Fires, building collapses, and identity theft. There’s a lot going on the world right now. On this episode, Chip Arenchild interviews Troy Moody of Moody Insurance Agency about the current state of insurance agencies. Chip and Troy talk about the advantages of working with a local insurance broker. This episode covers why having a strategic advisor to help mitigate risk identification is a must.
Local Insurance Broker Transcript
00;00;02;01 – 00;00;19;00
Chip Arenchild
Welcome to Know Your Risk and Insurance Coverage with Risk Pro Net, where we will discuss all things insurance for you and your company. Risk Coronet is a network of independent agencies who offer specialized insurance across business sectors.
00;00;19;02 – 00;00;33;15
Chip Arenchild
Regardless of where you are in your insurance journey. We want to invite you to join us to think about insurance differently. Know your risk and insurance coverage with risk Pro Net provides answers to all your insurance questions.
00;00;33;17 – 00;00;50;12
Troy Moody
Hi, my name is Troy Moody. I’m the chief operating officer for Moody Insurance. I’d like to introduce Aaron Chown Zabel. With with risk prone chip. I don’t want to just, introduce you and, learn a little bit more about you.
00;00;50;14 – 00;01;18;21
Chip Arenchild
Hey. Well. Thanks, Troy. Hey. So, I’ve been doing this insurance business now for 22 years, and with Inter West Insurance Services, we’re out located in Northern California. And, like many of our member agencies, we transact business across the United States. And so, funny story, I think, like most brokers, I got involved in insurance buy through a friend who happened to see me at my sister’s wedding and knew that I’d been doing some construction work and some environmental remediation project management.
00;01;18;23 – 00;01;36;24
Chip Arenchild
And he goes, hey, what are you going to do when all this environmental stuff dries up? You have to come sell insurance, you know, and so there’s not a chance in hell I’m going to do that. His name was Peck and went home. Talk to my wife about it. You know, I went back to where I was work and started looking around the shops and seeing a bunch of grumpy old people around there, and I wondered if they never took a chance.
00;01;36;24 – 00;01;54;20
Chip Arenchild
Right. So, we said, hey, let’s try it. I ended up having to move back to the hometown I grew up in. That’s where the job was in Redding, California. Moved into my mom’s basement with a two year old and a newborn baby and, went to work. And then, you know, it all worked out from there. Within three years, I’d become a shareholder.
00;01;54;20 – 00;02;10;15
Chip Arenchild
And this has really turned out to be a great career move for me as well as, you know, allows me to do, I think, what I do best and things I really like to do, which is helping people and, trying to find solutions and learning about businesses. So it’s been a fun 22 years.
00;02;10;18 – 00;02;18;24
Troy Moody
It’s amazing how people fall into insurance and how that career starts. You never thought you’d do it. And then also you start and you love it.
00;02;18;26 – 00;02;38;16
Chip Arenchild
Yeah. And, you know, working with all these young kids right now, I know we’re all struggling to find to find staff and to find new brokers and yeah, I, I’m encouraged by what you see right in the same story seem to perpetuate themselves. Like I don’t think they’d ever want to do it. But once they get started and they recognize, you know, what a fulfilling job it is and what a good job it is.
00;02;38;19 – 00;02;41;15
Chip Arenchild
They should groove into it pretty quickly. So.
00;02;41;18 – 00;02;56;09
Troy Moody
Yeah, definitely. But but we know I don’t. His group was passionate and, it’s a group of all the 20 some agencies across the US to kind of share our best practices. You want to tell everybody a little bit more about that as a group?
00;02;56;11 – 00;03;16;25
Chip Arenchild
Yeah, I’d be glad to, you know, risk Pro Net that was born out of the idea that how do larger independent insurance brokerage firms find a way to stay relevant and competitive in their environments? And also, one of the fundamental things about the insurance industry is how do you get along with your, not necessarily competitors, but how do you get along with everybody?
00;03;16;25 – 00;03;44;28
Chip Arenchild
Right. And so I think it was born as my understanding we’ve been members for longer than I know, just some independent brokers coming together in a way that they could share ideas and what’s going on and what’s trending and how can they help to learn to support one another to what it’s grown into today, where we have a member agencies across the United States, all independent, all looking for ways to stay relevant in their local markets and continuing to expand the services they can offer their clients.
00;03;45;01 – 00;04;08;09
Chip Arenchild
And we’ve been able to do that. And out of that, we’ve also created dedicated practice groups around those industry areas that need a lot of attention, construction and benefits. And we have one for cyber and one for manufacturing now, one for our HR directors. And how do we start to starting sharing best practices that help each agency run better and learn from one another, and continue to serve their clients better?
00;04;08;09 – 00;04;14;17
Chip Arenchild
It’s been one of the better things that we’ve been involved in. I’d say. And I don’t know, Troy, I have. What do you guys thought about it?
00;04;14;19 – 00;04;35;24
Troy Moody
Yeah, I think, you know, there’s the value to the agency on being able to bounce ideas. Everybody’s kind of been there, done that. Scenarios that some people have gotten to see that maybe we haven’t, or we’ve been able to pass our experiences on to the others. The other part is, you know, like during Covid, the proactive part and learning how to, best practices on on transferring information to our customers.
00;04;35;24 – 00;04;46;06
Troy Moody
And, you know, later, as this podcast cast goes on, you know, that’s the idea of this is to be able to transfer information from the best of all of our agencies to our customers.
00;04;46;09 – 00;05;02;02
Chip Arenchild
I would agree. Right. And I think we did, it really shone through in Covid in terms of how we were able to communicate what people were doing, what was happening in other parts of the United States. How was that relevant to what we were up against and finding solutions? I know we we leaned on the group heavily to come up with answers, and we implemented them.
00;05;02;02 – 00;05;12;24
Chip Arenchild
So as a networking group and as a peer to peer support system, I think Chris Pronate done a wonderful job, and I’m excited to see what we can do with this podcast series as well.
00;05;12;26 – 00;05;22;17
Troy Moody
Absolutely. Well, you know, all the the members are independent brokers. What do you view as the advantage of being an independent broker in our environment now?
00;05;22;19 – 00;05;49;04
Chip Arenchild
Well, I think the biggest advantage we have is being independent brokers now is just, it’s a couple of different things. One is the mindset that we want to stay independent, right? We’re we’re all aware of the hyper sensitivity around mergers and acquisitions that we see right now. And we see those in our presentations in our risk pro net meetings, from the different various consultants that we work with or that I give presentations and, and I think the advantage to being independent is you get to control your own destiny.
00;05;49;04 – 00;06;07;05
Chip Arenchild
You get to run your business the way you get to run it based upon how you want to run it, whether that’s a small ownership group or a large, diverse ownership group. But you have the ability to control your own destiny. How much money you want to put into value added services, what you want to chase, what you want to go after.
00;06;07;07 – 00;06;28;18
Chip Arenchild
We’re not being looked at having to hit some sort of financial metric or EBITA margin based upon somebody who’s not in the business and running at day to day. And I think it just helps perpetuate better management and better outcomes for our clients. And I think the number one reason for being independent is to maintain that freedom and control you get with running your business the way you want to run it.
00;06;28;22 – 00;06;31;10
Chip Arenchild
Maybe you see it differently. I’m not sure.
00;06;31;12 – 00;06;54;23
Troy Moody
I think, you know, being a local broker is a big advantage. You know, we get to live the Colorado life so we know the exposure. You know, right now, we got fires up in Eagle County going on. So, you know, we’ve had to learn that environment a lot more than, in the past. And then we can go to the risk product group on exposures that are outside of our territory and learn, you know, what what an agent, you know, in another state, knows.
00;06;54;23 – 00;07;00;16
Troy Moody
And taking advantage of those resources to ensure our customers correctly when they’re across the US.
00;07;00;19 – 00;07;23;04
Chip Arenchild
Yeah, I think that’s been a big benefit. Right. If something you need to get something done in Colorado, we don’t have a ton of business in Colorado. So you’re able to call you, for example, and be able to get some advice or get pointed in the right direction, which serves our customer best. And I do think the idea of being local continues to be the champion at the heart of the insurance broker relationship is that local relationship.
00;07;23;04 – 00;07;45;03
Chip Arenchild
And I think, you know, as the industry continues to evolve through technology and different product offerings, having access to people with more special specialization in an area and getting the information you need to be able to deliver to your clients or to be able to solve a problem with globalization, right? We have members in Canada now, members that do business in Europe.
00;07;45;05 – 00;08;04;28
Chip Arenchild
Australia. We had a situation, came up with someone, needed some help, placing business in Australia for a client of theirs that was domiciled in the United States and had purchased an Australian operation. And we were able to make those connections and then allow that person to maintain their local contact and yet still service the needs of their client all the way in Australia.
00;08;04;28 – 00;08;08;15
Chip Arenchild
So I think that’s really one of the powerful things a risk pro net.
00;08;08;17 – 00;08;24;17
Troy Moody
Yes, I agree. So with the pricing we’re we’re requesting or hoping people will give us 20 minutes of their time or 15 minutes of their time listening to us. What do you think the values are that we can try to bring to our to our, our customers, our employees and the other members of the group?
00;08;24;19 – 00;08;52;07
Chip Arenchild
I think what we’re going to be able to do with this podcast is be able to take some of the most timely, relevant issues, generate some content quickly on what people should be thinking about how it pertains to them, whether they’re the buyer of insurance, whether they’re trying to educate their staff inside one of our member firms and be able to get them, meaningful material in a hurry that allows them to make better decisions in the moment and move forward quickly without being handcuffed or being paralyzed.
00;08;52;07 – 00;09;20;13
Chip Arenchild
You’re not feeling like they have the specialization they need. You know, one example, we’re going through right now is the changes in cyber. I think it’s been amazing to watch the marketplace change over the last six weeks or since that pipeline hack and all the hacks that have happened during Covid. And all of a sudden the market’s turning and you need to have more answers and that we have that specialization within the member network to solve problems and not feel like you can’t get that done locally.
00;09;20;15 – 00;09;25;15
Chip Arenchild
The speed of the change in insurance is really mind boggling, and we’re seeing it right now.
00;09;25;17 – 00;09;44;09
Troy Moody
And I think nobody wants to read it. I think everybody, you know, hear it this way or through video too. So, you know, Covid the same way, you know, when Covid came on and the information that we had disseminate out to our customers and things like that was, was overwhelming. And, you know, you didn’t want everybody was getting emails and stuff like that.
00;09;44;09 – 00;09;46;20
Troy Moody
So I think a podcast effort is nice.
00;09;46;22 – 00;10;05;01
Chip Arenchild
You know, I think it helps people be informed quicker. And I think you’re right. You people are used to listening to podcast. And if it’s something that’s digestible and makes sense, well, you know, one of we always know we struggle and insurance, we’re trying to get it into terms that people can apply, get it to the right analogies or stories that they can understand it.
00;10;05;03 – 00;10;14;07
Chip Arenchild
You know, here’s something that’s super, super complicated for most of our clients. And yet we need to find a way to make it something they understand and can take action on.
00;10;14;09 – 00;10;17;11
Troy Moody
Yeah, the quickest way to be proactive is kind of the goal.
00;10;17;14 – 00;10;21;01
Chip Arenchild
Yeah, yeah. How do you be proactive? That’s for sure.
00;10;21;03 – 00;10;26;25
Troy Moody
Absolutely. What are some of the issues that you guys have been running up against in California?
00;10;26;28 – 00;10;45;24
Chip Arenchild
Well it won’t won’t surprise you very much. We’ve got we’ve got a triple whammy. The triple entendre going on right now. Right. We have wildfire fire is a huge deal for us up. Property markets are upside down. If you’re in a brush zone, it’s mind boggling the amount of work it’s taking to get something placed in the premium increases.
00;10;45;26 – 00;11;12;00
Chip Arenchild
And what needs to be done both on our side and the insured side is just to get coverage, the hard market or the capacity hard market with auto and excess continues to be a problem for us in terms of finding a good story to tell clients and getting them to understand. It’s been such a long time since we’ve seen these price pressures in the package side of the market, and to have them hit and hit so dramatically, it’s catching a lot of people off guard.
00;11;12;02 – 00;11;25;13
Troy Moody
Yeah, rate rate increase always weakens people on that issue. Yeah. Pretty quick, cost of property, you know. Yeah. The Florida, building collapse, you get into insurance tested a lot lately, right?
00;11;25;16 – 00;11;37;15
Chip Arenchild
Yeah. I think we’re going to see more of that. And I think that’s, the Florida building collapse is a good example, right? You could do multiple podcast things just off of what happened right there. And how’s that going to play out? So pretty interesting.
00;11;37;17 – 00;11;49;13
Troy Moody
We’re we’re also seeing, cost of materials, you know, when, when you’re getting, replacement values of buildings and stuff like that, it’s hard to pick out what the what the replacement cost will be right now because the moving target of of material costs.
00;11;49;15 – 00;12;07;00
Chip Arenchild
Yeah. And that that’s another topic, right. That I think people how do you get the right valuations. And even if it’s going to only be a 1 or 2 year blip, you don’t want to get caught when the water rolls out that you just renewed things as is. And you didn’t contemplate the fact that lumber is four times what it once was, or steel.
00;12;07;02 – 00;12;21;05
Troy Moody
Yeah. Well, I think that’s part of our problems. Our industry is we can go on and on with different topics, on things that we’ve seen, case case scenarios and things like that. But, I think our goal here is to try to be you know, to the point and get things, people and understand what’s going on. And quick method.
00;12;21;07 – 00;12;27;23
Chip Arenchild
Yeah. Do you have any idea on what types of topics you think will cover going forward, or things that you’re interested in making sure we get out there?
00;12;27;25 – 00;12;42;25
Troy Moody
Well, yeah, it’s interesting. Each agency has a different specialization. So I think, you know, we’ll try to spread out I know cyber bigger one right now. Insuring contractors is always a topic in our industry. What else have you seen?
00;12;42;27 – 00;13;03;07
Chip Arenchild
Well, I think both of those I think someone just being able to explain that capacity hard market that, people could listen to, especially insureds, to understand what’s driving these price increases. It’s been a long time since there’s been a capacity hard market, and it just doesn’t get fixed overnight. So I think that’s going to be an interesting one I’d like to address as well.
00;13;03;09 – 00;13;13;01
Troy Moody
Yeah. You know, through, political methods, the, you know, the, the environmental, things and how it’s affecting insurance and costs and claims and that whole world to.
00;13;13;01 – 00;13;31;01
Chip Arenchild
Yeah, legislation. And there’s this step along with the what’s going to happen with health care. And, you know, is that going to make any movement and what how can people still continue to work on those cost factors for their business? You know, I think as brokers you go back to being local and and risk premium members. Right? It’s we’re really such strategic advisors now.
00;13;31;01 – 00;13;51;04
Chip Arenchild
And how do we adjust to risk identification and how do we help mitigate that for our clients and more and more business impact discussions? And I do think we’ll be able to take this podcast and really start to drive on the business impact to some what the insurance does and how does it help a business, cut the total cost to risk down, I agree.
00;13;51;07 – 00;14;01;08
Troy Moody
Well, I think we got a lot of, possible topics ahead of us. Chip, it’s good to introduce you to the group and let you take the lead on this going forward. I appreciate your time.
00;14;01;11 – 00;14;18;08
Chip Arenchild
Yeah. Thanks, Troy. I’m looking forward to, I don’t know what the role is. Podcasting these things. What’s it called when you’re the interviewer? I’m not sure what it’s called, but I know we can have some great dialog and some quick and fun and informative sessions said, I think we can create some meaningful content. So thanks, tribe. Talk to you soon.
00;14;18;11 – 00;14;21;09
Troy Moody
All right. Thank you.
00;14;21;11 – 00;14;39;27
Chip Arenchild
We hope you enjoyed this episode of Know Your Risk and Insurance Coverage with Risk Pro Net. For more information about Risk Brunet, please visit our website. You can follow us on Facebook and Twitter for insurance insights from everyone at risk. Pro Net, we want to say thank you for tuning in and see you next time.
