Ann Brogan and Chris Madden Building Trust and Group Business
Growing group business requires a strong and trusting relationship between the group and its independent agent and carrier. Without that foundation, gaining access to group employees and members can be a long and challenging road. But when Eastern Insurance Group partnered with the Boston Firefighters Credit Union (BFCU) to offer a group discount to its members, they proved just how valuable those relationships were. Ann Brogan and Chris Madden, both assistant vice presidents with Eastern, recently shared their growth strategy with Trade Winds.
A VISIBLE STRATEGY In June 2013, Eastern received approval from the DOI to offer an auto discount to BFCU members. This past March, Chris joined Eastern from MetLife, where he specialized in groups, and in August he began working with Ann, an Eastern sales professional since 1990. “A large part of our task was to simply raise awareness,” Ann explains. “We needed to be visible to the credit union members and be able to promote the benefits of Arbella. Our physical presence was critical.” Ann and Chris spend three days a week at the credit union. “It’s all about the repetition of seeing us at their offices,” Chris says. “We utilize Arbella marketing materials to heighten interest. And we understood from the beginning that it would take time for members to remember their positive interactions with us and approach us when the time was right for them.”
BUILDING TRUST Eastern and BFCU’s partnership originated with a long- standing family relationship—Don Rielly, senior vice president at Eastern, was son-in-law to the BFCU’s late founder, Terence McGonagle. But gaining access and visibility would still require a solid, trust-based relationship between Eastern
and the credit union. “A credit union is unlike a bank—it’s a close family atmosphere and they are protective of their members,” Chris says. “Offering the services of a new partner is not something any group will take on lightly, and we had to prove ourselves before they were willing to.” BFCU saw that the way Eastern treats its customers was very similar to their way, and they began to endorse Eastern to their members.
“BFCU members trust BFCU, and in turn they began to trust us,” Ann says. “The firefighters are a tightly knit group,” Chris says. “They conduct themselves with honesty and integrity, and they look out for each other. I recently visited the firehouse, and a firefighter went out of his way to let the others around him know that he saved money by switching to Arbella—it was a great experience. You can’t buy that kind of advertising. When Ann and I saw the referrals start to snowball, we knew we were moving in the right direction.”
A BRIGHT FUTURE Since Ann and Chris began with the BFCU, they have grown the group to 33 vehicles and have earned more than $44,000 in premium over the past year, totaling nearly $61,000 in premium and 44 vehicles to date. Their relationship with the credit union continues to strengthen—the Eastern brand is now included on the BFCU website, and Eastern recently participated in BFCU’s Customer Appreciation Day, during which several new members were quoted on the spot. Ann explains that most members of the BFCU prefer to meet with someone they trust and talk through their coverage. “The fact that they can meet with us face-to-face for all their insurance needs is something they see as an attractive benefit. We’re starting to see great results from all our efforts.”
Reinvigorate your group business today! Contact Katie Rush, group marketing representative, at
kathryn.rush@
arbella.com.
TR AD E WI N D S FAL L 2014 5
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