Establishing Carrier-Client Relationships | Shoptalk Series, Episode #21

In this episode of The Power Producers Podcast, David Carothers and co-host Kyle Houck discuss how to build effective carrier and client partnerships from the very beginning and how to establish credibility in the middle market.

Episode Highlights:

• David thinks that today’s topic is the area where they missed the boat and if you’re new to the middle market, you certainly have no idea that it’s an option. (3:18)
• David shares that sometimes, agents don’t want to involve the carrier to build the relationship because they’re trying to slide a small detail in the underwriting box that’s not supposed to be there, and they think that they’re benefiting themselves. (4:25)
• David mentions that he learned early on that, one of the best points he could do is to include the underwriter as quickly as he could to set your client up for success. (4:51)
• David shares that the huge way to gain your credibility with an underwriter is to meet the people behind the account. (5:51)
• How does David coordinate that on the audit side of it? Because in Kyle’s experience, most of the auditors aren’t coming from the carrier, they’re from a third party. (10:21)
• David shares one of the reasons why his tasks in the middle market accounts are significant are because it begins with the basis for the risk management action plan, that’s going to be executed going forward over the year. (12:12)
• Kyle mentions that establishing a better relationship with the middle market is the type of relationship that you should develop. (14:40)
• David shares a story about a client he had that was a plumbing company insured by a certain carrier and another client which is an HVAC company insured by the same carrier. (16:17)
• Davis shares that as you get into the middle market, you have to make sure you’re including the underwriters, the claims people, the auditors, and loss control in the process. (25:43)

Tweetable Quotes:

• “If you’ve not written the middle market in the past, you don’t know a lot of the things that you have the flexibility to do. And it’s not the agent’s fault. It’s because, in small business, you just don’t get the same kind of resources from a carrier that you do when you’re in the middle market.” – David Carothers
• “Let’s go to what every other agency thinks about if you’re not selling on the total cost of risk and you’ve got a clean account. The reason you take the underwriter out there is for them to touch and feel it. So they can give you the maximum credits on the premium that you need to get the deal done, from a financial perspective.” – David Carothers
• “So, you go in, and you have instant credibility. Because you bring these people in, but then it allows the magic to happen where the client is interacting with the carrier team. The carrier teams interacting with the client, and it puts a whole different spin on the relationship, it’s no longer financial risk transfer.” – David Carothers

Resources Mentioned:

• David Carothers LinkedIn
• Kyle Houck LinkedIn
• Florida Risk Partners
• The Extra 2 Minutes