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Donna
Kozik
Freelance Copywriter & Consultant
Phone: 619/297-1749
E-mail: Donna@DonnaKozik.com
Web site: http://www.DonnaKozik.com
Writing
sample from the April 2000 Professional Independent
Insurance Agents of Illinois Insurance Insight
magazine
©
PIAAI
Independent
Agents Credited as Competitive Advantage
Although
new to Illinois, Erie Insurance Group is celebrating 75
years in the insurance industry.
Its home office is located in Erie, Pa., and it
boasts 22 field offices in 10 states and the District of
Columbia. It
has over $4.8 billion in policyholder surplus and over 2.7
million policies-in-force. But there's more than impressive numbers associated with this
company -- there's also a fascinating story of a man with
a dream.
Erie
Insurance, or, as it's fondly called by its employees and
agents, "The ERIE," was started in 1925 by two
entrepreneurs from Pennsylvania, H.O. Hirt and O.G.
Crawford. Named
after the city where it all began, Erie Insurance and its
affiliated companies have grown from an idea penciled out
on a 10-cent tablet to the 13th largest auto insurer and
the 16th largest property/casualty insurer in
the country with over 2.7 million policies-in-force.
Members of Erie Insurance Group write property/casualty
and life insurance products in 10 states and the District
of Columbia.
Through
it all, The ERIE has relied on independent agents as its
sole form of distribution.
It now boasts of 5,500 ERIE agents in Pennsylvania,
the District of Columbia, Indiana, Maryland, New York,
North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia,
and a growing number in our newest state, Illinois.
Recently announced plans call for The ERIE to begin
writing in Wisconsin in 2001.
All
impressive milestones as The ERIE approaches its 75th
anniversary on April 20.
Service
from the Start
After
O.G. Crawford retired in 1933, Erie Insurance became known
as a one man operation and continued to thrive under the
watchful eye of H.O. Hirt.
Hirt had a clear vision of what an insurance
company should offer -- a vision still closely adhered to
by the members of The ERIE.
Stephen
A. Milne, only the fifth president and chief executive
officer in the company's history, credits Erie Insurance's
longevity and profitability to the service ideals Hirt set
in place from the beginning.
"I
knew and worked with founder H.O. Hirt, and I understand
what he wanted to accomplish with this business.
As he wrote to agents in the original Agents'
Handbook, `The ERIE is committed and dedicated to giving
ERIE policyholders as near perfect protection, as near
perfect service, as is humanly possible, and doing so at
the lowest possible cost,'" said Milne.
"We
have never lost sight of that high purpose."
An
example of ERIE's service lies in last year's Hurricane
Floyd catastrophe that hit the eastern seaboard. "Our
response to Hurricane Floyd is an excellent example of how
our emphasis on exceptional service contributes to our
success today," said Milne. "We have a
finely-tuned catastrophe response system, and we were
ready to act when Hurricane Floyd hit.
"We
anticipated that claims calls would exceed the capacity of
our agents and field offices and set up a phone bank in
the home office with volunteers from every division.
We even solicited claims from our Policyholders --
and in some cases literally stunned people with our
superior service."
Unbeatable
service, dedicated employees and a strong relationship
with independent agents aren't the only things that make
Erie Insurance stand out in a competitive industry.
Another great strength is the company's financial
stability. "We've
consistently been successful in achieving a combined loss
ratio of approximately 100 percent," said Milne.
"In September 1999, the combined loss ratio for the
industry was 106.3. Maintaining a combined loss ratio of 100 percent with a
comparatively low expense ratio means we are giving
maximum value to our Policyholders."
Milne
credits ERIE Agents with a large part of the company's
success and calls it the company's chief competitive
advantage.
"Our
customers want to know that if they have a question about
insurance, they will be working with someone who is
willing to explain the answer, who will remember the
conversation and who will inspire their trust.
There's going to be an increased need for this kind
of personal relationship; we're providing that level of
service now and we'll continue to provide it.
"We
have a strong relationship with our agents and this is
truly one of the reasons for our success.
As the industry changes and there are more ways for
people to purchase insurance, The ERIE remains committed
to selling policies through its independent agency
force."
From
the Beginning
Even
before he founded Erie
Insurance Exchange in 1925, Henry Orth Hirt was a salesman
with a vision of what he thought an insurance company
should offer its policyholders, agents and employees:
superior service above all.
Insurance was a calling he never expected.
"There aren't too many kids that say, `I want
to be an insurance man,' like they say they want to be a
policeman or a fireman or an electrician or dentist,
engineer or anything of that sort," H.O. once told
Virginia Field Employees.
"As many of you have, I got into this by pure
chance."
Hirt
had his hand in just about every part of the fledgling
company. A very large factor in keeping agents informed and enthused
has been a weekly publication called the "Erie
App-a-Week Bulletin."
The first was issued on Monday, Aug. 8, 1931 and
has landed in the in-basket of agents and employees on
every Monday since. Editor
Hirt used to pepper the publication with tongue in cheek
drawings of himself spouting words of wisdom to agents.
Now in its 3,581 consecutive week of production, today's
"Bulletin" informs agents of marketing
strategies and technical changes.
Even
though Hirt seemed to have perseverance to spare, the
early days were difficult, especially when the nation
plunged into a depression in the 1930s.
In addition to tough economic times, competition
among insurers was intense, even then. When asked how Erie
Insurance, an infant reciprocal insurance exchange, could
possibly survive the deadly competition of the entrenched
stock and mutual companies of the time, Hirt was
philosophical and never put his company in second place.
"You don't understand," he said. "We
are the competition."
Hirt told the story of his superior company and service for 57 years,
until his death in 1982 at age 95. He said the secret to
his success was stubbornly refusing to fail.
"I recommend the virtue of stubbornness to my friends," Hirt
wrote an ERIE Agent in 1976.
"The easiest thing in the world to do is to
fail, but if you stubbornly refuse to fail, you won t
fail, and if you live long enough, you will have succeeded
in some degree."
Donna
Kozik
(619) 297-1749
Donna@DonnaKozik.com
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