‘Insurance coverage is in my blood’ – UIP CEO on taking the reins of the household enterprise

Jenny Bortman (pictured) didn’t initially plan a profession in insurance coverage. After majoring in chemistry, she joined Nestle Purina’s veterinary division in a gross sales position. However quickly, she was heeding the decision of the household enterprise.

“I feel insurance coverage is in my blood,” mentioned Bortman, who grew to become president and CEO of Common Insurance coverage Applications (UIP) in Might, after her mom, Randy Tipton, stepped down. Tipton moved into a brand new position as chairman of the board.

An Arizona-based MGA, UIP supplies specialised insurance coverage applications to area of interest markets, together with the self-storage, tanning, salon, and day spa industries.

Bortman has fond recollections of being in UIP’s workplaces whereas her mom led the small specialty agency by way of years of progress.

“Everyone wants insurance coverage,” Bortman mentioned of her resolution to affix UIP. “Serving to folks is what I love to do, whether or not it’s on the workplace or exterior of it. Whenever you discover your ardour in a profession, it makes life a lot simpler. And what higher manner to assist any person than defending their largest property and their livelihood?”

Steering the household enterprise

Bortman has helped bolster UIP’s progress throughout her greater than 15 years on the agency, together with her work spanning from gross sales to progressive advertising methods.

As chief working officer, she was liable for managing customer support, gross sales, enterprise improvement, and operations for the corporate’s rising group.

“All through the previous 12 months, we’ve been actually targeted on imaginative and prescient, technique, and management,” Bortman informed Insurance coverage Enterprise.

“We employed a enterprise coach about 2-3 years in the past to assist us deal with mapping our three- and five-year plans, creating profession paths for our group, and establishing metrics so that everybody is aware of the place they stand.

“Via that, we’ve promoted a few of our group leaders, so now we now have a administration stage group that’s serving to with the day by day operations that Randy and I used to should be concerned in, which goes to present us time to work on bettering our techniques and rising the company.”

Expertise is a big problem

Bortman acknowledged that expertise is likely one of the most important challenges going through smaller insurance coverage corporations, together with UIP.

However moderately than attempting to compete on pace with big tech corporations, she mentioned insurance coverage corporations can distinguish themselves by offering specialised care and repair to prospects.

“On this world, all people desires solutions like Amazon,” Bortman mentioned. “What I would like is to construct the ‘white glove’ service of insurance coverage, the place even when we will’t present one thing fast, at the least we give cheap timelines whereas nonetheless shifting as quick as potential and wrap our purchasers’ enterprise up with a bow.”

UIP additionally creates added worth by fostering a consultative method with purchasers.

“Not everybody is supposed to be insured by us, however we will nonetheless enable you to by way of the method of discovering insurance coverage. It doesn’t should be difficult, and we break it down for you and clarify what works and what doesn’t,” she mentioned.

“As a result of we’re a specialty firm, we all know the reply virtually 100% of the time when folks ask us questions, and I feel that’s an enormous value-add. Being in area of interest markets, we all know what’s occurring within the business and have relationships with all of the distributors, and our carriers find it irresistible as a result of we get to be the boots on the bottom for them.”

Seeking to the longer term

As she ushers UIP into a brand new chapter, Bortman mentioned she desires to create sustainable growth whereas sustaining the values that constructed the corporate.

She is aiming to convey a renewed deal with techniques and expertise, which can streamline processes to create a greater expertise for purchasers, brokers, carriers, and group members.

“We’re some further bolt-ons to our present applications and increasing into completely different avenues inside our business,” Bortman mentioned.

Apart from bolstering its applications, UIP can be wanting into increasing to different “like-kind industries”, such because the medical spa area.

“It’s a distinct segment the place there’s not plenty of gamers and there are distinctive exposures that we’re doing analysis on,” Bortman continued. “We additionally need to discover a dealer associate that makes a speciality of it, and their expertise might work hand in hand with our strong insurance coverage choices.”

The CEO informed Insurance coverage Enterprise that there are not any plans, for now, to promote the corporate.

“We have now main progress plans proper now. We’ve obtained some superb rising stars,” she mentioned.

A kind of rising stars could quickly be Bortman’s 10-year-old daughter.

“It’s humorous as a result of she simply began working on the company, which remains to be slightly antiquated. We have to mail non-renewals as we’re doing the service change, and she or he’s answerable for folding, stuffing, and stamping envelopes,” mentioned Bortman, who additionally has an 11-year-old.

“Seeing my daughter come to the company simply brings a smile to our faces, as a result of that’s how I began.”

Does this CEO see herself passing the baton to her personal youngsters ultimately?

“I might completely see my daughter coming again [to UIP] in 10 or 15 years,” Bortman admitted.

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