Agency Profile: Welcome to the Family

Rollo Insurance Group Inc.

Bryan, Texas
Founded: 2000
Staff/agents: 65

“Relentless and loyal” is how Jason Rollo and wife, B.J., describe Rollo Insurance Group, which Jason founded as a startup for a small bank holding company.

After the banks were sold, the couple purchased the agency. Today, a combination of organic plants and purchases have expanded it into a 16-agency group in Texas. Jason has been named the best agent in the Brazos Valley (Bryan and College Station) for the past three years.

Twenty producers serve personal, commercial and agribusiness accounts, each of which represents about a third of total clients. Churches also figure prominently. The business mix is about 90% property-casualty and 10% life-health. Originally an accommodation for p-c clients, life and benefits are now a focus for growth, led by a new director of benefits.

JASON ROLLO, CEO

We love God, mama and apple pie (OK, peach pie), and we aren’t ashamed of it. Our agencies are generally located in smaller towns, with a local and family-centric emphasis. We’re dedicated to fighting the commoditization of insurance by educating our clients, helping them understand insurance is a technical but beautiful tool for protecting their assets. A true partnership with clients who are real people involves serving and helping them—for life. To that end, we create a business culture of continuous education and have a chief learning officer. We do a ton of in-house training and education events.

The philosophy of cheap, commoditized insurance is a broken platform. True, many people and companies get rich building on that platform, but such thinking is shallow and wrong. Real people deserve better.

Over the years, we’ve given back significant money to events like local county fairs, 4-H and FFA projects, and the like. Also, we have sponsored events like Coach’s Night, which gives scholarships to students attending Texas A&M. Likewise, we are a huge sponsor of the Museum of the American GI in College Station, Texas. We love veterans and freedom. But you could have probably guessed that already.

Since we started from scratch, we have used a combination of technology tools to get us where we are currently, including VoIP phone systems, an online management system and more. We are working to improve and embrace technological tools, while not losing our family, hands-on style. This requires a delicate but important balance. We now have two people working full-time in the agency within technology.

KRISTIN BAKER, VICE PRESIDENT, COMMERCIAL LINES DIRECTOR

Rollo Insurance treats employees and clients as family. In 2009, I was pregnant and put on bed rest, but was able to continue to work from home. Four weeks after my son was born, he came to work with me until he could go to daycare. B.J. and I would take turns filtering phone calls and taking care of a newborn.

We have a number of staff members who work from home or have the availability to do so. This option has increased our productivity and allowed Rollo Insurance to employ talent outside the cities where our offices are located.

I was hired in 2006 to help develop the commercial department. We’ve expanded into various lines, including construction, manufacturing and energy. Our producers go through constant training and education to become specialists with expertise as product line leaders.

KEITH LANE, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Our greatest common denominators as a team are loyalty to God, family, country and hard work. As an agency, our culture validates the notion that if you do what’s right, do your best, do unto others, loyalty will naturally abound. We deliberately foster a culture where relationships and collaboration are the key to both individual and collective success. As a former human resources professional, I personally believe our culture promotes potentially limitless job satisfaction for family-centric, values-based, achievement-oriented professionals.

Technology is an area of intense scrutiny for us. People and relationships are priceless, so going fully automated does not behoove our staff, our agents or our clients. At the same time, there are procedural and highly repetitive aspects of what our people do that could be truly automated without compromising quality human interaction. We frequently discuss the difference between “electronification” and true “automation.”

Photo by Russell James