Providers & Administrators, 1st Qtr 2019

26 P A 1ST QTR 2019 P A hits the road with Bill Kelly of Automotive Development Group a division of Brown Brown Insurance Last year Brown Brown Inc the sixth largest independent insurance brokerage firm in the nation acquired Automotive Development Group the Minneapolis based agency founded by Joel Kansanback in 2002 Bill Kelly joined ADG as a partner in 2004 P A met with Kelly to ask how the deal went down discuss the values that underpin ADGs success and learn why knocking on doors will never go out of style P A Bill were you looking to sell your agency or did the opportunity come out of left field Kelly We really werent looking to sell but the opportunity wasnt totally out of left field I had met Mike Neal from Brown Brown at an industry event He contacted me a few months later to see if he could come sit down with Joel and myself to talk about how we could grow our agency and they could grow their distribution business P A What did they like about your agency Kelly I think they liked the way Joel and I operated the business We take a much different approach to F I than a lot of agents out there We put an emphasis on income development and training and doing a true needs analysis for every dealership We represent a number of administrators and were able to look at which administrator will work best for each dealer P A Does that complicate things Kelly At the beginning some administrators would have preferred we only use them or work with a smaller number But our partners were all doing well They saw Joel and I had great income development in the dealerships We were leading yearover year growth among all agencies for a number of different companies and they started to realize maybe they shouldnt be too upset And thats where Brown Brown saw us moving up the rankings with our carriers at the same time including carriers they were representing It was a natural fit for us Joel and I were operating in 16 states and wondering how to get our training recognized on a national level Doing a strategic partnership with Brown Brown made the most sense for us our employees and our dealers We now have more resources in all aspects everything from employee benefits to garagekeepers insurance We can introduce ourselves as having the ability to give the dealership total coverage Thats the best part about it really Brown Brown has gone out and made other acquisitions but theyre being very selective Its not about trying to get the biggest dollar but trying to find the best fit As the F I world and the automotive world evolve we need to look at where its going to go How are we going to get ready for the changes coming up We felt the best way to be ready for whatever comes at us is being part of a bigger organization With Brown Brown we can handle larger dealer groups and megadealers all the way down to single point stores We already had some groups that operate in four or five different states But the strategic purchases Brown Brown has made in Texas Boston Minneapolis and Ohio are really giving us a larger footprint P A Does having to answer to new partners change the way you run the business An Interview With Bill Kelly DEPT MEET THE EXECUTIVE By Tariq Kamal Bill Kelly is a partner with Joel Kansanback in Automotive Development Group a Minneapolis based agency that now enjoys the financial backing of Brown Brown Inc Photo courtesy Automotive Development Group