Unlocking Profitability: Why Leading with Workers’ Compensation Is the Smartest Move for Commercial Producers – A Conversation with Kevin Ring

In a hard market defined by razor-thin margins, rising premiums, and fierce competition, commercial insurance producers are constantly looking for ways to stand out. One of the most overlooked—and yet most powerful—strategies is to lead with workers’ compensation insurance.

This approach doesn’t just open doors; it helps you deliver measurable results, speak the language of business owners, and shift the sales conversation from price to profitability and performance. In this blog post, we’ll unpack why workers’ comp should be the lead line in your sales strategy and how it can help you build long-term, high-value relationships with middle-market clients.

The Simplicity and Strategic Advantage of Workers’ Comp

Compared to other lines like general liability or commercial auto, workers’ compensation policies are surprisingly uniform. In nearly every state, the policy language is standardized. Whether an employer buys a policy from Carrier A or Carrier B, the benefits and structure remain the same. If an employee falls off a ladder, the payout and claims handling are dictated by law—not carrier preference.

This simplicity makes workers’ comp the perfect entry point for new commercial insurance producers. It reduces the learning curve and allows producers to focus on selling value rather than learning the nuances of multiple proprietary forms. Veteran producers benefit too, as workers’ comp provides a common denominator that cuts through the noise of commoditized policy placements.

Data-Driven Prospecting Starts with Workers’ Compensation

One of the most powerful reasons to lead with workers’ comp is the publicly accessible data. In many states, you can easily pull a company’s experience modification factor (mod) from bureaus like NCCI or state-specific databases like the Pennsylvania Compensation Rating Bureau. This kind of intel simply doesn’t exist in the same depth for other commercial lines.

As a producer, you can leverage this information to:

Identify distressed accounts with high mods
Target businesses within specific industries
Personalize marketing based on real numbers

For example, instead of cold-calling 100 contractors, a savvy producer can identify the 10 with the worst mod scores and craft messaging around how their mod is impacting profitability. With this data-driven approach to insurance prospecting, you drastically increase your hit ratio and reduce wasted activity.

Monetizing Results: Turning Experience Mods into Sales Conversations

One of the most compelling sales angles in workers’ compensation is the ability to monetize your value. Unlike other lines where success is measured by preventing losses that may never happen, workers’ comp gives you a tangible number to improve: the experience mod.

Let’s say your prospect currently has a 1.50 mod. Through claim review, safety programs, injury triage, and return-to-work strategies, you help them reduce it to 0.85 over three years. That drop isn’t just a feel-good story—it’s a direct reflection of your impact and can translate into hundreds of thousands in premium savings.

As David Carothers put it in the episode:

“I just spent the last hour giving you 100,000 reasons why you should hire me.”

This is where workers’ comp excels. You can tie your promises to performance, show your math, and make the value proposition of a strong risk management strategy impossible to ignore.

Employer Culture and the Litigation Epidemic

Another crucial layer to understand in workers’ compensation is the role of employer-employee relations. If a company has high litigation rates on claims, it’s often not just a claims issue—it’s a culture problem.

Kevin Ring explains that employees are more likely to file lawsuits or get attorneys involved when:

They feel disposable or unsupported by management
They’re misinformed about how workers’ comp works
Their co-workers brag about getting “settlement money”

As a producer, you’re not just placing coverage—you’re guiding clients to build a better work culture. This might involve helping them communicate more clearly, implement better onboarding, or introduce injury reporting procedures that build trust. A culture of transparency and care results in fewer claims, less litigation, and lower experience mods. That’s real value.

Takeover Strategy: Comp as a Low-Friction Entry Point

Another advantage of leading with workers’ comp is that it creates a low-friction way to win new business. Many business owners are hesitant to change brokers entirely—especially if their agent is a friend, relative, or long-time partner. Workers’ comp, however, can be carved out.

Positioning yourself as a “workers’ comp specialist” allows the client to test your expertise without a full-blown breakup with their existing agent. As Kevin Ring pointed out:

“You don’t have to take all of your insurance away from your brother-in-law… I just want to take over the workers’ comp.”

Once you’ve taken control of the comp line and deliver measurable results, it’s only a matter of time before you’re asked to take over the rest. This comp-focused takeover strategy is a powerful foot in the door.

Moving Beyond the Quote: Shifting to Value-Based Selling

For producers stuck in the “let me quote your insurance” mindset, workers’ comp is a great tool to break free. Because the rates are often similar and the coverage is standardized, price shopping becomes less relevant. That forces you to lead with process, insight, and strategy.

You learn to:

Ask better questions
Educate clients on claims handling and cost drivers
Focus on long-term outcomes, not short-term savings

This mindset carries over to other lines. Once you learn to sell on total cost of risk instead of premium, your entire approach changes. You become a consultant, not a quote machine.

Market Trends: Are Rate Increases on the Horizon?

For more than a decade, workers’ comp rates have been on a downward trend. But that trend might be ending. Kevin mentioned in the episode that California is already projecting a substantial rate increase in 2026. As one of the largest and most heavily regulated insurance markets, California often signals what’s coming for other states.

This potential shift creates opportunity:

Companies may see sticker shock in renewals
Employers who’ve coasted on low premiums may finally be ready to act
Producers who lead with strategy and control—not just price—will win

If you’ve been waiting to differentiate yourself, now is the time to do it. Get ahead of the rate hikes by positioning your agency as a proactive problem-solver in workers’ comp.

Final Takeaway: Why Every Producer Should Lead with Workers’ Comp

If you’re a commercial producer writing middle-market accounts, the path is clear: lead with workers’ compensation. It gives you more data, more leverage, more value, and more opportunities to win.

Let’s recap the core benefits:

Easier learning curve with standardized policy language
Better prospecting using public mod data and analytics
Clear ROI by monetizing improvements in mod scores
Stronger positioning as a consultant, not a commodity broker
Culture-shifting insights that drive lower claim frequency
Low-resistance takeovers to begin relationships without displacing the incumbent

In short, workers’ comp is not just an insurance line—it’s a sales weapon.

Ready to stop quoting and start consulting?
Explore how our agency can help you leverage workers’ compensation to build stronger client relationships, drive profitability, and become the advisor your clients never knew they needed.

Schedule a strategy call today

Why Employee Ownership is the Key to Sustainable Agency Growth and Talent Retention

September 4, 2025 No Comments

In an increasingly competitive commercial insurance landscape, agency owners are struggling to find long-term solutions for succession planning, talent retention, and business perpetuation. Many have considered private equity sales, others offer limited equity to top producers—but a growing number are discovering a more powerful alternative: the Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP).

Captive Insurance as a Business Continuity Plan: How Strategic Advisors Protect and Grow Their Book of Business

September 3, 2025 No Comments

In today’s competitive commercial insurance market, your book of business is under constant attack. Competitors are targeting your best accounts every day, just like cybercriminals probing a website for vulnerabilities. If you don’t have a plan to defend and grow your client relationships, you’re leaving yourself exposed.

How to Reverse Engineer Your Sales Funnel and Crush Your Q4 Insurance Production Goals

September 3, 2025 No Comments

As we enter the fourth quarter, many commercial insurance producers begin to panic. Whether you’re behind on your goals or just trying to hit that final sprint, the Q4 crunch is real. But the producers who consistently win don’t treat Q4 as a Hail Mary. They plan with precision, reverse engineer their goals, and execute with ruthless consistency.

In this post, we’ll break down how you can reverse engineer your sales funnel, identify your revenue gaps, and finish the year stronger than you started. Whether you’re writing workers’ comp or cyber liability, these strategies apply across all middle market verticals.

Captive Insurance Fundamentals: How Business Owners Can Retain Risk, Keep Profits, and Control Their Future

September 3, 2025 No Comments

In the commercial insurance world, most producers are laser-focused on finding the best premium and coverage from traditional carriers. But there’s a powerful alternative that can help the right business owners keep more control over their risk, retain underwriting profits, and create a long-term competitive advantage.

Mastering Wholesale Partnerships: Submission Strategies, Underwriter Relationships, and Technology Tools for Middle-Market Success

August 27, 2025 No Comments

In today’s competitive insurance marketplace, middle-market agencies must leverage every available advantage to win and retain business. One of the most underutilized yet powerful resources at an agent’s disposal is the wholesale market. By establishing strong partnerships with wholesalers, agents can access capacity, expertise, and proprietary programs that are often unavailable through direct channels. However, success in the wholesale arena requires more than simply submitting risks and hoping for the best.

How AI-Powered Workflows Are Transforming Sales, Marketing, and Client Communication

August 27, 2025 No Comments

In the fast-paced world of commercial insurance, where every hour counts and every interaction matters, producers and agency owners are turning to artificial intelligence not as a replacement for human connection—but as a force multiplier. AI tools like ChatGPT are no longer just novelties or futuristic concepts. They are strategic business assets, helping commercial producers streamline workflows, scale personalization, and reclaim valuable time.

Mastering Wholesale Partnerships: Submission Strategies, Underwriter Relationships, and Technology Tools for Middle-Market Success

August 27, 2025

How AI-Powered Workflows Are Transforming Sales, Marketing, and Client Communication

August 27, 2025

Unlocking Profitability: Why Leading with Workers’ Compensation Is the Smartest Move for Commercial Producers – A Conversation with Kevin Ring

The Simplicity and Strategic Advantage of Workers’ Comp

Data-Driven Prospecting Starts with Workers’ Compensation

Monetizing Results: Turning Experience Mods into Sales Conversations

Employer Culture and the Litigation Epidemic

Takeover Strategy: Comp as a Low-Friction Entry Point

Moving Beyond the Quote: Shifting to Value-Based Selling

Market Trends: Are Rate Increases on the Horizon?

Final Takeaway: Why Every Producer Should Lead with Workers’ Comp

Responses