Friends + Cars = Specialty Market Success

Steve Marlin is in the driver’s seat of the collector-car market in Long Island.

In 1999, the Deer Park, N.Y., agent (whose passion for cars led him to the presidency of the local Corvette collectors’ club) started a Sunday morning “Corvettes and Coffee at the Beach” cruising session. Steve and a few car-collecting buddies from the club would buy coffee and meet in the Jones Beach parking lot.

Now, five years later, 500 collectors show off their cars just about every Sunday morning in a full beach parking lot, and the police direct traffic on Ocean Parkway.

The payoffs: Steve doesn’t have to buy coffee anymore. The first advice a new collector hears from his fellow collectors is: “Go see Steve to get that thing insured right.”

Marlin, co-owner of M&M Associates Insurance Brokers Ltd., enjoys a market with high loyalty. His car-collector clients feed his agency with added premium and cross-sell prospects. “While the premiums are not generally large, it does open the door to extended conversation with the client,” he noted. “This always results in the opportunity to compete for the balance of their coverages.

“When I attend a classic auto show or cruise night, I feel like a celebrity since most know me as ‘The Insurance Guy.’ People approach me, eager for me to see their ‘ride’ –and asking my opinion as to how to insure it,” he added.

Here are a couple of pieces of Marlin’s advice for agents–whether they love classic cars or don’t know what all the fuss is about:

Ask clients if they own or wish to own a collector vehicle. Many people dream of owning a classic car (or a collector edition of a Corvette or other model). Some have a classic car stored in the garage, aiming to refurbish it. If they ask, agents can spark a deeper, more trusting relationship–because car buffs care about their cars more than almost any possession and instinctively bond with those who are interested.

Get to know a number of specialty providers and choose based on what works best. Carriers offer policies either directly through agents or through specialized wholesalers, often on a no-contract basis. Marlin has settled on American Hobbyist Insurance (www.AmericanHobbyist.com) as his primary market. His policy count is into three figures and climbing.

As for Steve Marlin, he dreams of even more: “Once I enter semiretirement, my ambition is to tour auctions across the nation. As the vehicle comes down the auction ramp, I’ll take a picture of it and offer a quote to the purchaser. That is my future dream of blending my passion of the hobby with my business.”