A Stateside view by former Swinton and Century man Graham Mawman, sunning himself beside the ocean on Jacksonville Beach, Florida
The two largest auto and home carriers - State Farm and Allstate - have gradually reduced their exposures here as they have battled with the State of Florida, many times unsuccessfully, for approval to increase rates as a protection against catastrophic hurricane related losses. So we are picking up quality ‘white collar’ clients who are being cancelled by the Big Two simply because of the location of their homes (our office is 200 yards from the ocean) and can add them to our existing blue collar weekly-paid clients. More often than not they bring their car insurance with them. Whilst it is increasingly easy to buy car insurance online here, home insurance is another matter altogether. There are a large
range of products and covers available dependent on whether the home is owner or tenant occupied; is the main dwelling or a secondary home; whether it is in a designated flood zone or in the wind pool.
Added to this are multiple construction types from wood to brick, plus a variety of ages and conditions ensuring that customers need to deal with an agent, resulting in virtually no home insurance business being done online.
Our business back in 1999 was 100% car insurance whilst today we are split 50/50 with home. Due to this mix we have great customer retention. We do not sell ‘add-ons’ - a practice frowned upon by State and the Department of Insurance. We
survive solely on the commission earned. Well, my waitress has just arrived with a “cold one” so I must close now.
I have enjoyed everywhere I have worked in this great business. Along the way I have lived in Manchester, Bradford, Billericay Essex, Bolton, Palmers Green London and now in
Editor’s note:
Backed up by the inspiration generated above, and with the Blighty weather in May behaving itself for once, it proved easy for the imaginative mind to conjure blue sky, blue sea, and cold crab from the sub-editing keyboard at Chez Newman. And I do believe there’s a tin of fresh crab in the larder. An oxymoron if ever there was one, but with a bit more imagination... Cheers! Graham.
beautiful Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida.
It has been a lot of fun and has provided me with an excellent livelihood. I have met lots of wonderful people, many of whom I call friends.
Graham Mawman State Insurance Agency Jacksonville Beach, FL.
JUNE 2010 insurancepeople 21
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