Sign In
Sign In
Never forget to sell every day. This advice has proved successful at my agency, Cobbs, Allen & Hall. It has kept the agency growing from its start in 1887 to where it is today: 175 employees with five branch offices, in addition to its corporate office in Birmingham, Ala. The agency is employee owned, with more than 40 shareholders, from the president to account managers. Humble beginnings Cobbs, Allen & Hall was founded in 1887 as the John G. Smith Co. The name was changed in the 1920s to reflect the principals in charge at the time. The business grew as an insurance and mortgage brokerage firm around the Birmingham area during the middle part of the last century. In April 1992, a group of investors, headed by current president Grantland H. Rice III, purchased the agency. At the time, the agency was a small insurance brokerage with offices in Birmingham and Gadsen, Ala., writing $10 million a year in premium with 20 employees. In 1993, Bruce S. Denson joined the company as CEO to grow Cobbs, Allen & Hall into a large regional brokerage. Denson’s vision was for the agency to grow steadily at a rate of 15 percent a year for the next decade. By 2004, the agency boasted 140 employees with $300 million in annual premiums. Today, there are 175 employees in the corporate office in Birmingham and other branches: Gadsen, Montgomery and Mobile, Ala.; Atlanta; and Shreveport, La. In 2000, the agency joined Assurex Global, a partnership organization of elite private brokerages around the world. Recommended Stories
WalletHub: States where auto loan rates increased the most
New car buyers are in a financial squeeze.
Shifting weather patterns challenge future flood prediction
New technology juggles storm water risk, urbanization and climate change.
7 Steps to unlocking success in insurance M&A
Here's why user-experience integration is key to a successful deal.
Resource Center
eBook
Sponsored by AgentSync
The Future of P&C Insurance: The Race to Contain Costs Amid Rising Catastrophic Losses
The P&C insurance sector is currently facing challenges. This eBook outlines the most pressing problems, the most promising solutions, and a few examples of these principles in action.
Case Study
Sponsored by CoreLogic
Revolutionizing Claims Processing: How a Leading Insurer Transformed Water Mitigation Reviews
Discover how one insurer drastically improved the efficiency of their water mitigation claim reviews, reducing costs and time while enhancing decision-making. Learn how this approach can transform your claims process, making it faster, more accurate, and less resource-intensive.
Assessment
Sponsored by AgentSync
Distribution Channel Management Assessment
Navigating today’s insurance landscape requires more than instinct. Assess the strengths and gaps in your distribution strategy with this comprehensive tool. Discover actionable insights to refine operations, enhance data quality, ensure compliance, and scale efficiently. Evaluate your current capabilities and see where you stand across five crucial areas. Start building a more resilient and agile network today.
PropertyCasualty360
Don’t miss crucial news and insights you need to make informed decisions for your P&C insurance business. Join PropertyCasualty360.com now!
- Unlimited access to PropertyCasualty360.com - your roadmap to thriving in a disrupted environment
- Access to other award-winning ALM websites including BenefitsPRO.com, ThinkAdvisor.com and Law.com
- Exclusive discounts on PropertyCasualty360, National Underwriter, Claims and ALM events
Copyright © 2024 ALM Global, LLC. All Rights Reserved.