Smoking All the Competition with John Mason, Episode #198

In this episode of The Power Producers Podcast, David Carothers interviews John Mason, President of Chenango Brokers. John talks about what a good wholesaler looks like to an agency and how Chenango Brokers provides independent and semi-captive insurance agents with quality competitive products from financially sound admitted markets.

Episode Highlights:

• John discusses the commercial line comparative rater that Chenango Brokers have developed for agents to use that will give them access to a multitude of admitted carriers. (1:50)
• John talks about having a system that asks questions and inputs the answers on a support form that brings back eligible quotes. (6:00)
• John shares his background and the history of how he started Chenango Brokers. (11:58)
• John explains that volatility is one of the things that makes their commercial package policy so valuable. (18:38)
• John shares that they offer personal lines and a real-time life portal application that agents can utilize. (25:23)
• John explains that picture-perfect submissions are the ones where applications are properly completed. (27:55)
• John describes the key difference between a fleet and a non-fleet in a commercial auto program. (29:53)
• John advises listeners to understand and study a few industries and also to understand what good communication is. (36:59)
• John reminds young agents to listen to people who have been in the industry for so long and are successful. (38:51)
• John recalls his former competitor, who had helped him make connections. (41:04)

Tweetable Quotes:

• “Most people assume if you’re a wholesaler, that you’re just running a business. And you know, as a wholesaler, one of the things we also look at is the quality of the submissions that come in.” – John Mason
• “I have an old Italian friend who lives about a mile away, and he always says to me, ‘Giovanni, no matter what you take in, it’s what you put in your pocket that counts’, and he’s right on the money with that.” – John Mason
• “A great producer takes the time to understand the industry that he’s trying to work in.” – John Mason

Resources Mentioned:

• John Mason LinkedIn
• Chenango Brokers LLC
• David Carothers
• Kyle Houck
• Florida Risk Partners
• The Extra 2 Minutes