If Defender Risk Management and Insurance (Defender RMI) was a superhero franchise instead of an insurance agency, Jason Horner and Daniel Lindberg would be its men of steel—steel recycling, that is.

Defender RMI insures small to middle market businesses within four related niche industries: recycling, waste hauling, delivery and manufacturing. It has vertically integrated from just scrap metal to all companies within the landfill diversion space. It has locations in Lexington, Winston-Salem and Charlotte, N.C., and employs 22 people. Along with its partner, GW Mountcastle, Defender RMI's gross revenue is more than $3 million, and the agency derives more than 70 percent of revenue from commercial lines.

The agency grew out of Horner and Lindberg's previous experience. Horner's family has been involved with the steel and salvage industries for four generations, and he built his first company, Metal Recycling Services Inc., from the ground up. President George W. Bush recognized him as National Entrepreneur of the Year in 2005, and Metal Recycling Services was named one of 2007's fastest growing businesses by Forbes. After selling the business in 2008, Horner continued as an independent recycling industry consultant.  

Related: Read another success story by Nicole Zwartz “Once Upon a Client.”

Daniel Lindberg's career as a program development director for an insurance agency in North Carolina took a turn in 2001 when he started working with a scrap metal dealer and noticed that existing insurance programs were failing to meet its needs. Lindberg switched his focus to insuring recyclers in the Southeastern region and was successful locally, which encouraged him to take his recycling program to the national market.  

When Horner and Lindberg joined forces with GW Mountcastle Insurance owners Walt Rouse, Chris Call, Pete Schantz and Andy Calvert to create Defender Risk Management and Insurance LLC in 2010, they successfully dovetailed their dual specialties. Together they have more than 25 years of experience in the landfill diversion sector. 

Proactive Protection

Defender RMI is dedicated to recycling industry services such as auto salvage dealers, scrap metal, electronics, plastic and paper recyclers. Waste hauling involves refuse haulers, collection centers, portable toilet companies and transfer stations. Delivery includes auto and cargo insurance. Manufacturers can gain insight from Defender RMI, which is a certified workers' comp advisor, to lower costs associated with employee management and increase profit and productivity. “The recycling industry is in our DNA—it's where we come from, it's who we are,” Horner said.

The agency's main insurers include Tower Insurance, Companion, Cincinnati and Travelers. Defender RMI offers a wide variety of coverage, including general, professional, D&O and employment practices liabilities, business income protection, commercial umbrella coverage, business auto coverage, property coverage, workers' compensation, surety and crime insurance. Defender RMI can create unique programs in response to niche industry needs in order to ensure complete coverage for individual clients. 

Read the sidebar “Defender's Dependable Ally.”

“Our current program adapts to market conditions and new regulations to ensure that our clients always have proper coverage in place,” Horner said. He and Lindberg work together with clients, using an enterprise-wide risk management approach and tapping into resources on the front end to analyze risk exposure in key areas. Then they study existing insurance policies and current corporate operations. “The emerging policy and operational recommendations lead to decreased risk exposure, more cost effective insurance and streamlined, effective operations,” Lindberg said. 

Exec Experts Supply Sage Advice

The agency uses Facebook and Twitter to inform clients about website posts and news items that might influence coverage, such as a new law targeting employers without workers' comp in North Carolina. Its website updates frequently with advice from executives. “The Indirect Costs of Reactive Risk Management” tells a personal story from Horner's past as owner and manager of a recycling business that becomes anecdotal evidence for Defender RMI clients to become proactive about risk management.

At Horner's first company, an employee was badly burned in a flash fire incident. The post explains that when employees are hurt, it indirectly lowers morale as well as costs time and money. However, Horner realized he would be able to improve morale and productivity with one simple action: embedding safety into the culture of his workplace. When his company avoided injury or accident for a month, Horner compensated his workers with money he saved by avoiding costs related to workers' comp. He believes that morale and safety of the workplace improved drastically—driving production to unexpectedly high levels—when employees felt their well-being was as high of a priority as production.

Lindberg also imparts wisdom via blog posts. In “The Economics of Workers' Compensation Insurance,” he relates how businesses can calculate workers' comp rates and premiums, putting to rest the belief that companies can't control them. Instead, he works them through the ways they can be proactive about managing risk and keeping their workplaces safe in order to potentially influence regulator decisions to increase or decrease premiums.

Not Your Average Provider

Lindberg and Horner may not be able to see through walls, but they can spot holes in coverage—and fix them. A prospective client came to Defender RMI after an equipment breakdown left them without coverage, even though the previous insurer claimed to have created a specialty program to cover it. The client hired Defender RMI after the team found the policy language the client overlooked. 

“We are proud to say that once we take on a client, we become partners rather than just a service provider,” Lindberg said. “We take a team approach with our clients and use an enterprise-wide risk management approach with each client engagement, spending significant resources on the front end to analyze risk exposure in key areas.” 

Related: Read the the success story “Operation Turnaround” by Nicole Zwartz.

Businesses concerned about the impending hard insurance market are taking risks when seeking coverage, and as a result, they are not getting what they want, Lindberg said. Local agents are writing recyclers at a discount while the market is soft, but they lack knowledge about the specialty. When something goes wrong, they call Defender RMI—and they have been calling more lately. “No longer enticed by a cheaper policy, they are looking for industry experts, are willing to invest in our recommendations and pay a premium to be covered correctly,” Lindberg said. 

To keep a competitive edge, Defender RMI has hired talented, experienced members from insurance and recycling industries. It uses Keystone Risk Management for cases that involve hands-on assistance. Lindberg and Horner are members of the Institute of WorkComp Professionals, which gives them access to software they can use to educate and audit their customers to make sure they are not being overcharged. 

Related: Read “Insurance Office of America: Game Name” another agency success story by Nicole Zwartz.

“We are obsessed with changing the view of our industry. Instead of just buying a commodity, we want them to understand that they are teaming up with trusted advisors,” Horner said. Comparing prices should cease to be a factor when prospective clients take the time to get to know what Defender RMI offers them. “We feel it is our responsibility to show clients we can do much more to help them put money on the bottom line than just sell them policies.” 

Lindberg and Horner have some advice for aspiring recycling superheroes: Care for the customer, educate yourself and work hard. “There are no tricks. Hard work is what will make you successful,” Horner said. His advice proves true, especially when examining the path Horner and Lindberg took and are taking Defender RMI now. The bottom of the agency's website reads, “Defender: protector, guard, supporter—a person who cares for persons or property.” It's not far from a superhero's mantra.