October 2022 Member News

Kevin: “Welcome Judge. It’s great to see you again. What is new at MMG?”

Judge: “Good to see you, too. A lot is going on and, I can say, we aren’t bored. Aside from celebrating MMG’s 125^th anniversary, we have a new BOP rating platform that is very intuitive and easy to use. It’s brand new but it’s getting traction. Importantly, I’m pleased to say we are growing ahead of targets thus: over the last year or so, we have added some great people to our Virginia team including Nick Doss who has returned to MMG as a Senior Production Underwriter. Stephen Cushman, the ‘Cush’, joined the team, a couple months back, as an inside Commercial Lines Underwriter and brings additional bench strength. Kristin Harrelson joined as a Senior Personal Lines Underwriter after 12 years on the agency side bringing with her much valuable insight. Brian Tronge, our Senior Property Adjuster, came to us with experience gained at Markel and, prior to that, Travelers. Kristin and Bryan are just celebrating their 1st year with MMG. Many of your agents know our seasoned marketing duo of Tom Garcia, Senior Territory Manager and Chris Daniel, Territory Manager in Southwest Virginia. These two guys have played a significant role in the growth of the company along with Spencer King, Senior Commercial Underwriter, and Andrew Patterson, Commercial Underwriter, who have delivered a super job supporting our efforts while operating remotely. I’m very pleased with our team.”

Kevin: “I have met and worked with many of your team members and they are very knowledgeable and responsive. Judge, how would you characterize MMG? How would you like to be seen?”

Judge: “MMG is a regional carrier that that is hard at work to establish its brand in Virginia. That is one of several reasons that we are adding “boots on the ground” now. We strongly believe in having a local presence with local decision making. We want our underwriters to underwrite. Like all carriers, we’d prefer 30 to 60 days to work new accounts that squarely hit our ‘strike zone’, we understand that they often come with short notice or with a ‘story’. Nevertheless, we’re absolutely willing to listen. Local knowledge of the state combined with a genuine relationship with our agents is critical to that sort of approach. Additionally, a significant part of our branding initiative is to support associations like the PIA. We think you and your team bring significant value to understanding and developing those all-important agency relationships.

Kevin: “Are you looking to make new appointments in Virginia?”

Judge: “Yes, we are still appointing agents but we believe in franchise value and our genuine aim is to be the franchise any agent would want…. better yet, would covet. No small part of truly being coveted is not being on every street corner. As of this moment, we only have 48 contracts in the state. Granted, some of those have multiple locations but we are looking for a limited number of agency partners where there is a good strategic fit.”

Kevin: “Judge, MMG has been in Virginia for 10 years now. How big are you in the state and what are your future growth objectives?”

Judge: “We finish this year just under $20MM since entering Virginia in 2012 and are close to a 50/50 Personal to Commercial split. Our plan is to grow to $30MM in the next 4-5 years.”

Kevin: “Earlier you mentioned your support of the associations and we appreciate your support. For those who don’t know, you are once again a member of our Corporate Executive Agent’s Advisory Council, or CEAC for short. What do you see as the benefit of the council for your agency customers?

Judge: “Kevin, it’s a very effective open forum for the CEAC carrier members to meet with the agents on the PIA VA/DC Board to discuss topics of significance that impact the agencies and the carriers. It’s a chance to bounce ideas off each other as well as to get updates on issues. There has been a lot of discussion over the past few years on operating an agency during the pandemic. We have learned some valuable information from the group. I really enjoy serving on this committee.”

Kevin: “Judge, we really appreciate you serving on CEAC and for MMG’s Silver Level sponsorship of PIA. Please provide us with updates on MMG’s progress in Virginia.”