Complexities of Insurance: Overcome What's Missing for Your Potential Buyers with Marco Warner

Kuldeep Bhatnagar(KB): Amazing. Amazing. So as we, we are talking about it, you know, the partners and how it all started. So can you tell us a bit about your background and how you got started in your current role?

And I like the, the thought of, you know, if you are, you're falling behind. Just get more. And it's the simplest thing what that's right, can do. And you also talked about self reward, which, which I loved actually. And I could recall, uh, one quotation.

On this, it says, uh, reward yourself not just for your achievements, but for your efforts and perseverance. Celebrate not just your success, but also your growth and progress. Remember, that is absolutely a true reward is in the journey and not just a destination.

Marco Warner: And, and it doesn't have to be huge either, you know, simplify it. It, I mean, for me, it w I loved coffee and I would have my cup of coffee in the morning and I couldn't have my next cup of coffee until I did X number of calls. I mean, simple things like that to motivate yourself to do the things that you don't really want to do.

Kuldeep Bhatnagar(KB): Absolutely. Absolutely. All right so you know this one is a fun one. If you could ensure any frictional, character. Who would it be and why?

Marco Warner: That's an easy one. Wiley Coyote, and some people may not know who that is, but Wiley Coyote and the Acme Company, so going back to my grandfather, he always said, write the things that are the hardest to write, that are the most difficult that nobody else wants, because that's where the most premium's gonna be and with more premium comes more commission. So just think about how difficult it would be to write life insurance on Wally Cote and ensure the Acme Company.

Kuldeep Bhatnagar(KB): Wow. Great. So, uh, You know, talking about today's world as they say, it's a soft world. And, uh, then there are lots of, uh, not, not soft world, but the market is soft right now, but there are still lots of technological changes in advancement in the industry as well. So what do you think are the biggest challenges facing the insurance industry today and how do you see them being interest in the future?

Marco Warner: Well, um, I've, I've given this question a lot of thoughts since you sent it to me, and it is, uh, I don't know that you can a, an address all of the challenges that are facing just from a technology perspective, uh, because I think some of the things that we are facing right now in our industry in general, not just the retail side, but the carrier side as well.

We're facing an aging workforce and most of the best knowledge is in those people that are, most of the best coverage knowledge is in that, uh, that age group that is exiting the business here in the very near future. Uh, and, and that makes it difficult because we have to replace them and, and another challenge we face because of that, our brand as an industry is not that great. There, you know, there's not a lot of children growing up saying, oh, I want to be in the insurance industry. True. And the thing is, when people think about it, I think they think about that person down the street, selling home in auto. And, and I love those folks and there's nothing wrong with that, but that's just a small part, of this industry.

Uh, and I'll give you a really good example of that. Um, so one of the young men in our company. Uh, was a contractor and he recently went to work for one of the insurance companies as an adjuster, and he had no desire to be in the insurance industry, and it just sort of fell in his lap. But he now adjusts all of the claims for a specific insurance company in, in Southwest Virginia, eastern Tennessee, and Southern West Virginia.

He's making more money. Than he was before and he's got better hours and he's got a robust benefit package. And yeah, and I'm just so happy for him and, and. To think about that type of job, you know, that that's out there. But, but going back to your question you know, in addition to the, to our brand as an industry and what, you know, how young people perceive it, as well as the aging workforce, emerging risk is also something that is we're gonna have to deal with as an industry.

I mean, there's things out there right now that scare the fire out of me, but, you know, you just have to, uh, buckle down and have conversations with people about how are we gonna handle this? And I'll give you a quick example of that. , see in cyber liability, something I never thought about contingent business interruption.

That you purchase under that we're seeing the carriers now limit that because of a catastrophic event that might, you know, disrupt the, you know, the entire cyber insurance world. And, and so they're wanting to put sub limits on that and, and we didn't even think about that a few years back. Right. I mean, that's not something that was talked about at all.

So I think emerging risk, social unrest. I mean, how are we gonna deal with some of these things that are happening in the cities from an underwriting perspective to be able to ensure that businessperson for an amount of money that they can afford, you know, within their budget. And then in addition to that social inflation, you know, we're seeing a lot of verdicts happening.

Those, uh, in, you know, moving upward in that trend across the industry is, uh, is creating a lot of havoc among the, uh, Actuaries in the, in the insurance industry. And, and then, uh, from a retail perspective, from our side, I think we have the aging ownership. Uh, but, but one of the things I think that is a huge challenge for us is we have a lot of people coming into the industry without any business acumen.

and it's a very difficult thing to teach, right? Especially to someone who hasn't sat in an owner's seat, uh, or in a CFO position or, or one of those positions. and it's, and how do people get that, right? How do they develop that? And do you have the patience, To allow them, you know, to get there?

Um, and then, uh, I think because the insurance industry is lagged behind, The rest of the world from a technology perspective. I think if you are a retail agent out there, you need to figure out how to apply your own technology and overcome some of the things you know that are missing from the people who you are selling product for.

Um, Buyer awareness, I think is another big deal. I think buyers are becoming so aware of what's out there, you know, that that buddy-buddy system is no longer going to prevail. Yeah. That people are looking for some way to make this process simpler and easier and have a, a greater ability to understand how it's applicable to their business as an example.

That's something that I talk about a lot, you know, with my sales team is put yourself in their seat.

Kuldeep Bhatnagar(KB): Right, right. Fantastic. And I can totally relate to a lot of these things and in fact, the other day I was meeting with one of, uh, our partners and we were discussing that, you know, Aging workforce is one of the biggest challenges, and the other associated part to it is when the most experienced of the workforce is leaving the industry, there would be avoid in a vacuum soon because there is no one apt.

To train the, the, the new joiners to the industry. Even if you see, uh, as, as, uh, you know, if you wanna go to some traditional institute or something that train you on the insurance world, there are very limited resources out there. Just one or two. So you know, and I'm talking way ahead of the time but I just feel like, sharing this with you.

So we are already in discussion, in planning to launch such a place where we can train the, the, the new generation within the insurance domain, uh, irrespective of what part they want to go into. But yes, we want to launch a, an online academy sort of thing where we would be providing. The, the workflow information the basics of the industry and you know how to go about sales, how to go about servicing and what not.

Marco Warner: Yeah, I, you know, and I've got mixed thoughts. I mean, we could spend an entire session on this, uh, because, you know, the part of me says we don't have to teach them anything about insurance. We need to teach them about the buying experience. And what that looks like.

And then you hear people who. And that work for a larger agency says, well, that doesn't work when you begin to play upstream from where you are. Well, the fact is, it does because we take accounts from the larger brokers all the time simply because they're not doing the things that need to be done. Uh, but then on the other hand, you really need to figure out how to teach them technical skills in a shorter period of time.

And, and these. Folks learned so in, in such a different way than you, than I did. I'm not gonna throw you in the that way, but, but the way that I did and, uh, I learned through experience and. That, that's just unacceptable nowadays because it takes so much longer, you know, for you to ramp up and become, you know, truly effective in this business than if you gain that knowledge the way you have it.

So we're gonna have to figure out how to do it from a phone, I think right.

Kuldeep Bhatnagar(KB): Absolutely. So we, we touched base technology a little bit. Let's talk more about it. So how has technology impacted the insurance industry? What new technologies do you see having the greatest impact in the years to come?

Marco Warner: Well, obviously the carriers are having difficulty with this, right? I mean, yeah. They have so, so much information and it's so massive, you know, being able. Turn the direction of that ship takes significantly longer, you know, than, than, uh, more agile and younger, you know, industries do. So it's harder for them, uh, for us on the retail side. It's a matter of, you know, can we make our customer experience better by the utilization of it?

And, and I'll give you you know, one of my examples that I give so I got frustrated because uh, I've been going to the same. Doctor for years, right. And every time I went, had to fill out the same form. I mean, they asked me my name, they asked me my date of birth. You know, those things are not gonna change.

KB they're the same every single time I go in there. Right. And, and, and then there's four or five forms you have to fill out and, um, I was really frustrated, uh, about that. And as my life changed and I got a little busier, it, it became even more frustrating for me. And so I thought about that and how our customers feel about how we transact that bi business with them on a day-to-day basis.

We send them a supplemental application. And they fill it out. And they do that year over year, over year. And just a simple thing like adopting a program like Indio, uh, and we were early adopters of that and we figured out ways to kind of enhance the way we utilize that and, and being able to send that to someone and completely change how they deliver that renewal information back to us, changes the experience that they have. and that's a very simple part of it, but it's something that there's so many things out there that we can utilize to, to be able to change the lives of the people we deal with on a day-to-day basis. And we need to embrace that.

Kuldeep Bhatnagar(KB): Absolutely. Uh, I have been to, uh, these conferences recently.

One was Insure Tech and the other one was, uh, innovation in AI in insurance. And everyone was talking about Chat GPT and how AI is taking shape and how it can impact the professions and lives of everyone. Involve across the industries, not just insurance. And I was thinking in my mind talking about technology is great.

However, I feel the adoption of technology is not that, that great in, in the insurance industry. And, and uh, you know, that's something everyone should be discussing on how to adopt those technologies to make ourselves you know, competitive to the, the other industries, you know, relating to your point, the, the.

The insurance industry is a brand. It's not there. It's, and one of the reasons is it's, it's not pacing up with other industries. It's not as lucrative. It doesn't sound as lucrative as other industries. So I think we should be talking a lot about how to, to be more agile and adoptive and receptive towards these, uh, technologies.

Kuldeep Bhatnagar(KB): Well, uh, great. So, you know, uh, we, we are, we, we are talking about young guys who would be joining the industry or who may want to join industry. you know, what do you think are the most important qualities for someone working in insurance and how they can develop those qualities?

Marco Warner: So, I think in general, Uh, you, you can have whatever quality you want and the, there's a place for you in this industry. I gave you an example earlier. I mean, you know, I never would've thought of that, right? But I, I think we, I, I think from the standpoint of the retail side, it's different. Obviously if you're selling something, you have to have, you know, certain qualities in order to be successful. but in general if you, if you want to help people in typically the most dire time of their life when they, when they have a claim, and prepare them for that on the front end, there's no limit.

To what you can do. I mean, you can be basically a hermit and still find a creative job in this industry. So from that aspect, I, I don't know that there's any one just to join the industry. Uh, that, that's out there. From the retail side though, I think it's a little different. I mean, you, it's forward facing and I, and I think that on the retail side, especially on the sales side, which is obviously what I can speak to the most is you, you cannot have call reluctance.

You have to have a willingness to be able to pick up that phone and to call. Anybody Right. To sell them insurance. Now I say that, but I mean, we have a whole, you know, kind of idea about how we approach it. But, but the call reluctance is something that you cannot have, right? Uh, and, uh, and a lot of times you can test out, uh, in a, a personality profile, for example, and, and check all the right box.

But yet that steel is there for someone and it doesn't, it, it doesn't, um, uh, it doesn't perform well on the retail sales side part of it. So call reluctance is a big one. And as I was thinking about the question when you sent it to me, you know, you got to have a belief in what you're. You, you have to know that it's going to help someone that, that what the way that you're doing it and the way that you're going about it, uh, is better than anybody else out there, and that you have the resources and the team and all of that behind you.

And I've seen people that could call anyone, but yet they didn't have that belief. And therefore they weren't successful in this business. So I think those two things are very important from the sales side of it.

Kuldeep Bhatnagar(KB): Amazing And I, I'll extend this question a bit. Uh, say, I think we already touched upon it, but if we have to particularly talk about what, you know, what do you think sets successful insurance professionals apart from those who struggle to succeed?

Marco Warner: Again, I think it is getting in front of people, limited pipeline. That's something that is critical is having that pipeline full constantly. Uh, and I think that, uh, from the standpoint of what makes people truly successful in this business, and, uh, the ones that kind of, you know, you have average, right?

And then you've got a little above average, and then you have great, let, let's talk about it from a million dollar producer perspective. I'll give you a few things that this is a Marcoism, as some of my team members will call, call on me, but, but I think that you have to have a Rolodex and you have to understand how to utilize that Rolodex for the benefit of everybody that's out there that you're doing business.

Now I can kind of expand on that. And, and if, and if, for those listeners that don't know what a Rolodex is, that's a contact list. All right. That's your contact list in your phone. And so this was something that my grandfather taught me early was how to make connections with people. And when you, when you can figure out, It's, it's not just about the selling of insurance that makes those people great.

It's, how they utilize everything around them for the benefit of the people that are there. You know, my, I my grandfather was a huge Stephen Covey fan. He always says, you know, you help, uh, people get what they want. They'll help you get what you want And that's, that's what I'm talking about. So you're sitting in a sales meeting, you ask, well, tell me what's on your mind today.

And they say something completely different than insurance. But you have a resource in that Rolodex, and if you can pull that out your mind and go find it, you can, you can solve that problem for someone. Yeah. So, um, I, I think that those connections, we, we, we talk about them in fancy words and all of that, but the fact is it's as simple as being able to.

Absolutely, and I think networking and relationship is key to everything, be it business, your personal life, and everything.

Kuldeep Bhatnagar(KB): Fantastic. Uh, so, you know, uh, I understand there are not so many changes in the industry, but you know, the, the operating procedures, the technology is still there. So how do you stay up to date with the latest trends and developments in the insurance industry, and what resources do you recommend for others who want to do the same.

Marco Warner: So I do a, a daily devotion. I have a friend that has emailed me a daily devotion every year, e every day for 20 years. It's amazing. I mean, it is absolutely amazing. he gets up really early. He does his, he sends it to a, a group of, of us folks that are on his email list. And after I'm done with that, I do what I call my insurance devotion, right?

You have to spend some portion of a day, uh, reading up on what's going on, you know, the latest trends, that sort of thing. I, I, I make sure that it's, it's not all about insurance and risk management, but also it, part of it is, uh, about what's happening out there. In business, right? In general, uh, because it's, you need to keep up with that as well.

What are, what are people facing that are sitting on the other side of the table that you're talking with? Um, what are some of those things that are going on? So, so I make sure that I do that. Insurance devotion every single day. Uh, in addition to that, a lot of my, uh, friends and family know that I love podcasts and when I'm, when I'm in the car and I've got that windshield time, I listen to podcasts mostly around topics other than insurance.

I really like to listen to technology related things, people talking about disruptors, you know, how they're changing this industry or that industry and like, oh my gosh, why didn't I think of that? You know I'm fascinated by it. And the other thing that, that it does for me is it helps keep me sharp at thinking about what can we do in our industry to be ahead of the curve.

Kuldeep Bhatnagar(KB): Fantastic. Let's touch base on risk management for a while. How do you approach risk management in your work and what advice do you have for others who are looking to improve their risk management skills?

Marco Warner: I say start with the basics. Right. Start with the basics. Understand how to transfer risk, how to avoid risk, how to either retain risk or not. Risk retention, uh, and then how to prevent risk. And then once you have an understanding of the basics of that, here is one of the things that my grandfather and my mother made me do in the insurance industry.

And I think it is so true today for people that are wanting to learn how things work. Find someone that you know That will allow you to come to their business and spend a couple of days, especially in a high hazard type environment where they're dealing with it on a day-to-day basis. Keep your mouth shut take notes. And, and learn what it is that person deals with from a true business perspective. after that, take 'me out to dinner. Buy their dinner, uh, for doing that for you. And also, you know, take a day or two, come back to that person with questions cantered around those four things. Right that they, they may have missed or whatever.

It, it will give you a time to, you know, kind of think about it. Uh, I did this when I was first starting out in my career. I went out and I spent two days with a guy that owned a surface mining operation. And it was amazing. Uh, just the things that they deal with on a day to day. I saw things that I'm like, oh my gosh, I can't believe they're doing that.

You know, so, well, how do you, you know, how do you keep that. Excavator from falling over the side of the mountain or that, you know, that type of thing. But, uh, um, but, but it is, it sounds simple, but if you can find that person that will allow you to do that, you will learn more in those two days than you can out of a textbook.

Kuldeep Bhatnagar(KB): Amazing. So, from the sounds of it, you know, but you keep busy with business and traveling, and you did also mention that somehow you keep that balance, and you still can provide time to your, your family, your friends, uh, your community. So how do you balance your commitments? Personal life to your work, to community. And again, you know, how, how, what suggestions or advice do you want to give to others who are trying to do so, or they are struggling to have a balance?

Marco Warner: Well, KB I'm not perfect. You can ask my wife and she will tell you. So I don't have all of the answers. Um, but having said that I would tell you that I kind of failed at it, you know, early in my career I mentioned that the coal market collapsed.

Yeah. You know, I went out and started writing assisted living facilities. You know, there wasn't one in Richlands, Virginia, so I had to travel a lot. Uh, I had to make up for that loss and, and I took away from my family. Um, but my father-in-law, you know, he was my kind of my accountability partner at the time, right?

He would make me write out these goals and stuff, and then he would challenge me on how I was doing. Uh, and we've applied that same thing to. To, to how we conduct ourselves in, in our business. So we do this thing with all of our producers and we tell them that, you know, they're Marco Warner.

Incorporated or LLC, and they operate under this enterprise, right? So they need to write a business plan, you know, for Marco Warner, LLC and then they need to set professional goals. They need to set personal goals, they need to set family goals, they need to set health goals, and they need to.

Spiritual goals and they need to write them out, and then they need to find that accountability partner and on a regular basis, they need to get with that person and they need to, uh, do this little exercise that we recommend, you know, uh, Am I, am I on track for my goal in each of those categories? And if not, why?

And if I am, do I need to readjust my goal and be, and be deliberate about it? Uh, and then it's up to us as leaders to recognize when they're struggling with, uh, one s. Specifically their professional goal. But you know, when you see somebody that you know, you can tell if you're a you know if you're around that person life, you can tell if things aren't going well and just be human and, you know, say, Hey, what's going on?

You know, uh, you know. You seem like you're a little distracted. Is there anything we can do? Uh, have you met with your accountability partner? And that way we're staying out of it. Right? You met with your accountability partner, uh, and talked through those things, so that's my advice to people.

Kuldeep Bhatnagar(KB): Amazing. Now, something lighter, something, on the other part of you. So, uh, you know, uh, we came to know that you are ever, fisherman in fact based fisherman. So can you share with us your favourite fishing spot and what you love about this sport?

Marco Warner: Well, you know, all my friends would tell me to say my favourite fishing spot is in the water. Right. But, um, my, my favourite place to fish is Smith Mountain Lake right outside of Roanoke, Virginia.

Uh, it is a beautiful lake. Uh, my wife and I have a. A place up there and, um, I bass fish there regularly. My favourite time of the year to fish is from about April the 15th to about July the 4th. That's when the shad spawn is on up there. We do a lot of night fishing and we, uh, we use top water bates and it is exciting to catch six- or seven-pound largemouth bass on top water. Um, so yeah, and I'm a competitive person, so I do a lot of tournaments and I fish a lot of rodeos and then I fish a series or two, you know, against people who are better than me, uh, because that only makes you better, right?

Kuldeep Bhatnagar(KB): Wow. And I promise, this is my last one say. So what's the funniest insurance claim you have ever seen?

Marco Warner: The funniest insurance thing. I tell this story all the time. One of my customers called me up one day and he said, Hey, Marco if someone cut a tree down and it falls in their house, is that covered? And I said, yes, stupidity is covered. And he said, oh, thank God I got a tree sitting in my living room.

Think I have a few that I can't tell on this podcast, but people can call me and I'll tell 'me, you know, over the telephone.

Kuldeep Bhatnagar(KB): Thank you so much, Marco. This was interesting. this was knowledgeable and I'm sure our listeners would, you know, have, uh, will gain something out of it. And, uh, listeners stay tuned.

Stay, uh, listening to, uh, business Transformation with FBSPL, the Insurance Edition, and we'll meet you soon with another episode. Thank you.