Hybrid Insurance Group, a start-up brokerage that targets accounts with premiums of $100,000 or less, plans to grow by servicing the hard-to-place business clients of each retail agent customer.
Specialty brokers generally clamor for large clients, allocate resources to big accounts that can fetch $70,000 premiums and chase renewals. But Hybrid targets business customers that have smaller insurance needs, said Earl O’Garro, Jr., the Windsor firm’s chief executive officer and president.
Instead of underwriting one $10,000 policy, O’Garro says he would rather process 10 accounts worth $1,000 each. By doing this, he believes Hybrid is tapping an overlooked market ripe with opportunities.
“A business focused on creating a strong foundation made up of 10 $1,000 accounts as opposed to one $10,000 premium account is more effective and stable over time,” said O’Garro. “This integral factor is what sets Hybrid apart from many competing insurance brokerage firms.”
Hybrid’s core areas include contract binding, property insurance, casualty business and general liability coverage.
“We provide the same products other companies offer,” said O’Garro. “The difference with Hybrid is in the strong relationships we form with our clients and our understanding of how small business works.”
Technology plays a big role in Hybrid’s success.
“We’re built for speed and efficiency,” said O’Garro. “Our goal is to reduce downtime and make sure our clients have the information they need quickly.”
The live chat feature on the company’s website appeals to younger, tech-savvy clients who want instant communication, said O’Garro.
In addition to insurance agents, the company relies on a staff of IT workers and programmers who automate everything from the application process to managing accounts.
Hybrid says it responds to customer inquiries by close of business that day as long as the company receives the request by 4 p.m., otherwise the company promises to provide status updates by noon the next day, said O’Garro.
“It’s important that we provide an answer they can use and to follow through what we promise,” said O’Garro. “I believe a quick ‘no’ is better than a long ‘yes’.”
So far, the strategy is paying off for the broker. Hybrid started doing business in April and has grown to nearly 20 employees and underwritten $8 million worth of policies.
O’Garro said Hybrid’s early success exceeds his expectations. He expects business to grow 10 percent over the next year as the company looks outside Connecticut for expansion opportunities.
“At the end of the day we are a results based organization, so we need to make sure that we’re not confusing activity with productivity,” said O’Garro.
“This idea that because we’re doing something then ultimately it’s productive is not always the case,” he said.
“Because I’m aware of that, I can see it coming and minimize the effect that it has on me and consequently my team,” said O’Garro. “As a leader, being able to identify stress points and minimize their affects on your business is important.”
The idea for Hybrid came from a private equity firm, which typically invests around $1 million to start specialty insurance businesses. O’Garro, who wouldn’t disclose any details about the investors, said they contacted him last year about starting the company.
O’Garro, 27, got his start in the insurance business nine years ago when he went to work for S.H. Smith & Company, one of the largest insurance firms in Connecticut.
While O’Garro worked his way up the ranks through various leadership positions, he earned a bachelor’s degree at Wesleyan University and an MBA in insurance and finance from The Barney School of Business.
O’Garro was a division manager when he quit his job in December to take on Hybrid. He says the position prepared him to launch the new company, taught him the value of building strong relationships with peers and how to manage teams.
“I’ve hired a team that can work autonomously and enjoys working that way and I trust their decision making ability. In situations when they are in a bind, no pun intended, they come into my office and we figure it out,” said O’Garro. “A team approach to managing is effective in our office, I don’t have all the answers but collectively we always find an answer.”
He says the experience also gave him the tools he needs to succeed with clients and especially competitors.
For example, O’Garro recently brokered coverage for a hard-to-place small business client, but even after he secured the quote, the executive felt there was a better program available with a competitor, so he made a connection between the two and gave up the sale.
“It was the right thing to do,” he said. “Our clients trust us to do the right thing for them. We are their advocate and we have a responsibility to make sure they get the best product.”
