
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PHOTO BY BRENT G. MATHIS
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Front from left: Dave Mason, CEO, San Miguel High School; Kim Lizardi, COO; Paloma Lopez-Santiago, VP of Advancement
Jack Clements An Involved Philanthropist By Christy Krueger Jack Clements has incorporated giving into his business and personal models since moving to Tucson in 1976. He’s worked with a number of local charites during that time. Last year, Clements received one of the top awards presented by the Boy Scouts of America, Catalina Council – the Good Scout Award. The group looks for people who influence Tucson’s growth and who give back, according to Christie Lee, the 2020 awards event chair. “He’s someone who has given a lot to the community and he’s a huge supporter of the Scouts.” Clements was an Eagle Scout as a young man in Kansas. Years later in 202 BizTucson
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Tucson, he reconnected with the Boy Scouts, serving on the board of directors and committees primarily in board recruitment and fundraising. One of the projects he worked on allowed the Catalina Council to replace canvas tents at Camp Lawton on Mount Lemmon with permanent structures. Clements has donated generous amounts of time to several other organizations, including Ronald McDonald House Charities, Tucson Conquistadores, Centurions, YMCA of Southern Arizona, Metropolitan Pima Alliance, DM50 and Tucson Metro Chamber. Susie Huhn, executive director of Casa de los Niños, called Clements an
involved philanthropist. “He brought us matching gifts from the business community and his agency to support Casa financially,” she said. “He’s played an active role in the community.” At San Miguel High School, Clements works on the State of Arizona tuition tax credit program to provide much needed funds to the school. “Insurance companies pay taxes on insurance premiums. Those insurance companies can redirect that money to schools,” he said. “Between Chubb and SECURA Insurance, we have received more than a million dollars for San Miguel.”
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HEALTHCARE
HOSPITALITY
AGRIBUSINESS
CONSTRUCTION
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Hub International Brings Expertise to Industry Sectors By Christy Krueger During its 20 years in business, The Clements Agency worked with clients in a range of industries, eventually gaining a deep level of expertise in certain fields like real estate, hospitality and construction. Now, however, a whole new world of opportunity for growth is opening for the Clements team, thanks to last year’s 204 BizTucson
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acquisition by HUB International, an insurance brokerage giant with a global presence. HUB’s high level of industry specialization and expertise among its employees means a wealth of knowledge and support for Clements’ team as they prospect for new clients in HUB’s specialities. Clements refers to these as
the eight industry sectors: Agribusiness, Construction, Healthcare, Hospitality, Entertainment and Sports, Transportation, Real Estate and Financial Institutions. “We do some work in almost every vertical and HUB provides resources in each field of practice to better service our clients,” said Clements. “People bewww.BizTucson.com
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come specialists and serve as resources for the rest of the firm. For example, in the construction space we have 250 people worldwide. I can call the construction team for support in any situation.” Clements said that while his firm has worked with construction clients for years, “we always need additional exwww.BizTucson.com
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Jack Clements, Founder, The Clements Agency
pertise. The market is constantly changing. We take advantage of resources on a continuous basis.” “We are participating in local and national trade organizations that are relevant to areas in which we work. Our market is not limited to Arizona,” Jack Clements said.
Jack Clements feels that the kind of support he’s now receiving through HUB is a game changer. “I want to celebrate the transition into HUB in terms of expertise and deep resources,” he said. “We have a higher percentage of wins with these resources behind us.” continued on page 206 >>> Fall 2021
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PHOTOS: COURTESY HUB INTERNATIONAL
FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS
REAL ESTATE
ENTERTAINMENT & SPORTS
TRANSPORTATION
“
We do some work in almost every vertical and HUB provides resources in each field of practice to better service our clients.
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HUB International Specializes in Eight Industry Sectors AGRIBUSINESS Farmers, their employees and others who support them need specific insurance products to protect them and their assets from damage from weather, regulatory shifts and supply chain distribution inconsistencies. They also need products that are specific to their region of the country. Over the years, HUB brokers have helped to protect more than 1.5 million acres of agricultural land.
CONSTRUCTION A variety of products are designed for general contractors, subcontractors and developers. Plans vary depending on the type of project – residential, commercial or municipal. Surety bonds are commonly used in construction as a financial guarantee that the covered party will fulfill its contractual agreements. The bonds can vary, and sometimes a project will require more than one.
PHOTOS: COURTESY HUB INTERNATIONAL
HOSPITALITY In addition to the usual employee benefits and liability insurance needs, the hospitality sector may require other unique services such as specialized risk management strategies, losscontrol engineering, safety practices, data security, property protections and certain compliance requirements. Restaurants need protection from risks such as kitchen fires and injury lawsuits. Gaming enterprises face possible management liability issues and high-payout cash winnings. Venues, such as conference halls, may need specialized insurance to cover liability claims against catastrophic business interruption, performer cancellation and other unpredicted occurrences.
HEALTHCARE The healthcare industry constantly changes as regulations shift and new legal standards are adopted. And there are many arms of healthcare today, including senior care organizations, hospitals, medical practices and virtual-care operations. Each poses a different set of risks and regulations. Employee benefits play a large role in many healthcare businesses Insurance plans that address medical malpractice, protection of property and profits and the needs of staff. continued on page 208 >>>
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Eight Industry Sectors (cont.) TRANSPORTATION The types of insurance often associated with this industry, which ranges from an owner-operator set-up to a large company with a fleet of commercial vehicles, include general liability insurance coverage, corporate civil liability, civil liability in transportation of goods, damage, theft, worker’s compensation and employee benefits.
ENTERTAINMENT & SPORTS A business that presents events may have its hands in many pots or may specialize in one type of production. Either way, producers may need help managing costs and creating risk management and insurance plans. Some events carry higher risks than others and may require expert risk advisory services. Most need specific types of insurance and protections for performers, audience members, the venue and equipment, among other assets.
PHOTOS: COURTESY HUB INTERNATIONAL
REAL ESTATE Several issues are considered when evaluating real estate insurance needs, including the type of property – commercial or residential – location, real estate value and the number of tenants. Infrastructure and safety protocols present risks such as fire and water damage, cyber security, severe weather events and acts of violence. Management insurance protect owners from issues involving leases, collecting rent, maintaining the property and ensuring the safety of tenants. Property management companies can obtain error and omissions insurance for protection against wrongful eviction, tenant discrimination, failure to properly protect the property and failing to perform contractual obligations.
FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS Private equity businesses, insurance companies, banking and lending institutions, investment firms and venture capital firms often need complex coverage. They include professional liability, directors and officers, crime and cyber insurance, warranty insurance, forced placement and insurance tracking. Financial clients can also seek a risk management program designed by their broker.
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BizINSURANCE The Clements Agency, A HUB International Company: Arizona Offices TUCSON
METRO PHOENIX
FLAGSTAFF
Sean Clements
Senior Vice President HUB International Southwest
Jack Clements
President of Arizona Operations HUB International Southwest jack.clements@hubinternational.com (520) 624-3456 6245 E. Broadway, Suite 310 Tucson, AZ 85711
sean.clements@hubinternational.com
Jim Clements
Wes Thew
Branch Manager HUB International Southwest
Senior Vice President HUB International Southwest
wes.thew@hubinternational.com (928) 225-3243
jim.clements@hubinternational.com
1300 E. Butler Ave., Suite 100 Flagstaff, AZ 86001
(480) 428-2213 8350 E. Raintree Drive, Suite 235 Scottsdale, AZ 85260
MARSH BERRY – PROUD TO SUPPORT THE CLEMENTS AGENCY
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