The elements of AHT Insurance's success
2019 Agency of the Year: One of three winners this year, AHT Insurance may be nearly a century old but its employee-and customer-centric approach has continued its growth.
Editor’s Note: Conventional wisdom holds that independent agencies are going to vanish because today’s insureds want self-service. From what we see at NUPC, however, people are still looking to agencies for trusted advisors, especially when they’re making significant changes in their lives, whether it’s starting a new business, buying property or blending families — because nothing happens without insurance.
The most successful agencies look back at what they’ve done before that provides value to their clients and then continue such best practices. They also look ahead and access what must change so they can continue providing value to clients and grow their businesses in the future.
Today we are pleased to announce the first of three winners of the 2019 Agency of the Year Awards: AHT Insurance of Leesburg, Va. The agency profile below includes insightful stories and strategies.
— Editor-in-Chief Rosalie Donlon
Get to know AHT Insurance
“Hire carefully, trust your people, and invest in talent.”
This has been the overarching philosophy of AHT Insurance under the leadership of David Schaefer, president and CEO.
The agency must be doing something right: Over the past 23 years, AHT has increased its premium volume by $425 million, a feat for the nearly 100-year-old agency in an era when many firms rest on their laurels. This industry stalwart, however, is in a state of constant reinvention. As a result, AHT moves with the ebbs and flows of the dynamic P&C market.
It takes great people
Founded in 1921 by Leesburg, Va., postmaster, William C. Whitmore, who was later joined by Howard Armfield, Sr., AHT flourished as a local agency in Virginia. Through the decades, AHT added benefits, commercial surety and bonds practices to the firm, and has grown into a national brokerage with eight offices and more than 200 employees servicing clients worldwide.
Markedly, the past two decades have been a period of immense growth for the agency. “Really focusing on attracting and retaining great talent, on specialization, and on the model we apply to be a consultative broker, and not focusing on transactions” have been the driving forces behind AHT’s progress, Schaefer says.
Being open to partnering with great talent, regardless of geography, also has been a keystone of AHT’s growth strategy. While word-of-mouth, industry recognition and recruiting efforts keep talent coming through the door, retaining great talent is just as important. That’s why AHT has an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP). It follows that AHT employee-owners proudly promote the firm’s “ownership culture” as well as a focus on serving clients and anticipating the issues that can naturally arise in public companies.
“Everyone who works here has a stake in the success of the company,” Schaefer shares. “As a result, I think there’s a lot less territorialism and politics in what we do. Our individuals really think more about how to move the company forward.”
That ownership mentality is something Schaefer believes is being lost by some in the industry, as the number of independent agencies continues to decline in a more robust M&A market.
“People have failed to think for the future and perpetuate,” Schaefer says. “Those who really want to own their business and choose how they will deploy services to clients are sometimes swept up in the process of M&A.”
Better together
Having a stake in the business has led to a collaborative and team approach among colleagues. This, in turn, supports deeper relationships with clients. Collaboration has become an integral part of AHT’s customer service strategy. As such, AHT employees have access to a network of lawyers, accountants, consultants and other professional partners from whom they can glean expert knowledge for crafting client insurance solutions.
But the spirit of collaboration is about more than simply serving clients. It also means working with clients.
“One of the most dynamic elements of the industry is the evolution of technology and how deploying it effectively can provide not only efficiencies but more consistent, better results for clients,” Schaefer says. “We are always looking to embrace the latest and greatest [technology].”
AHT has specialized in the technology sector since the 1980s. This pushed the firm to adopt digital transformation as part of its core values. Now, AHT often tests Beta products with clients to help develop new services.
AHT also likes to work with its communities and believes it’s important to return the support that local offices have received over the years. The agency encourages employees to engage in charitable efforts through its “AHT Days of Thanks,” which allows staff to take two days of paid time off annually to volunteer at a nonprofit of their choice.
As an organization, AHT has donated nearly $1 million to nonprofits in three areas: hunger and food security, education, and initiatives that support improved lives for neighbors in need. Additionally, AHT’s Washington, D.C., and Seattle offices host charity golf tournaments, which have raised more than a quarter of a million dollars for service organizations that target its three areas of focus.
Onward and upward
AHT’s five-year strategic plan, “AHT 2021,” is about the journey, not the destination. Four key elements drive this business: learning and development, culture and brand, technology, and corporate development. This is how AHT’s vision for the future will continue to focus on embracing talent, fostering an ownership culture, and delivering results to clients.
“We think that if you focus on [these elements], provide some strategic vision, and keep them in the forefront of the mind,” Schaefer concludes, “you’re going to have a better-than-average journey to get to whatever the goal is — and beyond.”
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