Agency Profile: Captive Crossroads

Bailey Family Insurance

Springfield, Illinois
Founded: 2017
Employees: 3

Decorated veteran Mark Bailey “stumbled into insurance” when he left the Marine Corps in 2010.

After working for a carrier in a claims position, Bailey was recruited by State Farm. But right before he was scheduled to sign his contract, he had second thoughts. “I said to [my wife] Christine, ‘Are we really going to be able to make it with just one product?’” he recalls.

It wasn’t just the single-product system that concerned him. Bailey wanted to leave a personal mark on his business, and he knew the captive culture wasn’t conducive to that goal: “Our hands were slapped every time we tried to develop our brand and put our footprint on things.”

After some soul searching, Mark decided to launch Bailey Family Insurance. His first recruit? His wife.

CHRISTINE BAILEY, CO-FOUNDER

I just got my insurance license last fall. Before that, I worked for Capitol Radio Group, where I did sold digital advertising. I specialize in commercial insurance because I worked with so many local business owners in my last job, and I can leverage those relationships.

Springfield’s all about the whole “shop local” thing. I was born and raised here, so I have a community focus. I make sure we get our name out there at events like Kidfest, the Home Builder’s Expo, Dr. Dolittle Day at the zoo.

Our website has a ton of information and is very interactive. We also reach out with monthly videos and commercials. People love the chat feature on our website. Our phone number has a text capability, so you can call or text our lines. People don’t pick up the phone these days—they may be at work or just busy, or don’t recognize the number. But if you text them, they’ll get right back to you.

We always tell people you’re more than welcome to come by our office, but you don’t even have to come in. Everything could be done over text, email and phone.

MARK BAILEY, CO-FOUNDER

You think you know a little bit about insurance because you’ve been in it for so long. You come to find out you only know one product and one way of doing it—not exactly how insurance works. Startup businesses today aren’t necessarily in the deficit that they were 10 years ago because we’ve got social media platforms, but we’re still trying to compete with the big dogs. We try to develop content once a week, making the time and putting in the work without having to pay a million dollars [for publicity].

We’ve made progress in leaps and bounds. We’re writing some good premium and putting it on the books. I think it solidifies the fact that we can mix the old-school ways of getting your face out there with the new school way of reaching our younger policyholders via Facebook or online chat. We won’t give up on the tried and true marketing methods. But we are quick to adapt and utilize the new stuff that’s out there.

When carriers look at our business plan, we can give them a value proposition. They say, “You guys are doing well and you’re doing what we’re looking for. We’re not looking for people who are just sending out mailers and waiting for the phone call anymore.” They say, “Continue to be real—continue to put yourself out there.” And that’s what we do. It’s growth mode. It’s go time.

Photo by Terry Farmer