Q&A with Swingle Collins & Associates’ Frank Swingle

Insurance Journal: How did you get started in the insurance business?
Frank Swingle: I didn’t have a job. … My girlfriend in college was riding on a plane next to the owner of the agency that I went to work for. And she convinced him to interview me because I wanted to stay in Dallas. So I went and interviewed and he offered me a job.

IJ: Tell me about Swingle Collins.
Swingle: We have 35 folks. We’ve been in business for 25 years. We’re a Dallas-based agency; we predominately do North Texas risks. We are mostly a commercial insurance agency. Our expertise is real estate, high tech, manufacturing and retail. Those are our big market niches. We’re really still a generalist though so we do a lot of other risks in other industries. Our real focus is what we call the mid-market insurance, which is entrepreneurial risks, where we are the outsourced risk management department.

IJ: Swingle Collins was named by the Big “I” this year as a top performing best practices agency. What does that designation mean to you?
Swingle: That’s interesting. We quit filling out the best practices things a few years ago because they were so cumbersome to fill out. This year I decided to do it again because they’d streamlined the reporting requirements and our computer system allowed us to do it a lot easier than it had in the past. …

I was humbled and very honored to receive that best-in-class designation. I had no idea that we were even close to that. But I will say that we do follow the best practices guidelines in trying to deliver a great product to our customers and our companies.

IJ: How does Swingle Collins differentiate itself ?
Swingle: We strive to provide a comprehensive insurance solution for our customer. It’s not just price, it’s both price and service. It’s market pricing with delivering a tailored insurance product to what our customer needs. A lot of that comes from just knowledge of the insurance market.

IJ: Why do you think it’s important as an agency to remain independent and privately owned?
Swingle: Insurance agencies are a fundamental part of the community in most of the communities they’re in. And when you have foreign ownership — and foreign meaning a bank, or investment bank or somebody else, you sometimes lose the ability to become an integral part of the community. You become an employee of a larger organization that limits your ability to become that fundamental part of that community, which is vital to our industry. Because our members are vital parts of communities they’re in. I think, too, when you look at some of the larger purchasers of insurance agencies, all they’re trying to do is squeeze margins instead of actually providing the service that’s needed for customers.

IJ: What do you look for in new producers?
Swingle: We’re looking for somebody that has the ability to sell. Has the ability to present themselves well. Has the ability to get out there and already understands a little about business acumen and business ethics. And what it takes to be successful. We also look for a drive — they’re not opposed to getting the door slammed in their face, they’re not opposed to making cold calls, they’re not opposed to working hard to reach the goal that they set for themselves. And very fortunate for us we’ve been very successful with younger producers.

IJ: What advice would you give to young people looking at insurance as a possible career?
Swingle: Insurance is one of the great careers that exists today if you’re willing to work hard. You have the freedom and the flexibility to do and/or make whatever your goals are and it’s a great environment to do business. But you have to work hard.