Michele Wyatt was named Mutual of Enumclaw Chief Operating Officer on November 1, 2019. In this new role, Wyatt will oversee the company’s core insurance operations including Underwriting, Marketing, Product Management, and Claims.
She has over 20 years of insurance experience and is a dynamic leader known for developing great teams and great cultures. She came to Mutual of Enumclaw in December 2015 as Vice President and Chief Claims Officer.
“This change will help us continue to improve service to our Members and Agents, and to bring additional focus and consistency to our insurance practices,” said Eric Nelson, Mutual of Enumclaw President & CEO.
Wyatt has set some clear short- and long-term objectives for herself as she assumes her new role. “Over the coming weeks my top priority will be to understand the processes and strategies employed by Underwriting, Marketing, and Product Management that make MOE such a special company. Long term, my primary goal will be to continue the momentum everyone has worked so hard to build.”
About Mutual of Enumclaw
Mutual of Enumclaw was founded in 1898, by a group of Enumclaw farmers that banded together to support and protect each other. That same spirit of thoughtfully looking out for one’s neighbor remains ingrained in the culture. The company is dedicated to providing its members with personalized service and customized coverage. Mutual of Enumclaw offers insurance products for individuals, families, businesses, and farms in communities throughout Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Utah, and Arizona. Their products are sold exclusively through local, independent agents. The company is nationally recognized for fair and prompt claims service. For more information, please visit www.MutualOfEnumclaw.com.
Liberty Mutual Insurance Provides Safe Driving Tips to Curb Dangerous Driving By Millennial Motorists & Drivers of All Ages Around the Globe
A new global driving study by Liberty Mutual Insurance finds that Millennial drivers need a crash course in Driving Safety 101. While nearly half of Millennials surveyed agree that their phone is a major distraction behind the wheel, phone use is still rampant with 86 percent of Millennials in the U.S. admitting to having used their phone while driving – that’s nearly 30 percent higher than the average of U.S. respondents. The global study of 8,010 drivers looked at driving habits across Western Europe (France, England, Ireland, Spain and Portugal) and found that 73 percent of Millennials from those countries have used their phone while driving as well. However, U.S. Millennials consistently owned up to phone use and other dangerous driving habits at significantly higher rates than their Western European peers.
In the study, two-thirds of U.S. Millennials (67 percent) admitted to having their phone visible while driving, ultimately making it easier to glance at incoming calls and texts or reach for the phone to send emails. In fact, 53 percent of U.S. Millennials send emails or texts behind the wheel, which is 20 percentage points higher than Western European Millennials.
Millennial Survey Respondents
Behavior While Driving
United States
Western Europe
Have used phone
86%
73%
Glance at incoming call/text
79%
65%
Glance at notifications
72%
56%
Send emails/text
53%
33%
“The influence of the global tech culture is more evident now than ever before as drivers increasingly feel the need to glance, check or interact with their phone while driving,” said Mike Sample, MS, CSP, lead driving safety expert and technical consultant at Liberty Mutual. “However, using your phone behind the wheel does not get less risky the more you do it. You’re still putting yourself and other drivers on the road at risk of having an accident.”
Generationally in the U.S., Millennial phone use is nearly double the rate of Boomers and noticeably higher than Generation X as well.
U.S. Survey Respondents
Behavior While Driving
Millennials
Gen X
Boomers
Have used phone
86%
72%
49%
Glance at incoming call/text
79%
66%
43%
Glance at notifications
72%
55%
31%
Send emails/text
53%
36%
11%
Use social media apps
33%
15%
3%
There is also a significant generational gap when looking at dangerous driving behaviors. In the U.S., 47 percent of Millennials admitted to driving aggressively versus 22 percent of Boomers. A majority (63 percent) of Millennials also multi-task behind the wheel, including eating or applying makeup, compared to only 54 percent of Generation X and 37 percent of Boomers.
United States vs. Western Europe On the Road
When comparing each region’s drivers side-by-side, the Liberty Mutual Insurance study also found that Americans are driving dangerously and notably doing so more often than Western Europeans. Nearly half of U.S. drivers (47 percent) engage in dangerous driving behaviors such as speeding and multi-tasking versus 39 percent of those behind the wheel in Western Europe. In fact, more than a third (38 percent) of U.S. respondents admit to regularly speeding compared to 30 percent of Western Europe’s drivers. While 67 percent of Americans and 60 percent of Western Europeans have used their phone while driving, both admit to using their phone more while stopped at a red light or stop sign, with Americans reporting higher rates of reading and sending emails or texts.
A reason for the bad behaviors behind the wheel? Running late. U.S. drivers say a top reason for running late is poor time management on their part (39 percent), while Western Europeans claim it’s more likely something out of their control, such as something that came up last minute (34 percent). When under a time crunch, Americans more frequently take part in dangerous driving behaviors like speeding (51 percent) and not stopping at stop signs (23 percent) than Western Europeans (40 percent and 17 percent, respectively).
“Driving under stress, whether it’s the stress of getting to your destination on time or the need to be ‘always-on’ and reachable for others, has an undeniable impact on your driving,” said Sample. “Even a rolling stop or quick glance away from the road can impair your ability to get from Point A to Point B safely. It’s crucial for drivers to take action to curb this behavior and help make the roadways safer for everyone.”
Driving Safety 101
No matter your age or location, it’s crucial for motorists to engage in safe driving behaviors to avoid accidents and near misses. Mike Sample offers the following tips to help encourage safe driving behaviors
Avoid the Phone: Drivers should make it a habit to put their phone somewhere out of sight like the glove box or trunk, or activate the Do Not Disturb feature, to avoid the temptation to reach for it. No matter how much driving experience someone has, their field of vision is decreased when using their phone. Drivers should always pull over to a safe location and put their car in park before using it to avoid putting themselves and others at risk.
Plan Ahead: Running late often leads to speeding but going even 10 MPH over the limit greatly increases risk behind the wheel. It takes the driver longer to stop the car and react to changes on the road. Drivers should plan to leave the house 10 minutes early to avoid feeling the need to speed. Leaving early allows the driver to drive safely while also arriving at their destination with a clear, relaxed mind.
Practice Defensive Driving: It’s important to stay aware of what other drivers are doing and be ready to react. To help do so, drivers should leave 1-second of following distance for every ten miles an hour. That means if a driver is going 55 MPH they should leave 6 seconds of following distance between them and the car in front of them, so if something happens, they have time to react or stop.
Liberty Mutual Insurance conducted a quantitative survey that examined driving attitudes and behaviors across the United States and Western Europe (includes Ireland, Spain, Portugal, France, and England). The survey was conducted April 2019, among 3,006 Americans and 5,004 Western Europeans all over the age of 18. Overall the findings from the Safe Driving Study can be interpreted at a 95 percent confidence interval.
AmTrustFinancial Services, Inc., a leader in workers’ compensation insurance, has published a new white paper entitled “The ROI of Safety: How to Create a Long-Term Profitable Workplace Safety Program.”
The 15-page paper includes “The 10 ‘Musts’ of Safety Orientation Programs,” as well as data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics(BLS), the National Safety Council(NSC), the Occupational Safety and Health Administration(OSHA) and other sources to emphasize the importance of workplace safety in reducing employee injuries and costs to employers.
Among the facts highlighted: employers who have safety programs can reduce expenses related to injuries and illness by 40 percent; $1 spent on safety can save at least $3 on expenses related to worker injuries; 40 percent of injured employees have been on the job less than a year, according to OSHA.
“We feel it is important that small business owners and managers view work safety programs not as short-term expenses, but as long-term investments in the health of their employees and their business,” said Jeff Corder, VP of AmTrust’s Loss Control Division. “We compiled this report to help employers of all sizes –from the owner of a local restaurant to the foreman on a factory floor –better understand the value of taking simple but important steps to make workplaces safer.”
The paper is available in AmTrust’s Resource Center, which features industry findings like the 2018 Restaurant Risk Report. Graphics and charts in this report can be used without copyright permission.
Agents and brokers in the independent insurance channel just posted their best second quarter (Q2) results since 2013.
The 6.4% organic growth rate of independent agents and brokers across all business lines coupled with “a red-hot mergers-and-acquisitions (M&A) market yield a healthy outlook for the future of the industry,” says Mark Crites, Vice President, Reagan Consulting. “2019 could be a historic year.”
Buoyed by the good news, as revealed by Reagan Consulting’s Organic Growth and Profitability (OGP) Q2 2019 survey, agents and brokers have “lifted their full-year 2019 growth expectations to 7.0%, up from 6.0% after Q1 results were posted,” reports Crites.
Benefits Sector Rebounds
Late 2018 optimism was tempered after Q1 2019 by the sluggish employee benefits sector. At only 3.8%, employee benefits posted its lowest first-quarter results since 2013. The sector has rebounded, however, allaying concern. It posted a 5.5% growth rate in Q2 2019 that trails only slightly below its nine-year historical average. That bounce back “bodes well for the rest of the year,” observes Crites.
Personal Lines Standing Strong
At 4.1%, Q2 organic growth rate for personal lines was the second highest since the start of the OGP study in 2008. Although the sector “historically has been a low-growth/high-margin line of business for most brokers,” says Crites, it had a banner year in 2018 and “shows no signs of slowing down.” He observes that insurtech competitors are not affecting the ability of agents and brokers to compete in personal lines but adds that rate increases are driving growth.
Commercial Lines Still Booming
Nearly four in 10 firms (37%) that experienced growth in commercial lines for Q2 reported double-digit organic growth. The entire sector posted its third consecutive Q2 increase with a growth rate of 6.4%. This represents a small drop from Q1 growth, which was at a historic high of 6.9%.
Increased Premium Pricing
The strong economy is helping commercial lines growth, but, as with personal lines, Crites points to rate increases as the primary driver. While numbers are not yet in, it’s expected that Q2 premium pricing will have increased again, making it the eighth consecutive quarter of rate increases across almost all property-casualty lines. But particularly for commercial lines, the “hardening rate environment and a growing economy is a recipe for success,” says Crites.
One Cloud on Q2 Horizon
Sales Velocity is a Reagan Consulting metric used as a leading indicator of future organic growth via new business production. Expressed as a percentage, Sales Velocity is calculated by dividing current-year new business by prior-year commissions and fee revenue. If a firm consistently posts sales velocity figures in the top 25% of the industry (15.4% or higher in Q2 2019), it’s likely the firm will show above-average growth.
In a “surprising decline amidst heightened growth levels,” says Crites, Q2 sales velocity was “down slightly, year-over-year, to 12.1%.”
M&A Activity
2017 and 2018 were record years for mergers and acquisitions, and, with 328 deals announced during the first half of 2019, activity is up by 6.5% over last year. “Even at record-high valuations, buyers can still complete accretive deals,” explains Crites, adding that the “frenzy” continues. “We see no slowdown in M&A activity for the foreseeable future.”
Reagan Consulting has conducted its quarterly survey of agency growth and profitability since 2008, using confidential submissions from nearly 200 mid-size and large agencies and brokerage firms. Approximately half of the industry’s 100 largest firms participated in this quarter’s survey. The OGP survey is the industry’s preeminent survey of mid-size and large privately held brokers.
For further information and commentary, contact Mark Crites at Reagan Consulting, 404.869.2625 or mcrites@reaganconsulting.com.
Each participating agency receives a customized, confidential report of its performance compared with the overall survey results, along with Reagan’s quarterly commentary of industry trends affecting agents and brokers. For information on participating in the OGP survey, contact Michelle Appelbaum at 404.233.5545 or michelle@ReaganConsulting.com.
AmTrustFinancial Services, Inc., a leader in workers’compensation insurance, has published a new white paper entitled “The ROI of Safety: How to Create a Long-Term Profitable Workplace Safety Program.”
The 15-page paper includes “The 10 ‘Musts’ of Safety Orientation Programs,” as well as data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics(BLS), the National Safety Council(NSC), the Occupational Safety and Health Administration(OSHA) and other sources to emphasize the importance of workplace safety in reducing employee injuries and costs to employers.
Among the facts highlighted: employers who have safety programs can reduce expenses related to injuries and illness by 40 percent; $1 spent on safety can save at least $3 on expenses related to worker injuries; 40 percent of injured employees have been on the job less than a year, according to OSHA.
“We feel it is important that small business owners and managers view work safety programs not as short-term expenses, but as long-term investments in the health of their employees and their business,” said Jeff Corder, VP of AmTrust’s Loss Control Division. “We compiled this report to help employers of all sizes –from the owner of a local restaurant to the foreman on a factory floor –better understand the value of taking simple but important steps to make workplaces safer.”
The paper is available in AmTrust’s Resource Center, which features industry findings like the 2018 Restaurant Risk Report. Graphics and charts in this report can be used without copyright permission.
R-T Specialty, LLC (RT Specialty) is pleased to announce the promotion of Todd Mannschreck to President of Claims, Chief Claims Officer for the company. Todd has been with RT Specialty since 2013 and has lead RT Specialty’s claims practice since that time. Todd is based in the RT Specialty Kansas City office.
Since Todd joined RT Specialty, his claims team has more than tripled in size of talented and motivated claims professionals. The expansion of this team is in response to RT Specialty’s growth and reflects RT’s commitment to providing the best claims service in the industry to RT’s clients. Having a claims department is a unique approach within the wholesale industry and one that has proven to be a valuable asset to RT’s retail broker partners and their clients. RT’s claims department has extensive technical knowledge to assist with coverage disputes. They have also proven to be invaluable in helping facilitate the claim process and providing assistance in settlement negotiations. RT Specialty claims professionals are in constant contact with markets to remain current on their claims services, procedures and personnel.
Commenting on Todd’s promotion, Tim Turner, Chairman and CEO of RT Specialty, said, “Todd is a super star who has a phenomenal ability to work with our carrier partners to advocate on behalf of our retail broker clients and their insureds. Through Todd’s leadership, we have developed an outstanding claims team. I’m thrilled to be promoting Todd to this well-deserved position.”
Prior to joining RT Specialty, Todd was the Senior Claims / Litigation Supervisor for Ferrellgas, LP in Liberty, Missouri. Todd was responsible for the supervision and direction of TPA’s and attorneys on large exposure and litigated claims. Todd also worked for GAB Robins in Overland Park, Kansas. While with GAB Robins, Todd’s responsibilities included: supervising claims for insurance companies and self-insured accounts, marketing to new and existing clients and acting as Team Leader for the department. Todd attended University of Nebraska and earned his BS in Business Administration. In addition, Todd has earned his AIC (Associate in Claims) designation.
Grange Mutual Casualty Company ranked 42nd out of 151 Super Regional Property/Casualty Insurers in a list created by Demotech, Inc., the official research partner of Insurance Journal.
Demotech used specific, qualifying criteria and thresholds evaluated as of Dec. 31, 2018, to identify the nation’s Super Regional P/C Insurers, which write multiple lines of insurance in multiple states.
The criteria and thresholds included:
Active, individual companies
Reporting data using the P/C annual statement format
At least $1 million of direct written premium (DWP) in each of 2-34 states
Less than 90% of DWP in any one state
Less than 90% of DWP in any one line of business
Policyholders surplus of at least $100 million
Net premium written of at least $50 million
DWP of at least $25 million
Through its network of independent agents, Grange Mutual Casualty Company offers auto, home, business and life insurance protection in 13 states to more than 900,000 policyholders. It ranked 42nd in Insurance Journal’s list of 2019 Super Regional P/C Insurers based on an annual DWP of $444,048,000.
Raleigh, N.C. – Builders Mutual Insurance Company is pleased to announce that we were selected as one of the ‘Top Insurance Workplaces’ by Insurance Business America for the second consecutive year. The comprehensive report provides a snapshot of the U.S. insurance sector and Builders Mutual is proud to be listed as one of the top 16 companies in the medium sized (100-999 employees) category.
Employees from large and small organizations across the insurance industry were surveyed with questions ranging from benefits information and management to resources. Builders Mutual received more than 156 employee responses and was selected out of the hundreds of companies that participated as one of the 53 companies that met the high standard required for the “Top Insurance Workplaces” report.
“Builders Mutual is excited to be recognized as a top insurance workplace for the second year in a row,” stated Michele Hemric, AVP of Human Resources and Organizational Development. “Our success is founded on our strong benefits, our focus on wellbeing and ensuring that we have all the right elements in place for employee engagement.”
Headquartered in North Carolina, Builders Mutual is one of the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast’s leading writers of commercial insurance for the construction industry. Since its inception in 1984, Builders Mutual has broadened its territory beyond North Carolina to include the District of Columbia, Georgia, Maryland, Mississippi, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and Florida. The company provides commercial insurance coverage to more than 24,000 policyholders through more than 5,000 sales agents and employs more than 350 staff at its Raleigh headquarters.
A leading insurance professional organization recently recognized Ryland Hilliard Shaw III, CIC, of Atlantic Shield Insurance Group in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, for the dedication and ongoing leadership in the insurance industry.
The Society of Certified Insurance Counselors (CIC) honored Shaw for five years of successfully maintaining the Certified Insurance Counselor (CIC) designation, denoting a significant commitment to advanced knowledge and customer service.
“This honor is an acknowledgment of the priority Ryland places on education and professional growth,” said the group’s president, Dr. William T. Hold, CIC, CPCU, CLU. “Customers, associates and the insurance profession as a whole benefit from such a strong commitment to continuing education.”
The CIC program is nationally recognized as the premier continuing education program for insurance professionals, with programs offered in all 50 states and Puerto Rico. Headquartered in Austin, Texas, the Society of CIC is a not-for-profit organization and the founding program of The National Alliance for Insurance Education & Research.
ATLANTA (August 19, 2019) — Agents and brokers in the independent insurance channel just posted their best second quarter (Q2) results since 2013.
The 6.4% organic growth rate of independent agents and brokers across all business lines coupled with “a red-hot mergers-and-acquisitions (M&A) market yield a healthy outlook for the future of the industry,” says Mark Crites, Vice President, Reagan Consulting. “2019 could be a historic year.”
Buoyed by the good news, as revealed by Reagan Consulting’s Organic Growth and Profitability (OGP) Q2 2019 survey, agents and brokers have “lifted their full-year 2019 growth expectations to 7.0%, up from 6.0% after Q1 results were posted,” reports Crites.
Benefits Sector Rebounds
Late 2018 optimism was tempered after Q1 2019 by the sluggish employee benefits sector. At only 3.8%, employee benefits posted its lowest first-quarter results since 2013. The sector has rebounded, however, allaying concern. It posted a 5.5% growth rate in Q2 2019 that trails only slightly below its nine-year historical average. That bounce back “bodes well for the rest of the year,” observes Crites.
Personal Lines Standing Strong
At 4.1%, Q2 organic growth rate for personal lines was the second highest since the start of the OGP study in 2008. Although the sector “historically has been a low-growth/high-margin line of business for most brokers,” says Crites, it had a banner year in 2018 and “shows no signs of slowing down.” He observes that insurtech competitors are not affecting the ability of agents and brokers to compete in personal lines but adds that rate increases are driving growth.
Commercial Lines Still Booming
Nearly four in 10 firms (37%) that experienced growth in commercial lines for Q2 reported double-digit organic growth. The entire sector posted its third consecutive Q2 increase with a growth rate of 6.4%. This represents a small drop from Q1 growth, which was at a historic high of 6.9%.
Source: Reagan Consulting OGP Survey
Increased Premium Pricing
The strong economy is helping commercial lines growth, but, as with personal lines, Crites points to rate increases as the primary driver. While numbers are not yet in, it’s expected that Q2 premium pricing will have increased again, making it the eighth consecutive quarter of rate increases across almost all property-casualty lines. But particularly for commercial lines, the “hardening rate environment and a growing economy is a recipe for success,” says Crites.
One Cloud on Q2 Horizon
Sales Velocity is a Reagan Consulting metric used as a leading indicator of future organic growth via new business production. Expressed as a percentage, Sales Velocity is calculated by dividing current-year new business by prior-year commissions and fee revenue. If a firm consistently posts sales velocity figures in the top 25% of the industry (15.4% or higher in Q2 2019), it’s likely the firm will show above-average growth.
In a “surprising decline amidst heightened growth levels,” says Crites, Q2 sales velocity was “down slightly, year-over-year, to 12.1%.”
M&A Activity
2017 and 2018 were record years for mergers and acquisitions, and, with 328 deals announced during the first half of 2019, activity is up by 6.5% over last year. “Even at record-high valuations, buyers can still complete accretive deals,” explains Crites, adding that the “frenzy” continues. “We see no slowdown in M&A activity for the foreseeable future.”
Reagan Consulting has conducted its quarterly survey of agency growth and profitability since 2008, using confidential submissions from nearly 200 mid-size and large agencies and brokerage firms. Approximately half of the industry’s 100 largest firms participated in this quarter’s survey. The OGP survey is the industry’s preeminent survey of mid-size and large privately held brokers.
For further information and commentary, contact Mark Crites at Reagan Consulting, 404.869.2625 or mcrites@reaganconsulting.com.
Each participating agency receives a customized, confidential report of its performance compared with the overall survey results, along with Reagan’s quarterly commentary of industry trends affecting agents and brokers. For information on participating in the OGP survey, contact Michelle Appelbaum at 404.233.5545 or michelle@ReaganConsulting.com.
