SIG Corporate Strategy

The SIG Business Plan

Our corporate plan is to research and open several new sales offices each year, and we are meeting our goal. See the current list of sales locations. Accounting, computer management, marketing and corporate management are centralized in Bryan with sales/service functions handled by each office.

Our business plan is to grow through new production, agency acquisition, producer acquisition, joint venturing with financial institutions, and maximizing internet opportunities. All of our producers are dedicated to increasing their production, and we are staffed to accomplish this. We are looking for agency acquisitions and for opportunities to acquire good experienced producers at any location that we believe is underserved. We have developed a “turnkey” plan to open new offices and provide producers with a unique ownership arrangement as part of an overall benefit package for producers that is extremely competitive.

We are committed to blending the combination of agency computer systems and the internet to reach for maximum efficiency in our operations. It is currently not our goal to acquire customers by solicitation through the internet, but to utilize the internet for sales and service, including our own website.

Our plans are to target future prospects based upon certain market characteristics. We desire for our markets to assist us in prospecting with competitive target programs, providing state of the art website marketing and superior customer service. We prefer that our markets provide us with unique opportunities by designing excellent programs for specific types of businesses. Our target customer of the future is one that buys both for personal service and for electronic efficiency.

Our producers have an average of over 15 years experience selling insurance to individuals/businesses. A part of our selection process for new locations includes producers who have spent most of their careers working and living in the areas where our agencies are located. Their future marketing plans evolve around the many contacts/prospects they have established over the years and attaining successful sales goals under a mentoring program. All of our producers have training to utilize underwriting guide/markets ranging from “manual” to “website”.

We have a corporate wide mentoring/marketing program for commercial insurance. It is directed out of our Bryan office, and all producers receive additional training and marketing advice as it relates to commercial insurance production. Additionally, we utilize advertising, telemarketing, target marketing and “center of influence” to maintain a volume of prospects. We plan to grow in all lines of insurance and to have all types of customers that fit within certain parameters determined by a variety of target programs. Since 2000, our premium growth is over 100% with 85% of that obtained through organic growth. We forecast our annual growth to level off at approximately 70%.

Our perpetuation program is integrated into our overall business plan as the spread of locations and the development of a management group reduces the potential for any major disruption in the organization due to retirement, death or disability. We also believe our structure provides many benefits to insurance markets such as a spread of risk for weather related losses and the ability to acquire customers in rural type areas that are less litigious without having concerns about the ability of a small town agent being able to sustain enough overall markets to survive.

Selection of Producers

SIG Insurance Services plans to open new agencies at the rate of 4 to 6 per year. Using a variety of prospecting techniques, SIG will closely screen prospective producers to insure that they have a proven track record of sales success. SIG will place emphasis on opening agencies in locations with positive growth areas.

SIG believes teaming with the right person in the right community to be the key to success in creating a successful insurance agency. SIG will offer uncommon rewards to producers for their sales effort including partial ownership in the book of business produced by them; therefore we can and will be able to select excellent salespersons.

Selection of Insurance Markets

Pricing pressures and consumer knowledge are forcing insurance agents to market in different ways. SIG Insurance Services will solve this problem by:

  1. providing placement consulting for markets, quality control, rating and educational services for SIG agencies,
  2. working with agencies to develop and market specialty products and programs, and
  3. selecting and training salespersons to make maximum use of the streamlined products that the insurance companies are developing.

Limited access to needed markets hinders a salesperson’s ability to be competitive. SIG will provide the sales force access to diversity of markets, products and programs-resources upon which independent agent relies.

Selection of Computerized Technology

A dynamic producer needs to have as few distractions as possible other than the development of a substantial book of business. In many such cases, the producer/owner comes to acknowledge his or her need for management and systems assistance, and SIG Insurance Services will have the ability to provide this support. SIG has a computer network using AMS360 as the software system. We will install and maintain the system, and provide agencies technical support and training.

Increased productivity, enhanced customer service, error and omissions loss prevention practices, and improved management and accounting information are among the benefits which arise from proper use of agency automation. These benefits bring increased profitability.

Streamlined Daily Insurance Functions

Historically, agencies have become “bottlenecked” in the daily operations for many reasons. Some of them are: “being all things to all people”, computerized overkill, computerization underkill, micro-management, etc. SIG Insurance Services’ goal is to structure our entire operation around each sales office being just that – sales. Several methods to accomplish this are:

  • Centralized computer and general management
  • Marketing and Service Center
  • In-house premium finance company
  • Disciplined utilization of markets for personal lines and small commercial accounts that offer “upload/download”, service centers, point of sale underwriting/rating
  • Separation of internal functions so that each person has primary sales responsibility or primary support responsibility
  • Sales locations to operate in a near paperless environment
  • Each sales location will be its own profit center with the producer(s) having the opportunity to be rewarded for an overall efficient operations and sales production.
  • Producers will also have the opportunity to have partial equity ownership in their book of business.

Centralized Operations

SIG Insurance Services will wear multiple hats in relation to a sales location – as an owner and as a service provider. As a service provider SIG will provide the following:

  • Legal
  • Financial
  • Accounting
  • Marketing
  • Automation
  • Training
  • Insurance Consulting

Professional accountants supervise agency accounting, perform periodic audits, and prepare corporate tax returns. Legal staff prepare employment agreements for all licensed personnel, aid with collections, and review agency agreements with insurers. Systems personnel provide technical support, and install and maintain agency automation.