Agency Profile: Prime-Time Program

Prins Insurance, Inc.
Sanborn and Sheldon, Iowa
Founded: 1936
Employees: 15

How does a small agency in rural Iowa book $2.6 million in annual revenue? Some 85% of Prins Insurance, Inc.’s revenue consists of commercial lines, including a specialty in transportation and a program with the state’s Land Improvement Contractors Association, endorsed in 11 states with the potential for more this year.

Success was fuzzy at first. Owners had to clean up a book of business, reduce various corporations and cut down on activities that were spreading the staff too thin to perform well.

But today all 15 employees are licensed, including five producers and seven customer service agents who also sell. The biggest challenge now? The logistics of visiting commercial clients.

LINDSAY KRACHT, CUSTOMER SERVICE AGENT: TRANSPORTATION/ACCOUNTING

We believe in being on top of technology and efficiency. A few years ago, we looked at how we handled accounting. Something as simple as commission download from our carriers allowed us to change direct billing from a two-week process to three days, which freed up a lot of time to focus on other operations. Going paperless in 2005 was a huge timesaver for us and we recently improved how we scan with our software vendor. You have to keep analyzing if what you’re doing is working, or if there’s a better way to equip yourselves to handle the task so that you can accomplish more.

AMBER BOSMA, PRINCIPAL, SECRETARY and TREASURER

Because we are a rural agency, one of our biggest challenges is managing time. Being rural has not prevented us from accomplishing goals, but it does require us to plan our trips better. Our mobile producer software, for example, tells us what clients are in one area. We can visit multiple clients in one trip versus taking two or three. Of course, a jet would be nice with all the traveling we do.

KARI VAN ES, CUSTOMER SERVICE AGENT: STATE LICA

We like a team approach to customer service—someone here can help them, and never a call back. Our customers are not just a number. We offer them small-town service with big-city options. We are knowledgeable in multiple areas. We not only study insurance, we also get involved in OSHA—our clients’ industries, trade shows and field days where we can show how our clients’ equipment operates. We believe we need to meet clients where they are and want to understand what they do and why, so we can better assist them with their insurance needs. This may require us to travel, but we believe getting to them only solidifies that relationship that is so important in today’s climate.