FROM PLACING BUSINESS TO MAKING SALES

Over the past three years JMB Insurance has transformed itself from primarily a real estate-focused agency to a broad-based client-centered multiline agency that is targeting growth in excess of 15% a year. President and CEO Steve Topel and his four-person executive management team have instituted major technological, marketing, environmental and cultural changes, all focused on strong and efficient client service.

When JMB Insurance was formed in Chicago in 1971 through an acquisition of a small agency, its goal was to provide risk management services for the assets owned by JMB Realty Corporation. JMB Realty was one of the largest commercial real estate owners in the country. Finding business for the agency was not a concern. There were many opportunities as JMB Realty expanded its holdings. Agency employees were experts in designing sophisticated insurance programs that often involved several insurers and reinsurers, coupled with risk management services that served to mitigate or eliminate the risks facing their parent.

However, as anyone in the insurance business or any business knows, the only constant in life is change. And change came to JMB Insurance in 1986 as the result of a change in the commercial real estate marketplace. JMB Realty spun off the insurance agency and also began disposing of some of its properties. By 1990, the agency still had 75% of its revenue coming from the placement of insurance programs for assets owned by JMB Realty.

Lee Sacks, the agency's founder, headed up the effort to recruit sales-oriented professionals who could bring in new business and build on the substantial expertise that JMB had in placing and servicing commercial real estate insurance risks. At the same time, he wanted to diversify into other classes and lines of business, including employee benefits and individual life insurance. Then in 2003, there was another turning point for the agency when Lee retired. His efforts, along with his team, had borne substantial fruit, with 95% of the $20 million in revenue now coming from outside JMB Realty assets.

"Ownership decided to grow the business. They offered me the opportunity to help the agency move to the next level. I had been with another insurance brokerage as a P&C producer for 20 years. It was an attractive offer," Steve remembers. "I was being offered the chance to run a business that had an excellent reputation and was financially sound.

"On the plus side, there was a commitment from ownership to grow the business. There was also a terrific group of people who wanted to move to the next level." However some of the necessary building blocks were missing. The agency was still using a Delphi agency management system. And there was a shortage of middle management structure. "We needed to add more people, and invest in marketing materials, technology, and more space," Steve explains.

"This was a very successful business with an outstanding group of people. It was a perfect situation and I was honored to be offered the opportunity to help make the changes necessary for making the agency even more successful. I'm also fortunate to have a smart, talented senior management team. We're all focused on some pretty impressive goals."

No standing still

"One of the things you learn very quickly in this business is that you can't stand still," Steve continues. "If you try to stay even, you always lose ground. You need to constantly move forward. We needed to take the steps necessary to perpetuate the agency.

"I kept sticking 20 pounds of stuff into a 10-pound bag. There was change after change after change," Steve remembers. "Fortunately, we have a resilient team and they welcomed every challenge. The result is a stronger agency with a workforce that has really taken an active part in the transformation.

"It also helped me identify the key players at the agency. I was able to put together a team of excellent, highly motivated individuals to serve on the executive and management committees that we set up soon after I joined JMB," he explains. "This team is responsible for managing the changes and keeping new changes coming. You'd think that the constant bombardment might have had a deleterious effect on our personnel, but the opposite has been true. Every time they successfully respond to a change, we see the agency get better.