Creating Workers’ Comp Wins for Growing Agencies | Q&A
Our Sales team strives to make workers’ comp easier for commercial agencies, supporting client retention and new business development, while troubleshooting issues that agencies may have in the workers’ comp space.
In this Q&A with seasoned sales representative Karen Jackson, learn how she and her Summit colleagues apply their expertise to help newer, growing insurance agencies accelerate their proficiency in workers’ comp.
Karen Jackson, Summit Business Developer
- Insurance industry pro for nearly 30 years on both the agency and carrier sides
- Proficient claims and underwriting knowledge
- Holds Certified Risk Manager (CRM) certification
“All we do is workers’ compensation, and it’s our goal to demonstrate our expertise in every interaction. We also know the local markets. My teammates and I live and work in the same communities as our agencies and their clients. We are not strangers to our customers—we’re neighbors.”
– Karen Jackson
What is your role on the Sales team?
What specific challenges do newer, growing agencies face, and how does Summit address them?
Some agencies may focus more on personal lines or other commercial lines of insurance but struggle to grow workers’ comp because of its complexities: it’s heavily regulated and different in every state. We have a family of carriers, as well as a dedicated agency executive and underwriter appointed to each agency. We take time to get to know each agency and their clients so that we can help place each policyholder with the right carrier and coverage. And that helps the agency cultivate its reputation for workers’ comp.
How do you help agencies grow their books of business?
I focus on the keys to success for the agency—relationships and ongoing communication. That involves speaking to people within the agency, learning about who they may already be doing business with and understanding their operations, niches in the marketplace and specific needs. There’s also constant communication within all departments at Summit to help ensure an agent’s success. We make the best use of their time—which includes a targeted agenda for every agent meeting, and pulling in the right team members to make sure agency needs are addressed efficiently.
How do the services that Summit offers differ from competitors?
Our claims management philosophy leads to lower claims costs for many of our policyholders, which in turn can lead to lower experience modification factors and lower premiums. The Summit claims team is committed to offering a more responsive experience to injured employees and policyholders than they receive from our competitors.
Another popular initiative for agents is Summit’s workers’ comp education. Through our agency training program, agents can gain the expertise to provide tailored workers’ comp solutions and enhance client relationships.
All we do is workers’ compensation, and it’s our goal to demonstrate our expertise in every interaction. We also know the local markets. My teammates and I live and work in the same communities as our agencies and their clients. We are not strangers to our customers—we’re neighbors.