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Consolidated Financial Statements
As of and for the Years Ended December 31, 2020 and 2019
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Leadership spotlight
Updates from FCCI’s regional offices
Greg Kramer
Senior Vice President,
Midwest Region
Midwest Region
Mike Noble
Senior Vice President,
Florida Region
Florida Region
Tiffany Hawkins
Vice President,
Gulf Coast Region
Gulf Coast Region
Courtney Hart
Senior Vice President,
Mid-Atlantic Region
Mid-Atlantic Region
Midwest Region
Gregory L. Kramer
Senior Vice President
Coming into 2020, the Midwest Region was poised to execute the most aggressive business plan in its history. With a great team in place and strong agency relationships, Greg Kramer was ready to overcome a competitive marketplace, rising prices and achieve millions in growth.
While the challenges were great in 2020, Greg notes that the resilience of his team and the strong relationships with each other and our agency partners promoted continued confidence in FCCI’s stability.
“You have a choice about how you respond. You can wallow or embrace challenges as an opportunity,” Greg said. “We lead with optimism and positivity. Combined with the perseverance of our teammates and the support of our agency partners, we all achieved success in 2020.”
Seeing challenges as an opportunity
The region grew $8 million in 2020 – the largest growth ever seen in the region. Greg also received confirmation, through agency feedback, that FCCI truly excels in customer service.
“We genuinely listen, do due diligence, and work to find strategies to help our customers,” he said.
“The Midwest team is ready for 2021. We’ve never been better resourced to meet the needs of our agency partners and their clients,” he said. “We are eager to win new business while continuing to provide great service for our current agency partners and policyholders.”
Florida Region
Michael S. Noble
Senior Vice President
In 2020, Mike Noble and the Florida Region team put their heads down, distinguished themselves with stellar customer service and set a record for new business with more than $60 million. The region wrote more than $280 million in total premiums for 2020.
“I feel that our company is the best at showing we care, but this year, we doubled down on it,” Mike said. “Our purpose is to grow as an insurance company in a profitable way while providing agency partners with exceptional service. That will always
be our purpose.”
Moving through, moving on from 2020
FCCI faced challenges in Florida including a competitive market and rate decreases in the workers’ compensation arena. But Mike affirms that FCCI’s culture, its ability to transition quickly to embrace new technologies, and a commitment to exceptional service kept the company strong and positions it well for future success.
Mike calls his team “the best in the industry” and looks forward to the future.
“We have the people, the culture, and the leadership to get it done,” he said. “We’ll continue to focus on the same things we have for 62 years: doing what we say we'll do and being a stable market for our valued agency partners. The Florida Region and FCCI are poised for a very successful 2021 and beyond.”
Gulf Coast Region
Tiffany C. Hawkins
Vice President
For the Gulf Coast Region, 2020 was to be a year to focus on profitable growth, onboarding and training new talent, and building deeper relationships with agency partners. Despite the many challenges in 2020, Tiffany Hawkins reported that the team was agile and adjusted well to working remotely while always giving their best.
“A theme that has come from our region is that we grow through what we go through,” Tiffany said, noting her team used all available technology to ensure they did not lose their cherished camaraderie.
We grow through what we go through
The region sought to continue its record of profitability across all lines of business, looking at ways to diversify its lines and increase market share by leaning on the strengths of its agency partners and having a local presence.
“Communication, compassion, customer service and a continued commitment to teammate development will ensure the Gulf Coast Region succeeds in 2021,” Tiffany asserts.
“The one thing that’s consistent about our industry is change,” Tiffany laughed. “If we can be a steady and reliable partner, I think that’s where we’re going to shine. From a brand perspective, our service sets us apart. Our agents know we’re here for them.
We are going to build on our momentum and seize the opportunities that come our way in 2021.”
Mid-Atlantic Region
Courtney V. Hart
Senior Vice President
As 2020 approached, expectations were high for the Mid-Atlantic Region. Its expansion into Pennsylvania – the first new state for FCCI since 2012 – was key not only for the region but the company overall. Detailed preparing and planning went into what became a successful launch.
As the year progressed, priorities changed. “We immediately began reaching out to our agency partners to make sure they were okay and that they knew we were here for them and their customers,” said Courtney Hart. “The feedback we got was that, during this tough time, FCCI really stood out in the way we cared about our agents and took care of their needs.”
A company that really cares
That appreciation became evident as the Mid-Atlantic Region, which Courtney calls “the best team in the insurance industry,” had some of its best results during the middle of the lockdown, including the successful entry into Pennsylvania.
After 2020’s test of FCCI’s resilience, Courtney feels the company is even stronger going into 2021.
“Our bonds with our team and our agents are stronger, the connection between senior leadership and the rest of the company is stronger, and I think we’re more in tune in terms of the needs in the marketplace than ever after coming through a year like this,” he said.
Kimberly Burnside
Vice President,
Southeast Region
Tracey Pfab
Senior Vice President,
Southwest Region
Tracy Stoeckel
Senior Vice President,
Agribusiness
Scott Paice
Senior Vice President,
Surety
Southeast Region
Kimberly A. Burnside
Vice President
Kimberly Burnside planned to focus on professional development and connections in 2020. With several new teammates, Kim was set to build a cohesive, intentional team while ensuring relationships with agency partners continued to be nurtured.
Kim had high expectations: “We assembled an awesome team that was fired up and ready to get out and service our amazing agents.”
When COVID-19 hit, the region was able to quickly shift gears. “We put on our innovator hats, rolled up our creative sleeves, and adapted to our new way of work,” Kim said. “We became intentional about staying engaged.” There were virtual meetings and friendly get-togethers to ensure everyone was thriving.
Reflections on resilience
“We saw communication become stronger because collaboration improved,” Kim said. “We took a peek into each other’s homes, met pets, saw dining rooms transformed into classrooms and kitchens into offices.”
The team was devoted to connecting personally and professionally with our agency partners – making phone calls, sending emails and inviting individuals to an outdoor socially distanced breakfast; agents definitely took notice.
In 2021, Kim will focus on empowering her team to gain new skills and knowledge. Lessons learned in 2020 will pave the way for a successful year for the region, agency partners and FCCI. “We’re committed to maintaining relationships and generating new ones.”
Southwest Region
Tracey J. Pfab
Senior Vice President
As a growth area for the company, FCCI’s Southwest Region entered 2020 with high expectations and great momentum from their most successful year in 2019. The team performed brilliantly while onboarding new teammates to help grow FCCI’s brand into the future.
“Despite the challenges, everyone knew what we needed to accomplish,” said Tracey Pfab. “They delivered the most new business in the history of the region, premium growth well over expectations, significant increases in our manufacturing and workers’ compensation writings, and more Agriculture and Surety business than ever before.”
Poised for one heck of a year
“If we learned anything in 2020, it reinforced the importance of deep relationships and communication,” he added. “If you have that kind of relationship with an agency, they’re going to want to do business with you. With relationships where we all work together, the sky’s the limit.”
One area in which the Southwest Region excelled was in pushing full steam ahead, rather than letting the pandemic put a damper on its operations. Agents noted how active and responsive FCCI remained.
As the Southwest Region team continues building its commercial, Agriculture and Surety lines, Tracey is pleased to have the team fully staffed, great agency partners, and strong momentum. “The future is bright in the Southwest – we are poised for one heck of a year in 2021!”
Agribusiness
Tracy L. Stoeckel
Senior Vice President
Tracy Stoeckel proudly describes the acronym that details the key values driving the Agribusiness line. It is, appropriately, “FARM”: a Focus on profitability; Accountability and attitude; Relationships; and Managing our service. These values, plus great flexibility, resulted in an outstanding year for the Agribusiness team.
In the world of farming, the business is planned at least a year in advance, from planting through harvest and delivery. With the pandemic disrupting numerous industries, FCCI’s Agribusiness team, agency partners and policyholders had to figure out what to do with food products.
“Life had to go on – we all still need to eat!” Tracy said. “Once the industry worked through its supply chain issues, we were full speed ahead.”
Continued growth
Agribusiness exceeded its 2020 goal and grew to more than $100M in direct written premium.
Tracy says, “This year’s challenges and increased use of technology have resulted in the team communicating better and being more productive than ever before. Our commitment to customer service and willingness to work together to reach common goals helped us all succeed.
In 2021, Tracy says there will be significant attention to the property line of business, as well as a continued focus on profitability and partnerships, and investing in the team’s professional development. “You have to know Ag to be an Ag agent,” she affirmed.
Surety
Scott G. Paice
Senior Vice President
For the Surety team, led by Scott Paice, 2020 was a milestone year, marking the completion of a decade of successful operations. The work plan for 2020 included training new employees, continuing its tradition of excellent customer service, and staying on track with the consistent growth that has marked Surety thus far.
While the events of 2020 may have caused significant disruption in other areas, for this team the year could be described as “Steady as it goes!” Surety was already a mostly field-driven operation, so it wasn’t a major adjustment to work remotely. Additionally, the construction business was deemed essential, so agency partners and policyholders didn’t have the business disruptions other industries suffered.
Capping a decade of success
Scott says his top lesson for the year was to be patient. “The sky didn’t fall. When things get tough, hang in there and do everything you can,” he said. “Even when we had to scramble behind the scenes, we offered seamless service to our agents and customers.”
The goal for Surety was 5% growth over the previous year; they finished up at 6%.
Scott says in the coming year his team will be “cautiously optimistic and opportunistic. We’re investing in young talent, upgrading our IT systems, and becoming more efficient at what we do so we can continue to grow for the next 10 years.”
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