Top Retail Brokers 2023
Jump to winners | Jump to methodology
Best retail brokers in the US
Insurance Business America’s Top Retail Brokers are among the best in the US insurance industry.
To earn a place among IBA’s Top Retail Brokers 2023 required:
$1 million or more in premium revenue in 2022; those with $4 million or more were designated Platinum Retail Brokers
at least 50% commercial P&C business
year-over-year growth from 2021
“I like to think that my superpower is knowing how to walk that fine line of being persistent without being disrespectful of people’s valuable time”
Shantelle CabirNewfront
In addition, IBA’s acquired qualitative descriptions of a top broker by eliciting commentary from the nominees.
“The best advocate for the client and the carriers. Trust is the No. 1 key in our business.”
“An all-around person who utilizes influence and relationships. Specializes in a niche and always shows ethical practice.”
“Has qualities of growth, retention, technology, and profitability, but the top brokers have a culture that embraces inclusivity, well-being, and diversity.”
“An expert in coverage, terms, and conditions who can explain it in layman’s terms while simultaneously being an approachable leader.”
Blueprints behind the Top Retail Brokers’ success
David Ragno is the CEO of Keyes Coverage, an insurance and risk management solutions provider in South Florida. For him, being a top producer is about distinguishing oneself.
“Innovation is the most important factor separating top brokers from their peers,” he says. “Disrupting the traditional methods of insurance placement, marketing, and programs is key to differentiating.”
Ragno’s achievements include:
an individual book growth of 25% year over year
growing his office by 56% year over year, half through acquisitions and half organically
building an exclusive substance abuse program countrywide that is growing at 40%
Ragno found himself at a crossroads early in his career.
“I walked away from a Fortune 100 company with a predefined career path at 25 years old to bet on myself for a middle-market retail broker with no national affiliation,” he explains. “I worked from the ground up to learn this side of the business, and I’m a better person and a better leader because of it.”
In the meantime, the attributes that he identifies as differentiating himself from his peers are:
being a lifelong learner
working closely with the Insurance Services Office on building classification critical for underwriting quality and taking a construction skill set to review
experience running businesses other than a traditional insurance brokerage
This approach is highlighted by industry expert Peter Miller, president and CEO of The Institutes.
“Top brokers are client-centric and focused on building relationships with both their clients and insurers,” he says. “They plan and strategize with their clients’ best interests in mind.”
Exemplifying this is winner Shantelle Cabir, Newfront’s senior vice president, who takes pride in delivering alongside the firm’s 800 employees.
“I’ve asked multiple clients why they’ve chosen to go with me and one of the recurring themes is their appreciation for my approach to doing business,” she explains. “I have a lot of grit and tenacity.”
This approach has resulted in Cabir achieving:
$500,000 in new business revenue (equivalent to about $5 million premium) year over year
over 95% client retention
For fellow winner David Clausen, CEO of Coastal Insurance Solutions, the key to success is not simply relying on a niche.
He says, “To truly excel, you must deliver an extraordinary customer experience that is completely customized to that segment. This involves designing every aspect of the client journey, from acquisition and onboarding to claims handling, billing, service, and eventually cancellation.”
Clausen also highlights the need to improve the customer experience as it builds trust, which ultimately leads to “increased retention”.
Looking at creating a rewarding experience for clients from a different angle is Jessica Weaver, owner of Weaver Insurance Agency.
“We are a woman veteran-owned, family-owned, and 100% woman-operated company that employs staff that ranks high on the empathy profile, which provides our clients a warm experience,” she says.
The differentiating factors that allow Weaver and her team to make their mark are:
expertise and specialization: commercial insurance (manufacturing, investment properties, restaurants) and flood insurance (private and FEMA)
exceptional customer service, personalized attention, and client-centric approach
strong industry connections and relationships over the last 14 years
being proactive in tracking market trends, identifying emerging opportunities, and providing valuable insight
figures showing 80%–90% retention and less than 60% loss ratio on average
Bob Middleton is the owner and director of the Arts Insurance Program, the largest insurer of dance, ballet, and touring Broadway shows. To him, success in the retail sector requires mastering an area of concentration.
“You become an expert in coverages, markets, and exposures and become a real asset to your clients,” he says. “This leads to referrals, organic relationships with other professionals servicing these risks, and even insurance carriers respecting your knowledge of the sector.”
Middleton feels he and his firm stand out in the sector for:
service with personnel averaging 12 years of experience in entertainment
dedication to work with clients of any size
great flexibility with carriers and coverages and helping clients with issues
generating increases of over 30% in annual revenue post-COVID, mostly from referrals
“Innovation is the most important factor separating top brokers from their peers”
David RagnoKeyes Coverage
Unlocking opportunities with insurtech
The Top Retail Brokers 2023 have embraced digital tools in their operations.
Industry expert Miller advocates for leveraging tech to “provide data-driven insights to help reduce clients’ cost of risk”.
Clausen is fully behind integrating tech and notes that his firm has used it to drive two major initiatives: improving customer experience and extracting actionable business intelligence metrics.
This investment has enabled Clausen’s team to integrate their Salesforce CRM with the agency management system, resulting in the linking of:
“Just about everything is connected. From first client interaction, we can track metrics associated with acquiring, servicing, and ultimately are able to determine the lifetime value of a customer in many cases. Having sanitized, clean data is essential,” says Clausen.
Weaver has also witnessed the benefits of technology integration. She has been able to harness it to:
provide user-friendly online platforms, making it easier for clients to access information and conduct business remotely
utilize data analytics tools to analyze market trends and pricing patterns, and monthly NPS score metering to give a grade on work performed with each client
utilize various communication channels like instant messaging, video conferencing, and social media to connect with clients in real time
automate repetitive tasks, renewals, and new client onboarding, and also leverage AI chatbots for customer support
Newfront has over 50 engineers working on a proprietary agency management system. This enables Cabir to offer clients stronger:
analytics
benchmarking
transparency
She adds, “‘De-risking human progress’ is a tagline that Newfront uses as we infuse AI advancements into offering automated processing and services through analytics and easy program administration so we can help businesses grow at the pace they need to.”
“Investing in business intelligence has enabled deep insights into our brokerage and what a better future state looks like for the customer, our team, and our balance sheet”
David ClausenCoastal Insurance Solutions
Looking ahead for clients
Brokers need to deliver in the present, but must be dynamic enough to be prepared to innovate in the future.
Describing the Top Retail Brokers in this context, industry expert Miller says, “They are forward-thinking and not only see opportunities that other brokerages might not.”
Cabir exemplifies this mindset on behalf of clients.
“We partner with them to devise a plan forward and then with the help of our internal risk management team, we will roll up our sleeves to put that plan into action,” she says. “We take it a step further to also ensure that in an event of a claim, our clients work with our in-house claims advocacy team that include multiple attorneys and previous adjusters that advocate for the best results for our clients’ claims.”
For Weaver, there are two effective ways to adopt a forward-thinking approach:
“Conducting extensive market research to identify upcoming trends and changing consumer preferences”
“[The staff and I] engage in ongoing professional development, attending industry conferences and staying updated on regulatory changes, economic factors, and technological advancements”
“Remaining nimble” is Clausen’s mantra on being able to prepare for future trends and issues that clients will encounter. He also places an importance on uniformity.
“Everyone in the organization must be dancing to the same tune. From the CEO to the secretary, everyone needs to understand the reason behind their tasks and the value they contribute,” says Clausen. “For example, if the marketing department is generating five times more opportunities than the sales team can manage, it could cause operational friction, inefficiency, and cultural challenges. Everyone should be rowing in the same direction.”
“I consider myself a born leader who cherishes the team as if they were my own family. When the team feels appreciated, the entire agency functions like a smoothly operating machine”
Jessica WeaverWeaver Insurance Agency
Adam W. Gabler
Senior Vice President, Construction Practice Leader, Southwest
Newfront
Alka Manaktala
Managing Partner
IOA Insurance Services
Bob Middleton
Owner and Director
The Arts Insurance Program
Brian Johnson
Executive Vice President
FBBINSURANCE
Brian Schneider
Managing Director
Higginbotham
Brian Tucker
Principal
RHSB Insurance
Dan Beck
Senior Vice President
Snapp & Associates Insurance
Dane Beasley
Senior Vice President
FBBINSURANCE
Daniel Munro
Owner/Agent
Munro Insurance Services
David DeLorenzo
Owner
Bar and Restaurant Insurance
David McKinnon
Executive Vice President
FBBINSURANCE
David Wissel
Commercial Lines Client Advisor and Partner
Gulfshore Insurance/Acrisure
Frank Barbella
Founder and CEO
SOLV Risk Solutions
Garet Marr
Managing Director
Franklin Street
Gregory W. Havemeier
Senior Vice President/Managing Partner
Gulfshore Insurance/Acrisure
Jack A. Carra
Senior Vice President
AssuredPartners
Jared Pelissier
Senior Vice President and Partner
Woodruff Sawyer
Jason Young
Senior Vice President
FBBINSURANCE
Jeff Clark Breskin
Vice President
J. Morey & Company
Jeffrey Sanders
Commercial Lines Client Advisor
Gulfshore Insurance/Acrisure
Jim Untiedt
President, PentaRisk Insurance Services
Acrisure Construction Practice Leader
John J. Sirabella Jr.
Account Executive
Acrisure LLC dba CLG
John McCall
Senior Vice President, Financial Institutions and FinTech Practice Leader
Newfront
Josh Fagin
Senior Vice President
Heffernan Insurance Brokers
Joshua Morey
Chairperson
Ori-gen Insurance Group
Karl Henley
Executive Vice President/Partner
SeibertKeck Insurance Partners
Kenneth Allen Tucker
Insurance Agent
NFP
Kenneth Christian
Vice President
Fisher Brown Bottrell Insurance
Kirk Aguilera
Managing Partner and Workers’ Compensation Practice Lead
The Liberty Company Insurance Brokers
Kyle Schielack
Managing Director
Higginbotham
Mark Doscher
Principal
Marsh & McLennan Agency
Michael Malinowski
President and CEO
EHD
Michele Centeno
Senior Vice President
Lockton Companies
Michelle Kellam
Chief Executive Officer
Ware Insurance
Mike Tomasulo
Senior Managing Partner, National Practice Leader
Baldwin Risk Partners
Nick Wichmanowski
Client Advisor
Gulfshore Insurance/Acrisure
Phil Martin
President
HQ Insurance
Phillip Lane
Vice President
Insurance Office of America
PK Rao
Chief Executive Officer
INFPlans.com
Russ Wardlaw
President
Insuramax
Ryan Schmidt
President and Managing Partner
Gulfshore Insurance/Acrisure
Ryan Von Haden
Partner/Vice President
TRICOR Insurance
Sam Sackler
Senior Vice President
FBBINSURANCE
Tim Mooney
Senior Vice President, National Healthcare Services Practice Leader
The Liberty Company Insurance Brokers
Tim Spear
Partner and Client Advisor
Gulfshore Insurance/Acrisure
William Denbo
President
Commercial Insurance Associates
Platinum Retail Brokers
Adam W. Gabler
Senior Vice President, Construction Practice Leader, Southwest
Newfront
Daniel Munro
Owner/Agent
Munro Insurance Services
David DeLorenzo
Owner
Bar and Restaurant Insurance
David Wissel
Commercial Lines Client Advisor and Partner
Gulfshore Insurance/Acrisure
Gregory W. Havemeier
Senior Vice President/Managing Partner
Gulfshore Insurance/Acrisure
Jared Pelissier
Senior Vice President and Partner
Woodruff Sawyer
Jeff Clark Breskin
Vice President
J. Morey & Company
Jeffrey Sanders
Commercial Lines Client Advisor
Gulfshore Insurance/Acrisure
Jim Untiedt
President, PentaRisk Insurance Services
Acrisure Construction Practice Leader
Josh Fagin
Senior Vice President
Heffernan Insurance Brokers
Joshua Morey
Chairperson
Ori-gen Insurance Group
Karl Henley
Executive Vice President/Partner
SeibertKeck Insurance Partners
Mark Doscher
Principal
Marsh & McLennan Agency
Michael Malinowski
President and CEO
EHD
Mike Tomasulo
Senior Managing Partner, National Practice Leader
Baldwin Risk Partners
Nick Wichmanowski
Client Advisor
Gulfshore Insurance/Acrisure
Phil Martin
President
HQ Insurance
PK Rao
Chief Executive Officer
Hop!/INF Plans
Ryan Schmidt
President and Managing Partner
Gulfshore Insurance/Acrisure
Tim Mooney
Senior Vice President, National Healthcare Services Practice Leader
The Liberty Company Insurance Brokers
Tim Spear
Partner and Client Advisor
Gulfshore Insurance/Acrisure
William Denbo
President
Commercial Insurance Associates
