Doing the Right Thing Brings Rewards for SRA’s John Wood

Specialty Risk Associates, a managing general agency headquartered in Shreveport, La., has been on the move in the past several years–expanding beyond its Louisiana base into neighboring states–and has plans to increase its regional visibility even further in the coming years.

Insurance Journal recently caught up with company president, John Wood, who discussed SRA’s origins, its focus and its plans for the future. Explaining that the maxim, “always do the right thing,” guides his business philosophy, Wood said he finds satisfaction in providing great customer service and in developing successful relationships with both retail agents and insurers.

Insurance Journal: Talk about the origins of your firm and how you got started in the insurance business.
John Wood: Our firm, Specialty Risk Associates, was actually founded in 1985 by Dale Slack and myself.

I graduated from Louisiana Tech University in 1973 with a B.S. degree in business administration with a marketing option. Close to graduation there was a commerce day that was sponsored by the college, and the speaker was a regional manager of a Commercial Union branch office in Ruston, Louisiana. His presentation intrigued me.

So, after the presentation I told the speaker that I would really like to know more about the insurance business and asked how I could enter the industry. He said that it begins with an interview process and sent me to the human resource director. After completing the necessary tests I was accepted into an underwriting-training program. I was with Commercial Union in various underwriting positions for four years.

In 1977 I received and accepted a job offer from a retail agent in Shreveport, Louisiana, my home town and had a wonderful work experience for eight years. Dale’s career path has been similar.

I believe our solid foundation has given us an advantage because we have experienced both the company and retail agency sides of the business. We understand the company point of view; and we understand the perspective of the retail agent, who is our customer. So we have empathy for them and understand they are serving their clients. Due to our prior experience we are able to relate to their problems and opportunities.

IJ: Does your firm have a specialization or expertise in certain areas of insurance?

JW: By virtue of the fact that we try to do our best to serve the needs of our clients, and because we have a wide product mix and appetite, we are generalists.

But we do have specialty niches such as homeowners, vacant properties, builders risk, oil and gas, where my partner, Dale Slack is one of the most knowledgeable in the industry.

We also have a program for fire suppression contractors, personal umbrellas and in transportation, and because our area is abundant with natural resources we see a lot of logging and lumbering and sand and gravel. In addition we write non-emergency and medical units and livery exposures.

We also have a premium finance company, so that’s an added in house service we offer.

IJ: In what states or regions do you operate?

JW: Our core states are Louisiana, Texas, Arkansas and Mississippi. We are also licensed in Oklahoma, Alabama, Georgia and Florida.

IJ: What do you look for in retail agencies that you work with?

JW: We look for opportunities to build an ongoing relationship where the retail agent knows and understands the capabilities of our companies and markets. We look for an agency that is professional in their business approach, preparation of submissions and has an understanding of a business partnership. We also look for an agency that appreciates the added value we bring to the insurance transaction whether it is the market, our knowledge of a specific product or superb service.

IJ: What makes your general agency different or sets it apart from others?

JW: We are devoted and loyal to our companies, our customers and our employees. We strive to do our very best every day by doing the right thing. We invest in the education of our employees, and we attempt to excel by using our good judgment and experience to the benefit of our customers.

Really if you want to sum that up, you could say that our employees make the difference. They are the ones that set us apart from our competitors. They deserve the credit.

IJ: How do you attract new business?

JW: We advertise new products and competitive advantages … but word of mouth is probably what gets us most of our business. There are a lot of people who call and say that one of their competitors said that we do a good job. They want to know how they can begin conducting business with Specialty Risk, either because of a product we have or because of good service, or possibly because of a good outcome from a problem that they needed to have solved.

IJ: In what industry activities are you or your employees involved?

JW: We are active in AAMGA and NAPSLO and we donate our time and effort to those topics that can affect our industry. And we are members of the state associations. Our employees are very involved in their local community and civic organizations.

As a company, we are very committed to education to all of our employees, so we have opportunities available to them on a regular basis for continued growth.

IJ: Describe your own role. How are you involved with retail agents, with employees, with the insurance companies?

JW: In the beginning, my partner and I were doing everything. That is necessary when you are building a business, but now most of my time is spent on administrative duties and carrying out the vision of the agency. Most of our retail agents are business associates or friends and I still like to make agency calls, go to educational events, social functions, and attend golf outings.

With the employees–I hope that my employees see me as a leader who’s honest, forward looking, inspiring and confident. I feel like if they see me in that light they will attempt to emulate these qualities and be successful in their endeavors–whether it’s professional or personal. So I see myself as trying to be a good leader in that respect.

With the insurance companies I act as a liaison between the agency and the company by keeping in touch with company personnel, with changes or opportunities or possible problems that may occur. This enables us to take the necessary action in order to maximize our efforts for the mutual benefit of the company and for Specialty Risk.

IJ: Do you travel to your out of state offices?

JW: We do travel to our out of state offices. However, our Mississippi and Texas acquisitions have been relatively recent. One of our goals is to be more visible in our out of state offices.

IJ: Have you grown through acquisitions, then?

JW: Acquisitions have accelerated our growth by providing new terroritories and opportunities. But I believe our company facilities, product mix and the everyday effort of our associates has been the primary reason for our continued success.

IJ: What parts of your job do you like the least? The most?

JW: Because customer service is so important to us, if I ever hear that we have not met the customer’s expectations I am disappointed.

The biggest reward is in the relationships of agency and company personnel that we have formed over the years.

IJ: As owner and principal what is your biggest challenge and greatest reward?

JW: The biggest challenge is to always see visions and dream dreams, in an ever-changing industry, and encouraging our associates to only accept the best.

It’s rewarding to see an individual realize their potential and to see our agency grow in reputation and written premium volume.

IJ: Is there one maxim or principle that has guided you in your career?

JW: One of the principles I deem important is to always do the right thing and always be certain to deliver on your promise. Those are so important in both business and in my personal life.

IJ: How do you see your company changing over the next five years?

JW: We’re constantly looking and thinking about ways to improve our service to our customers and our relationships with our companies.

We continue to take steps to deliver more value to our transactions–and that could be in the form of more education for our employees and our customers, and efficiency in our work processes and technology, or increased product offerings.

One thing we will have in five years is more visibility in additional states, which will result in more volume and more employees.

We hope we have a continued reputation for excellence which will be respected by our insureds, carriers and employees.

IJ: What advice would you give someone entering the insurance business?

JW: I think the insurance industry is a great place to be. There are many career paths that you can choose. It’s a moving, changing industry that keeps you fresh and forward thinking. And I see it as an honorable profession that lends a great service to its customers.

As far as advice goes, I would say have empathy for the customer, learn the technical side of the business, build strong relationships, see problems as opportunities, give back to the industry when you can, and don’t be satisfied until your customer’s problem is solved. If you have a passion for this business you will be successful.