In the Driver’s Seat

Bobby Bramlett has a passion for golf. But it’s not just about the sport—it’s about using it to make connections in the business world. Because when you get into business, he says, golf is something that everyone likes to talk about.

“The one thing I learned real fast is they don’t put the president of the insurance company with the 30 handicappers,” says Bramlett, the new Big “I” chairman. “A person that just learns and knows the game, believe me, could play with upper management of an insurance company. The door that opens is just huge.”

It’s a lesson anyone in insurance can learn, young or old, but Bramlett’s real enthusiasm is for junior golf. And that enthusiasm met its perfect match when he began volunteering with the Trusted Choice^® Big “I” National Championship golf tournament in 1997. At almost 45 years running, the tournament’s past winners include Tiger Woods, Candie Kung and Billy Andrade, to name just a few.

Bramlett brags that all of the young people who come to the tournament each year could easily hold court with the president of an insurance company—and that could be the foot-in-the-door for a lot of young blood in the independent insurance world. With more than 37 years in the business under his belt, Bramlett understands the state of the industry today and the importance of bringing in this young blood.

Bramlett’s entry into the insurance industry was a choice he made at age 23—although his love affair with the city of Ardmore, Okla., may have been destined from the start. His family roots in the small town go back to 1922, and his grandfather’s long tenure as the linotype operator for the local newspaper set the stage for a storied family history in the town. His parents, too, were an integral part of the Ardmore fabric, not only owning an insurance agency and a real estate agency, but also serving as the politically appointed town tag agents, offering motor vehicle services to residents.

With the exception of his last two high school years at St. John’s Military Academy in Delafield, Wisc., Bramlett has never lived full time more than 150 miles from the 30,000-person town. And when he graduated from the University of Oklahoma, a President Nixon-enforced employment freeze prevented him from starting a job he was hired for at Travelers Insurance Company in Oklahoma City. His parents were ready to start traveling and doing some other things, so instead he started work at the Bramlett Agency in Ardmore on June 1, 1975, and he never looked back.

“I owe all of this to my mom and dad,” Bramlett says. “Sure, I’ve taken it to another level and all of that, but they offered me the opportunity to join their small and very successful agency. There are accounts on the books today that my dad wrote—they’re still here.”

Bramlett’s family life continued to grow when he met Nanette, his wife of 39 years; he was only 14 years old and playing in an end-of-summer baseball tournament. They kept in touch over the years, but it wasn’t until they both ended up at the University of Oklahoma that they began dating.

“The day that I pledged [Sigma Alpha Epsilon], there were these girls walking down the street, and there she was,” he says. “And literally by the weekend of the Oklahoma-Texas game, we had started seeing each other.”

The pair was married after Bobby’s junior year and Nanette’s sophomore year, but they had promised Nanette’s parents that she would finish school so they didn’t move to Ardmore until after that. Nine years into their marriage they had only-child Jake, who is now married with a child of his own. Bramlett’s grandson is Bryce, and he’s proud to admit that the three-year-old affectionately calls his grand-parents Ninny and Big B.

Although Jake started his career as an EMT and an RN, he began working as a producer at the Bramlett Agency several years ago. In addition to working together, the two generations are lucky to reside only three blocks apart—and so the tradition of Ardmore living continues for the clan.

“We’ve been really fortunate to have come back [to Ardmore] ourselves, and Jake had my parents, and that’s been a pretty cool thing for us to be able to spend time together,” Bramlett says. “And we do.”

Today, Bramlett and his team of account managers handle only 36 accounts, although all are quite sizeable. “We are beginning the process of handing down my accounts to younger producers, as the transition from older to younger leadership begins,” he says. The agency’s business on the property-casualty side is 10% to 15% personal lines—something Bramlett is looking to ramp back up with a newly hired personal risk advisor—and the remainder is commercial lines. But about 45% of the agency’s total book is life and benefits—much higher than a typical independent agency.

“We had to do something in the late ‘80s when the oil and gas business went sideways, and we learned the benefits business really, really well,” says Bramlett, who is the principal of the 17-employee agency. “All of our producers sell benefits.”

In addition, the agency’s six producers work in financial planning, group cases and even medical malpractice, ambulance services and insuring clinics and small hospitals. The agency also has a large book of oil and gas insurance business, and has the endorsement of the Oklahoma Independent Petroleum Association for property-casualty as well as “blowout” insurance.

“We are developing relationships, and we feel that the best day to lose an account is the first day,” Bramlett says. “If we don’t feel like we have that synergy where we can develop this long-term relationship, then we’d rather walk. Doesn’t mean they’re bad people or we’re bad people—it just means we’re not a fit.”

Bramlett notes his agency’s success can in part be attributed to being a part of the Bainswest cluster of independent agencies in Oklahoma, Arkansas and Missouri for the past 20 years.

“We can run our own agency here, and we own that,” he says. “We can be as small as we need to be or as large as we need to be. It gives us a bit of both worlds.”

In 1976, Bramlett attended his first Big “I” convention with a competitor agency couple, Rudy and Ann White—folks he looked up to just like he looked up to his parents back in the early years of his career.

“I got involved in Young Agents at that convention [and] the group was brand new,” he says. “Ultimately I became the chairman of the Young Agents in Oklahoma so I sat on the board of the association for a year, and it all just kind of went from there.”

Bramlett met others new to the industry at that convention who he remains close with today. “It’s a bond you form—you’re young. I can remember, we were the youngest people there,” he says. “The friendships we’ve made over the years…it’s absolutely unbelievable. Every place [we] go, we see old friends. We see people we’ve known for anywhere from six or seven to 30 years.”

As he embarks upon his chairmanship in the year ahead, Bramlett plans to help the Big “I” do what it’s always done best. And in the process, he says he’s most looking forward to being able to visit the states and spend time with members and staff.

“Let’s support our states like we always have. Let’s make sure they have the resources to work with their membership,” he says. “I don’t need my name on anything. I don’t need to start something just because we need to build something else. We need to take care of what we have and make sure that what we roll out is rolling out smoothly and the way we need [it] to.”

While Bramlett’s passion for junior golf can be a first step toward getting young people into the independent insurance business, agency perpetuation is certainly one of the next steps to helping the industry thrive. Bramlett says these are two of the most important things for independent agents to be thinking about today, and he intends to use his platform as Big “I” chairman to spread the message of focusing on young people over the next year.

“I truly believe that perpetuation and bringing new blood into this industry is absolutely the single most vital thing that we can do,” Bramlett says.

The Bramlett agency is fortunate to have its perpetuation plan in place. T.J. Riley, Bramlett’s partner who is in his early 40s, along with Jake Bramlett, his son who is in his 30s, are slated to become larger principals one day. “My belief is we have other team members in their 40s who will become owners as well,” Bramlett says.

“We’ve got a good group of older people, and a good group of these younger people coming up. We feel comfortable there,” he says. “Unfortunately a lot of our fellow agencies can’t say that.”

Bramlett is also excited about diving into the issue of diversity during his chairmanship, noting the importance of agents understanding the communities that they sell in. “It’s something that we all have to get a grasp on,” he says. “The opportunity out there for diverse insurance agents [and] buyers is phenomenal.”

Above all, Bramlett stresses that his position as Big “I” chairman is just a platform to be able to spread important messages and continue to volunteer and help members.

“Any of us on the seven-member executive committee—we’re insurance agents just like [the more than a quarter million] members that we have. We still love to get out there where the rubber meets the road,” he says.

And Bramlett certainly lives that mantra. Over the years, his resume has extended far beyond his good work with the Big “I.” He’s served as the chairman of Ardmore, Okla.’s economic development authority and been the president of its Dornick Hills Golf & Country Club. He’s also a stockholder and director at First National Bank & Trust Company, a community institution.

“Look at who the little league baseball coaches are, the wrestling coaches, the people volunteering in the community,” Bramlett says. “We give back…and that’s just who we are. That’s why I’m so proud to be part of [the] insurance industry, because we drive our community.”

Diane Rusignola (diane.rusignola@iiaba.net) is IA managing editor.