Grinnell Mutual Reinsurance Company
www.gmrc.com
4215 Highway 146
Grinnell, IA 50112
Contact: Rich Shell
Phone: (641) 269-8000
FAX: (641) 236-2860
rshell@gmrc.com
Percent of business in Illinois by line:
Commercial: 50% Personal: 50%
Are you currently appointing new agents? Not actively
What type of agency is your company looking for? We are only appointing agents who have reached the appropriate premium level with the farm mutual they represent.
What are your premium volume requirements? (In profit sharing? In life?) $60,000 minimum for a contract and profit sharing.
Are you currently doing any niche-marketing program? Yes – golf courses, convenience stores, artisan, funeral homes and veterinarians.
What is your company’s most aggressive line of business? None in particular
Do you use credit scoring? Yes-used on new and renewal private passenger auto business.
What methods do you use to distribute your insurance products? Independent agents
What do you think makes your company different, or stand out from all the rest in Illinois ? Why would an agent want to contract with your company? We are a regional company. Excellent agent/company personnel relationships. Insurance products tailored to rural agents with farm mutual ties.
If we had agents agree to sell homeowners policies with actual cash value endorsements, would you write more business in southern Illinois ? Our homeowners policies are placed through the farm mutual.
Please list your Marketing Representatives and the territory they cover:
Dave Graham – southern Illinois
Sabrina Turner – western Illinois
Kevin Pauley – eastern Illinois
Do you plan on retaining your current profit sharing agreements? Yes
Do you offer the ability for agents to integrate third-party reports into their comparative rating process? No
If not, do you have plans to do so? Please list estimated timeframe of when this capability will be available for Illinois agents? Yes – Development has started with MI-Assistant with some features available by the end of 2005.
Do you offer single-entry new business upload from either comparative raters and/or management systems? No
Do you provide rates and assistance to comparative rating vendors? Yes
What kind of assistance? Research/questions on discrepancies and rating methodology
Do you work with comparative rating vendors to improve accuracy? Yes
Do you test vendor rates? Yes – will begin testing rates with MI-Assistant in 3 rd quarter 2005.
What is your current real-time rating strategy? Availability on GMRC’s website, researching connections with rating vendors.
Do you provide an agent facing website for your agent’s reference? Yes
Do you offer the ability to quote and/or issue new business? Yes
Which lines? Personal Quote/Issue (Auto, Home), Personal Quote (Personal Liability, Farm Liability, RV), Commercial Quote (Auto, WC, GL, Inland Marine, Property)
Can the transaction be bound online? Yes
Can your agents service in-force policies? Yes
Which lines? Personal Auto
Describe the service transactions available: Endorsement changes quoted and emailed to the home office.
Do you publish agent manuals and policy forms on-line? Yes
Do you have upload? No
Do you support policy download? Yes
Which lines? Personal Auto, Home
Do you support direct bill commission statement download? No
Which agency management systems do you work with? Applied, MI Assistant, AMS/Rackley, Doris , NASA, In Star
Live Systems? None
Are there any systems in development? MI Assistant
Do you support real time service for inquiry? Yes
Which lines? Personal Auto, Home, RV, Personal Liability, Farm Liability
Claims? No
Billing? Yes
Do you have real time endorsement capabilities? No
Do you support either Transformation Station, Transact Now or other technologies? No
Please outline the top 3 technology initiatives your company will be implementing to benefit agency workflows, and describe how these initiatives will benefit the agency.
1. Interfacing with MI Assistant
2. Interfacing real-time with SETWRITE from AMS/Rackley
3. Real Time endorsement changes on our website