Much of the credit for the emphasis on listening and partnership goes to John Butler, C&B's chairman and chief executive officer–who developed the theory that as a broker, you don't sit across from your client but on the same side of the desk. “Listen to the client,” he said. “Get on the same page and then go out and solve their problems.”

A key to success at C&B is they won't work with just anyone who walks through the door. Instead, they do business with clients who “focus on the total cost of risk, not just insurance costs,” the agency noted in its award essay. “We rigorously screen our prospects. We only work with those that want a true partner in managing their risks and where we can add value by impacting some component of their risk program.”

C&B sticks to its risk management philosophy whether the market is hard or soft. “We don't peddle policies and get in bidding wars,” the agency emphasized. “We help our clients understand the insurance marketplace, not just shop it. When the market is soft, we help them understand that, and potentially adjust their appetite for risk.”

The bottom line, according to C&B, is that “our clients recognize they must invest in their own fate and see their risk management program over a long-term horizon. We strive to help them identify where they should invest their limited resources–money, time and talent–to have the biggest impact on managing their risks.”

C&B opened for business in 1887 when Civil War veteran Dixon Cottingham opened his insurance agency in Iowa.

Several generations later, in the late 1970s, the agency still numbered about four employees. Yet, in recent years, C&B–based in a town with a total population of 57,686, according to the U.S. Census Bureau–has grown to become one of America's top brokerage firms.

It is an achievement Mr. Becker credits to the firm's employees and the foresight of Mr. Butler to say C&B can be bigger and better by partnering with its clients.

A graduate of Wharton School of business, Mr. Butler implemented his vision of sitting on the same side of the table as the client, Mr. Becker explained, to focus not just on transferring risk but on how to lower the account's overall cost of risk, “then being able to deliver on what we designed.”

This special-delivery approach took off in the 1990s with a client who wanted to control his costs in an employee benefit administration program through self-insurance. With loss-control at a premium, that one client prompted the creation of a safety management program at C&B, which led the way in launching other alternative-risk-transfer and risk management efforts.

“We thrive on serving clients who take on more risk–who are willing to bet on themselves and make the investments necessary to make that a winning bet,” C&B said in its award essay.

“We are strong believers in the alternative risk-transfer market,” C&B noted–citing self-insurance, large-deductible programs and captives among the options it offers clients. Seventy percent of the firm's commercial p-c business has gone the alternative route, with over 120 clients participating in member-owned group captives. Ninety percent of the agency's benefit business chose self-funded models.

“The concept of managing the total cost of risk is not new and certainly not unique,” C&B said in its essay. “What is unique at Cottingham & Butler is the degree to which we have adopted it as part of our culture and the extent to which we have built the tools and capabilities to deliver it for our clients.”

C&B noted that it does not “simply draw up plans for our clients to execute. We don't select vendors and then place the blame on the vendors if the program doesn't work. We put the plans into action with our own experts. If the program fails, the accountability is clear–we failed. Here is what we have built.”

In its wide-format, four-color brochure laying out its capabilities and achievements, C&B noted that it offers “written service timelines–service expectations that our clients can count on us to deliver.”

Even in a soft market–where better prices, terms and conditions for insurance may be easier to come by–C&B has stuck with its focus on risk management, which it believes gives the firm an edge over its more traditional competitors by establishing longer-term relationships and guaranteeing continued success and growth no matter the state of the insurance market.

“If it comes down to just placing a policy, I don't think we are any better than the guy down the street,” Mr. Becker observed. “But when it comes to complex problem-solving, that is where we can really differentiate ourselves.”

C&B measures its success in many different ways. In dollars, its commercial lines premium volume has grown from more than $189 million in 2004 to over $270 million in 2006. Its renewal rate is in the upper-90-percent bracket, and despite being in small-town America, the firm does business in 47 states.

From that tiny Main Street America business in the 1970s, C&B now numbers over 330 employees–including 46 commercial lines producers, up from 32 in 2004–and 13 principals. Commercial p-c is its number one income generator at over 40 percent, with benefits accounting for another 35-to-40 percent.

What was once a very generalized operation has developed into a series of specialty divisions focusing on such areas as transportation, construction, manufacturing and distribution, retail and meat-packing–handled from the main office in Dubuque, two regional offices (in Chattanooga, Tenn., and Naperville, Ill.) and nine satellite locations from Florida to California.

Growth has come through the seizing of business opportunities–but more importantly, according to C&B, from the addition of talented people.

“We find individuals we like and add people,” said Mr. Becker, emphasizing that the company's attitude is to find those who fit the C&B risk management culture, and then build business around them.

That culture means providing a place for people to succeed who want to be winners and have a desire to continue to learn. It is an environment that rewards merit.

However, the key element of C&B's culture, according to Mr. Becker, is that it is client-centric. Establishing long-term relationships is the primary concern, earned by having a creative and positive impact on the client's overall risk profile.

C&B's relatively modest home location necessitated a growth strategy that looked beyond the small town and out over the national horizon. Over 95 percent of the firm's revenues is generated from clients 50 miles outside of Dubuque.

Being so spread out, however, also places unique demands on keeping in touch with both employees and clients. The solution involves constant communication via newsletters, online meetings and travel–something Mr. Becker concedes is an ongoing challenge for a growing firm.

One creative way of meeting that challenge is ownership in two propeller-driven airplanes based in Dubuque. Some may see private planes as an extravagance for an independent agency, but Mr. Becker points out it is cheaper than having to fly constantly to Chicago and transfer to wherever they must ultimately go–while citing a huge benefit in terms of efficiency that is hard to put a price tag on.

He pointed out there are no direct commuter flights to many C&B clients, and driving to some accounts could take 10 hours–compared to an hour by plane.

“If you want to be a big brokerage firm out of Dubuque, Iowa, then you have to have a way to see your clients,” he said.

C&B continues to innovate to maintain growth, including the launch of its “2011 Triathlon” last year. The five-year game plan, explained Mr. Becker, notes where the firm wants to be in 2011, and how to measure the pace of reaching those targets. The firm's ultimate goal is fourfold–to be the top employer in Dubuque, to be the top provider of risk solutions, to outperform the industry and to continue to grow.

To accomplish all this, C&B has created teams of employees to review different aspects of the business. Their aim, Mr. Becker explained, is to focus on what is important in certain areas, and keep the ball rolling toward accomplishing the agency's ultimate goals.

Involving everyone in thinking about the agency's future is another core philosophy at C&B. “It makes this a better place to work and a better business for all of us,” according to Mr. Becker.

C&B wants to continue its record of double-digit organic growth–2006 showed a 13 percent gain.

“I look at our future and believe we can enhance the story because I think our team is very committed to continuing to do the unbelievable and unexpected in pursuit of serving clients well,” said Mr. Becker. “This is a neat company and I think it has a really bright future.”