Testimonials
Here's what some of our Renaissance Alliance agents and carrier partners say you can expect if you qualify to join us as and become one of our Constellation Agencies:
EFFICIENCIES
Peter Dignan
Senior Vice President, Marketing and Premium Accounting
Commerce Insurance Company
One of our initial attractions to Renaissance Alliance was the potential for greater efficiencies. As the largest writer of private passenger automobile in Massachusetts, we must be an efficient provider in order to remain competitive and keep rates as low as possible. Both the Renaissance Alliance and Commerce business models are designed to increase efficiencies and reduce costs that will ultimately benefit the Massachusetts automobile insurance consumers. We have worked well with Renaissance to achieve this mutual goal through their centralization management and delivery of services business model.
STRENGTH & VIABILITY
William Anderson
Vice President, Marketing and Integrated Solutions
Main Street America Insurance Group
Our belief is that Renaissance alliance actually makes independents agents stronger and more viable. Our interest in Renaissance Alliance was piqued because their business model was one we hadn't seen before. It was in perfect alignment with our belief that the only way to conduct business is through independent agents. We recognize that due to the changing marketplace, rising costs of automation, and other possible capital needs, many agents face numerous problems that might cause them to be left behind. This was an opportunity to make the distribution channel viable into the future.
I believe Renaissance Alliance is helping change the industry by making independent agents more viable at a time when companies are demanding greater penetration into their agencies. Not all agencies are able to meet these increased carrier demands. Renaissance Alliance allows agents who have built outstanding, highly profitable businesses to protect their customers in their communities. It affords them an outlet to aggregate their premiums and to collectively leverage their opportunities for greater profit-sharing dollars and revenues. Renaissance Alliance also provides mid-size and large agencies access to additional markets and technical expertise they may not currently have. It also offers members the ability to share ideas among a group of highly professional and forward-thinking individuals.
HIGH QUALITY AGENCIES
Mark Sweeney
Vice President, Marketing
Plymouth Rock Assurance Corporation
The fact that Renaissance has brought together such a wide variety of agencies that represent a large volume of business is only half the story; the other half being that the agencies who are constellation agencies, are high-quality agencies that we would like to do business with individually, anyway. So, the fact that RAIS aggregates them, and brings them together, allows us to have a relationship with Renaissance Alliance, and to concentrate on getting a high-quality book of business with high-quality agencies that still have the personal touch in the local community. For us it's the best of both worlds.
EXCEPTIONAL EXPERTISE
David Whelan
Senior Commercial Lines Underwriter
National Grange Mutual Insurance
The level of expertise and professionalism at Renaissance Alliance has been exceptional. Their "straight-line" marketing approach has been a very pleasant change from an underwriter's standpoint. I now have fewer points of contact in processing and reviewing new business and the level of expertise I have in the staff here at Renaissance is exceptional. The benefit is enormous. The straight-line marketing approach makes my job a lot easier rather than dealing with 40 agents separately. There are fewer points of contact, applications are complete for the most part, and the Renaissance Placers know what I am looking for in a commercial lines submission. Generally, when I receive my applications from Renaissance, I'm not going back looking for additional information as much as I would if I was dealing with the 40 agencies individually.
MARKETING FOCUS
Bob Borawski
President
Borawski Insurance - Northampton, MA
Historically, when we marketed an insured's product in our agency, our individual customer service representatives would complete the submissions and submit them to any number of carriers we desired. So, Customer Service Rep A might send applications to six carriers. If we were presented with another account, Customer Service Rep B might send this submission to those same six carriers. There were always a number of moving parts in this scenario. It was very inefficient and an awful lot of work.
Renaissance Alliance has enabled us to funnel and focus our marketing much better. Now, instead of our sending a submission to six carriers, we send it to one place - Renaissance Alliance. They market it for us in order to secure the best possible product for our client. This is far more efficient for us as an individual agency and it saves us a lot of money. Now our customer service reps spend their time servicing the clients. This is what they are supposed to do.
UNPRECENDENTED GROWTH & STABILITY
Allen Rome
President
Rome Insurance Agency - Fitchburg, MA
Renaissance Alliance has given our agency unprecedented growth, stability for our clients and security for our employees. As a Constellation Alliance Agency, we are certain to be in the insurance business for many years into the future. As the owner of the agency I have been relieved of a tremendous anxiety. I would often wake up in the morning saying " Am I going to lose a carrier because I could not meet our volume commitment?" Being a member of the Alliance eliminated the volume concern to a great degree. Being a member of the Alliance has revitalized me. I wake up in the morning, look forward to work and doing what I really do best -servicing my existing clients and soliciting new business. Personally, becoming a member of the Renaissance Alliance has made job more productive, efficient and fun.
SEA CHANGE OF GROWTH AND VISION
Jules Gaudreau
President
The Gaudreau Group - Wilbraham, MA
Our affiliation with Renaissance has been a sea change for our organization. We have now achieved a Five Star agency status awarded by our state's agent association. We are one of the 50 fastest growing businesses in Western Massachusetts. These are all a direct result of our relationship with Renaissance Alliance.
Being a Renaissance Constellation Agency has allowed us to grow very rapidly. This is consistent, sustained growth, and it has been made possible by my ability to focus once again, on selling new accounts and servicing - proactively servicing our existing accounts. From a financial standpoint, membership has been very beneficial. We have better relationships with more carriers and our core carriers also enjoy greater financial success and stability through our Alliance affiliation. So, I feel quite confident moving forward that Renaissance kept its promises to us and fulfilled the vision described to us years ago by bringing great new possibilities to the table for all of us. They have introduced to all our member agencies an even broader vision beyond simply selling insurance products.
FOCUSED DISCIPLINE & PEACE OF MIND
Ernie Bates, Jr.
President
Bates-Fullam Insurance Agency - West Springfield, MA
Looking back after three years, I find Bates Fullam to be a far more disciplined agency. We are more focused; we're more professional because of our relationship with Renaissance; and I think we've just hit the tip of the iceberg. I'm well impressed.
Personally, I know I can get really tied down with the day in and day out routines. If I can look 48 hours ahead, it's a good thing. What's nice for my staff, and me, is that we've got a group of people at Renaissance who are months and years ahead of where we need to be and they will prompt me when to get involved and let me know the contribution I need to make for the benefit of the whole group. So, it's really the peace of mind. I'm truly able to act as an independent agent and serve my clients' best interests within the whole spread of carriers aboard now with Renaissance, and those yet to come in the future. This provides me purely what an independent agent needs and, equally important, brings home the level of professionalism behind the scenes.
BEYOND EXPECTATIONS
Kathy Silvia
Owner
The Fair Insurance Agency, Centerville, MA
When I look back now, I recognize the reasons I initially joined Renaissance Alliance are far different from those I realize today. I label myself as a small agent, although I am probably representative of what makes up the majority of independent agents across the country. So, I originally joined Renaissance for the markets.
Beyond much greater access to markets, I have realized so many more benefits as an Alliance Constellation Agency. The automation is certainly one of them. The software applications available from Renaissance are six steps above what I had before, and it's wonderful. The Alliance systems-support people are great when I run into a problem, they are always there for assistance. The expectations I had for profit share were that they would be greater than I had achieved as a stand-alone agency. Never in my wildest imagination did I see them growing to their present level. For my largest carrier, I have seen a significant increase over what I could have normally received on my own. And being part of the Alliance allows me to deliver more products and enhanced services to my clients. So, it's just been unbelievable.