Top Retail Brokers 2023 | Insurance Business America

 

 

In addition, IBA’s acquired qualitative descriptions of a top broker by eliciting commentary from the nominees. 

• “The best advocate for the client and the carriers. Trust is the No. 1 key in our business.” 
  
   

• “An all-around person who utilizes influence and relationships. Specializes in a niche and always shows ethical practice.”
  
   

• “Has qualities of growth, retention, technology, and profitability, but the top brokers have a culture that embraces inclusivity, well-being, and diversity.” 
  
   

• “An expert in coverage, terms, and conditions who can explain it in layman’s terms while simultaneously being an approachable leader.” 

 

Blueprints behind the Top Retail Brokers’ success

David Ragno is the CEO of Keyes Coverage, an insurance and risk management solutions provider in South Florida. For him, being a top producer is about distinguishing oneself. 

“Innovation is the most important factor separating top brokers from their peers,” he says. “Disrupting the traditional methods of insurance placement, marketing, and programs is key to differentiating.” 

Ragno’s achievements include: 

• an individual book growth of 25% year over year 
  
   

• growing his office by 56% year over year, half through acquisitions and half organically 
  
   

• building an exclusive substance abuse program countrywide that is growing at 40% 
  
   

Ragno found himself at a crossroads early in his career.  

“I walked away from a Fortune 100 company with a predefined career path at 25 years old to bet on myself for a middle-market retail broker with no national affiliation,” he explains. “I worked from the ground up to learn this side of the business, and I’m a better person and a better leader because of it.” 

In the meantime, the attributes that he identifies as differentiating himself from his peers are: 

• being a lifelong learner 
  
   

• working closely with the Insurance Services Office on building classification critical for underwriting quality and taking a construction skill set to review 
  
   

• experience running businesses other than a traditional insurance brokerage 
  
   

This approach is highlighted by industry expert Peter Miller, president and CEO of The Institutes. 

“Top brokers are client-centric and focused on building relationships with both their clients and insurers,” he says. “They plan and strategize with their clients’ best interests in mind.” 

Exemplifying this is winner Shantelle Cabir, Newfront’s senior vice president, who takes pride in delivering alongside the firm’s 800 employees. 

“I’ve asked multiple clients why they’ve chosen to go with me and one of the recurring themes is their appreciation for my approach to doing business,” she explains. “I have a lot of grit and tenacity.” 

This approach has resulted in Cabir achieving: 

• $500,000 in new business revenue (equivalent to about $5 million premium) year over year 
  
   

• over 95% client retention  
  
   

For fellow winner David Clausen, CEO of Coastal Insurance Solutions, the key to success is not simply relying on a niche. 

He says, “To truly excel, you must deliver an extraordinary customer experience that is completely customized to that segment. This involves designing every aspect of the client journey, from acquisition and onboarding to claims handling, billing, service, and eventually cancellation.” 

Clausen also highlights the need to improve the customer experience as it builds trust, which ultimately leads to “increased retention”.   

Looking at creating a rewarding experience for clients from a different angle is Jessica Weaver, owner of Weaver Insurance Agency. 

“We are a woman veteran-owned, family-owned, and 100% woman-operated company that employs staff that ranks high on the empathy profile, which provides our clients a warm experience,” she says. 

The differentiating factors that allow Weaver and her team to make their mark are: 

 

• expertise and specialization: commercial insurance (manufacturing, investment properties, restaurants) and flood insurance (private and FEMA) 
  
   

• exceptional customer service, personalized attention, and client-centric approach 
  
   

• strong industry connections and relationships over the last 14 years
  
   

• being proactive in tracking market trends, identifying emerging opportunities, and providing valuable insight 
  
   

• figures showing 80%–90% retention and less than 60% loss ratio on average   
  
   

Bob Middleton is the owner and director of the Arts Insurance Program, the largest insurer of dance, ballet, and touring Broadway shows. To him, success in the retail sector requires mastering an area of concentration.

“You become an expert in coverages, markets, and exposures and become a real asset to your clients,” he says. “This leads to referrals, organic relationships with other professionals servicing these risks, and even insurance carriers respecting your knowledge of the sector.” 

Middleton feels he and his firm stand out in the sector for: 

• service with personnel averaging 12 years of experience in entertainment 
  
   

• dedication to work with clients of any size 
  
   

• great flexibility with carriers and coverages and helping clients with issues 
  
   

• generating increases of over 30% in annual revenue post-COVID, mostly from referrals 
  
   

 

 

Unlocking opportunities with insurtech

The Top Retail Brokers 2023 have embraced digital tools in their operations. 

Industry expert Miller advocates for leveraging tech to “provide data-driven insights to help reduce clients’ cost of risk”. 

Clausen is fully behind integrating tech and notes that his firm has used it to drive two major initiatives: improving customer experience and extracting actionable business intelligence metrics. 

This investment has enabled Clausen’s team to integrate their Salesforce CRM with the agency management system, resulting in the linking of: 

 

“Just about everything is connected. From first client interaction, we can track metrics associated with acquiring, servicing, and ultimately are able to determine the lifetime value of a customer in many cases. Having sanitized, clean data is essential,” says Clausen. 

Weaver has also witnessed the benefits of technology integration. She has been able to harness it to: 

 

• provide user-friendly online platforms, making it easier for clients to access information and conduct business remotely 
  
   

• utilize data analytics tools to analyze market trends and pricing patterns, and monthly NPS score metering to give a grade on work performed with each client 
  
   

• utilize various communication channels like instant messaging, video conferencing, and social media to connect with clients in real time 
  
   

• automate repetitive tasks, renewals, and new client onboarding, and also leverage AI chatbots for customer support 

 

Newfront has over 50 engineers working on a proprietary agency management system. This enables Cabir to offer clients stronger: 

• analytics 
  
   

• benchmarking  
  
   

• transparency 
  
   

She adds, “‘De-risking human progress’ is a tagline that Newfront uses as we infuse AI advancements into offering automated processing and services through analytics and easy program administration so we can help businesses grow at the pace they need to.” 

 

 

Looking ahead for clients 

Brokers need to deliver in the present, but must be dynamic enough to be prepared to innovate in the future.

Describing the Top Retail Brokers in this context, industry expert Miller says, “They are forward-thinking and not only see opportunities that other brokerages might not.” 

Cabir exemplifies this mindset on behalf of clients. 

“We partner with them to devise a plan forward and then with the help of our internal risk management team, we will roll up our sleeves to put that plan into action,” she says. “We take it a step further to also ensure that in an event of a claim, our clients work with our in-house claims advocacy team that include multiple attorneys and previous adjusters that advocate for the best results for our clients’ claims.” 

For Weaver, there are two effective ways to adopt a forward-thinking approach: 

• “Conducting extensive market research to identify upcoming trends and changing consumer preferences” 
  
   

• “[The staff and I] engage in ongoing professional development, attending industry conferences and staying updated on regulatory changes, economic factors, and technological advancements” 
  
   

“Remaining nimble” is Clausen’s mantra on being able to prepare for future trends and issues that clients will encounter. He also places an importance on uniformity. 

“Everyone in the organization must be dancing to the same tune. From the CEO to the secretary, everyone needs to understand the reason behind their tasks and the value they contribute,” says Clausen. “For example, if the marketing department is generating five times more opportunities than the sales team can manage, it could cause operational friction, inefficiency, and cultural challenges. Everyone should be rowing in the same direction.” 

 

 

• Adam W. Gabler
  
  Senior Vice President, Construction Practice Leader, Southwest
  
  Newfront
• Alka Manaktala
  
  Managing Partner
  
  IOA Insurance Services
• Bob Middleton
  
  Owner and Director
  
  The Arts Insurance Program
• Brian Johnson
  
  Executive Vice President
  
  FBBINSURANCE
• Brian Schneider
  
  Managing Director
  
  Higginbotham
• Brian Tucker
  
  Principal
  
  RHSB Insurance
• Dan Beck
  
  Senior Vice President
  
  Snapp & Associates Insurance
• Dane Beasley
  
  Senior Vice President
  
  FBBINSURANCE
• Daniel Munro
  
  Owner/Agent
  
  Munro Insurance Services
• David DeLorenzo
  
  Owner
  
  Bar and Restaurant Insurance
• David McKinnon
  
  Executive Vice President
  
  FBBINSURANCE
• David Wissel
  
  Commercial Lines Client Advisor and Partner
  
  Gulfshore Insurance/Acrisure
• Frank Barbella
  
  Founder and CEO
  
  SOLV Risk Solutions
• Garet Marr
  
  Managing Director
  
  Franklin Street
• Gregory W. Havemeier
  
  Senior Vice President/Managing Partner
  
  Gulfshore Insurance/Acrisure
• Jack A. Carra
  
  Senior Vice President
  
  AssuredPartners
• Jared Pelissier
  
  Senior Vice President and Partner
  
  Woodruff Sawyer
• Jason Young
  
  Senior Vice President
  
  FBBINSURANCE
• Jeff Clark Breskin
  
  Vice President
  
  J. Morey & Company
• Jeffrey Sanders
  
  Commercial Lines Client Advisor
  
  Gulfshore Insurance/Acrisure
• Jim Untiedt
  
  President, PentaRisk Insurance Services
  
  Acrisure Construction Practice Leader
• John J. Sirabella Jr.
  
  Account Executive
  
  Acrisure LLC dba CLG
• John McCall
  
  Senior Vice President, Financial Institutions and FinTech Practice Leader
  
  Newfront
• Josh Fagin
  
  Senior Vice President
  
  Heffernan Insurance Brokers
• Joshua Morey
  
  Chairperson
  
  Ori-gen Insurance Group
• Karl Henley
  
  Executive Vice President/Partner
  
  SeibertKeck Insurance Partners
• Kenneth Allen Tucker
  
  Insurance Agent
  
  NFP
• Kenneth Christian
  
  Vice President
  
  Fisher Brown Bottrell Insurance
• Kirk Aguilera
  
  Managing Partner and Workers’ Compensation Practice Lead
  
  The Liberty Company Insurance Brokers
• Kyle Schielack
  
  Managing Director
  
  Higginbotham
• Mark Doscher
  
  Principal
  
  Marsh & McLennan Agency
• Michael Malinowski
  
  President and CEO
  
  EHD
• Michele Centeno
  
  Senior Vice President
  
  Lockton Companies
• Michael Kellam
  
  Chief Executive Officer
  
  Ware Insurance
• Mike Tomasulo
  
  Senior Managing Partner, National Practice Leader
  
  Baldwin Risk Partners
• Nick Wichmanowski
  
  Client Advisor
  
  Gulfshore Insurance/Acrisure
• Phil Martin
  
  President
  
  HQ Insurance
• Phillip Lane
  
  Vice President
  
  Insurance Office of America
• PK Rao
  
  Chief Executive Officer
  
  INFPlans.com
• Russ Wardlaw
  
  President
  
  Insuramax
• Ryan Schmidt
  
  President and Managing Partner
  
  Gulfshore Insurance/Acrisure
• Ryan Von Haden
  
  Partner/Vice President
  
  TRICOR Insurance
• Sam Sackler
  
  Senior Vice President
  
  FBBINSURANCE
• Tim Mooney
  
  Senior Vice President, National Healthcare Services Practice Leader
  
  The Liberty Company Insurance Brokers
• Tim Spear
  
  Partner and Client Advisor
  
  Gulfshore Insurance/Acrisure
• William Denbo
  
  President
  
  Commercial Insurance Associates

 

Platinum Retail Brokers

• Adam W. Gabler
  
  Senior Vice President, Construction Practice Leader, Southwest
  
  Newfront
• Daniel Munro
  
  Owner/Agent
  
  Munro Insurance Services
• David DeLorenzo
  
  Owner
  
  Bar and Restaurant Insurance
• David Wissel
  
  Commercial Lines Client Advisor and Partner
  
  Gulfshore Insurance/Acrisure
• Gregory W. Havemeier
  
  Senior Vice President/Managing Partner
  
  Gulfshore Insurance/Acrisure
• Jared Pelissier
  
  Senior Vice President and Partner
  
  Woodruff Sawyer
• Jeff Clark Breskin
  
  Vice President
  
  J. Morey & Company
• Jeffrey Sanders
  
  Commercial Lines Client Advisor
  
  Gulfshore Insurance/Acrisure
• Jim Untiedt
  
  President, PentaRisk Insurance Services
  
  Acrisure Construction Practice Leader
• Josh Fagin
  
  Senior Vice President
  
  Heffernan Insurance Brokers
• Joshua Morey
  
  Chairperson
  
  Ori-gen Insurance Group
• Karl Henley
  
  Executive Vice President/Partner
  
  SeibertKeck Insurance Partners
• Mark Doscher
  
  Principal
  
  Marsh & McLennan Agency
• Michael Malinowski
  
  President and CEO
  
  EHD
• Mike Tomasulo
  
  Senior Managing Partner, National Practice Leader
  
  Baldwin Risk Partners
• Nick Wichmanowski
  
  Client Advisor
  
  Gulfshore Insurance/Acrisure
• Phil Martin
  
  President
  
  HQ Insurance
• PK Rao
  
  Chief Executive Officer
  
  Hop!/INF Plans
• Ryan Schmidt
  
  President and Managing Partner
  
  Gulfshore Insurance/Acrisure
• Tim Mooney
  
  Senior Vice President, National Healthcare Services Practice Leader
  
  The Liberty Company Insurance Brokers
• Tim Spear
  
  Partner and Client Advisor
  
  Gulfshore Insurance/Acrisure
• William Denbo
  
  President
  
  Commercial Insurance Associates