by Matthew Davis MBA, CPCU, AAI | GDI Insurance, Personal
THE MANY ADVANTAGES OF YOUTH SPORTS PARTICIPATION
Young athletes cite having fun, learning new skills, making friends and feeling successful as some of the reasons why they partake in sports. But the benefits of youth sports go much further than this.
Sports offer a specialized arena where youth can demonstrate their talents and hone their skills. In fact, participating in sports is physically, socially, cognitively and psychologically engaging. Children are working together with others toward a common goal—not just with teammates, but coaches, families and the community as well.
PHYSICAL BENEFITS
Fitness: Kids develop a high level of fitness that is good for their health, while having fun.
Stress relief: Partaking in sports allows kids to clear their heads. Because of this stress relief, many students perform better when they are involved in sports.
Master skills: Kids develop athletic talents while also learning that practice improves skills. The idea that practice leads to improvement provides children with a sense of ownership of their successes.
Healthy lifestyle choices: The most valuable tool used in sports is one’s own body. Because of this, many young athletes tend to refrain from using drugs, drinking alcohol and smoking because they do not want to harm their bodies or their performance.
PERSONAL BENEFITS
Valuing practice and preparation: Participating in sports shows kids that self-discipline and practice yield positive results. Practicing also explores alternative ways of doing something to achieve better results.
Resiliency: Sports teaches kids about losing, disappointment and moving on from negative experiences.
Controlling perspectives: Athletes learn to be confident in themselves and their abilities.
Leadership: Athletes have the opportunity to serve as leaders of their peers, which teaches them valuable skills for the future.
Identity: Kids on sports teams learn to both identify with the team and to also establish a personal identity.
Time management: Since sports are time-consuming, athletes must learn how to balance them with school priorities and family commitments. This can help make children better able to prioritize their own lives.
SOCIAL BENEFITS
Establishing relationships: Young athletes learn how to form strong bonds with others as they compete and train with one another.
Teamwork: Kids learn that cooperation with others is the key to achieving goals. They also learn to put aside differences and work together to achieve a common goal.
Diversity: The sporting arena is a great place to engage with people from diverse backgrounds and cultures.
Developing relationships with adults: Engaging with coaches and teammates’ parents allows young athletes to develop social skills in meeting and talking to adults.
Being part of the community: Often sports teams are a central part of the community. Being a part of the team allows athletes to be active members of the community at an early age.
BENEFITS FOR FEMALES
Female athletes especially benefit from participating in youth sports as young children. The President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports attributes sports to increasing self-esteem and confidence, leading to a healthy body image and reduced risk of chronic diseases.
Also, female athletes tend to do better in school, drop out of school less, are less likely to smoke and are less likely to become pregnant as young women than those that do not participate in sports.
MAINTAINING A LIFE BALANCE
Despite all the benefits of sports on a young person’s life, there are drawbacks that parents should be aware of:
- Children developing a “win at all costs” mentality
- Sports taking over as the number one priority in a child’s life
- Children feeling so much pressure to perform well that they neglect injuries and/or other priorities
- Children sometimes develop a negative attitude towards non-athletic peers and/or opponents
Thinking back to my experiences being involved in youth sports (Baseball, Soccer & Football), I am a firm believer in the benefits children get from such activities. And I would recommend that each child be given the opportunity to participate in such activities.
Matthew Davis MBA, AAI
by Matthew Davis MBA, CPCU, AAI | GDI Insurance, Insurance
GDI Insurance Announces Acquisition of Paragon Insurance Services California Operations
Turlock, CA, Release Date: April 16, 2018. For Immediate Release
GDI Insurance Agency, Inc. (“GDI”) has announced today it’s acquisition of Paragon Insurance Services (“Paragon”) in Folsom, CA. GDI has acquired the California operations of Paragon in an effort to both enhance the product and service offering to clients of both.
GDI Insurance Agency, Inc., founded in 1989, is a leading provider of both Insurance and Risk Management, consistently delivering unsurpassed programs to its clients. GDI’s team is focused on its clients and each member prides themselves on delivering value in the best interest of the client.
“The addition of Paragon to GDI’s operations will enable increases in both quality and efficiency in the manner with which we deliver services to our clients. With a track record of strong and consistent performance, Paragon was a no-brainer to have become part of the GDI family,” shared Matthew Davis, President of GDI.
The joining of the two operations will enable much needed depth and redundancy to both operations, while enhancing the client service delivered. The Paragon offices in Folsom will continue to operate as the leadoff point for clients of both GDI and Paragon, focusing primarily on the client.
More information about GDI Insurance Agency, Inc, GDI’s locations, and more can be found on the company’s website: https://gdiinsurance.com
Contact info:
Matthew Davis, President
GDI Insurance Agency, Inc.
801 Geer Road, Turlock, CA 95380
888-991-2929
by Matthew Davis MBA, CPCU, AAI | Business Insurance, Cyber Liability, Insurance
Internet-related liabilities are present whether your company simply has e-mail or is actively involved in e-commerce. Do you have the appropriate e-liability insurance coverage?
Who Needs a Cyber Liability Plan or E-Liability Insurance? Almost EVERYONE!
Assumptions have been made that a traditional comprehensive Commercial General Liability (CGL) policy will afford you coverage for business interruption, intellectual property damage and similar losses. And because “property damage,” covered under CGL policies, has been traditionally defined as a physical injury to tangible property, some courts have even ruled that “physical loss or damage” includes computer-information related losses. Insurers are avoiding liability by including specific exclusions and requiring endorsements for this coverage.
However, insurance carriers are now becoming savvy in the technology industry. Product offerings are greater. We are seeing a plethora of cyber insurance and e-liability insurance products. Knowing the ins and outs of each product will be key in proper policy selection. That’s where GDI Insurance Agency, Inc. can assist you, providing its expertise so you have the appropriate coverage to match your risk management needs.
What is Cyber Liability Insurance?
Cyber liability coverage may include an e-comprehensive policy. This policy may cover losses caused by fraudulent modification, accidental alteration or destruction to all electronically stored information. In addition, losses caused by malicious copying of trade secrets, extortion and introduction of a virus could be covered.
Media liability addresses the losses associated with libel, slander, and invasion of privacy and infringement of copyrights.
This may be needed, especially if your employees are given access to e-mail capabilities and Internet access. E-mail is an essential tool of today’s fast-paced business culture. However, messages taken out of context may cause difficulty. Establish an e-mail usage policy and educate employees on the proper use of e-mails and surfing the Net.
Defend against loss or damage caused by viruses with specialty computer virus transmission coverage. Along these lines, there is unauthorized access and use coverage, which insures against losses when third party information is stolen.
Each carrier’s Internet-related insurance products need to be closely scrutinized to determine what they will and will not cover, and who will pay the defense expenses.
Your company may also be entitled to rehabilitation expenses to re-establish your reputation and market share after a loss.
One other detail that we look at is whether the policy itself is a claims made or an occurrence policy. Claims made policies will only cover losses that are made and reported during that policy period. If this is the case, an extended reporting period (ERP) may need to be negotiated.
E-commerce presents today’s risk managers with new challenges—this brochure only scratches the surface. To ensure the success of your e-commerce initiatives, GDI Insurance Agency, Inc. recommends a comprehensive risk assessment be conducted to identify potential gaps and inappropriate levels of coverage.
Contact GDI Insurance Agency, Inc. to further discuss your e-liability insurance and the products available to minimize your risk. 1-209-634-2929
by Matthew Davis MBA, CPCU, AAI | Insurance
How do you stack up to your competition?
Many in the insurance industry complain that the competition is brutal, unfair, or that the larger and more established firms have all the advantages. To these complainers I would argue that they need to stop complaining and increase your own competitive edge. The more established firms have the advantages not because of their age, but because they built their organizations like a building – one brick at a time. Their age is a benefit only in that they’ve had more time to build.
I’m a proponent of working SMARTER before you work harder. Here are a few ideas to kick around when you feel you are behind your competition…
- Why reinvent the wheel if you an awesome one already exists?
- Where is the industry going and how can I be the first one there?
- What will the customer expect next and how can I be the one to give it to them?
One of the biggest advantages that newer and smaller agencies have is that they can be – if they are willing – to be the nimblest in the industry. Just think of how hard it would be to implement something as simple as electronic signatures to 100+ users in your organization and then to monitor to make sure their usage is in accordance with agency policy. Now contrast that to a 3-5 employee agency where such implementation, training, etc. can be handled within minutes of the decision to implement the new workflow – Now that’s an AWESOME advantage!
What do TOP PERFORMING Insurance Agencies do that that smaller agencies do not?
Larger and more established agencies typically have set processes and procedures in place and the adherence to them is mandated and monitored in an almost militant fashion – everyone performs the same functions and/or tasks the same way every time. And the BEST agencies then continually review and collect feedback on their processes to improve and implement better processes in a continual cycle. Some such processes include:
- Fully Utilized and INTEGRATED Agency Management System(s)
- Workflows that are standardized throughout disciplines and across the organization
- Ancillary functions integrate and are intertwined with service system – Reception (phones, fax, etc.), Accounting, Document Management, etc.
Nobody should be intimidated by the above items as the smaller the agency, the easier it is to implement changes to meet or beat the current “best practices”. And even “best practices” are somewhat subjective as they are usually a minimum of 1-2 years out date and are based on voluntary participants that are voluntarily providing the information. Paradigm shift or what are known as market or industry disruptions are seldom created by the leaders in a specific industry, rather they are created by the smaller, many times newer, and almost always more nimble and agile entrants.
Other areas where the larger agencies have advantage are:
- Higher and Steadier Commission Rates
- Favorable and/or Maximized Contingency Income (Profit Sharing, Bonuses, Etc.)
- Advertising Funds on co-op and/or first dollar basis
- Subject Matter Expertise in house
- Stronger Carrier & Vendor relationships – they have more zeros behind their figures so they get more face-time with higher-ups at the insurance companies and with vendors.
- Fully staffed service units, accounting, and other specialties
How can my agency compete with the “Big Guys”?
Competing with the “Big Guy” competitors in the marketplace isn’t about being as good as they are, but about being different and more desirable than they are.
Being that revenue is tighter for smaller agencies as carrier contracts typical pay lower commission rates and lower contingency/profit sharing amounts to those with smaller books of business, it is important to maximize the utility of every dollar spent. It also helps to look to merge or partner with an organization that allows you to benefit from operational cost efficiencies and obtaining a more favorable commission contract.
I’m a believer that contingency revenue as it has historically been viewed will continue to be squeezed until it is no longer a meaningful part of an agency owner’s income. It will be converted to incentive payments based on not just growth and profitability, but on how the agency has helped the carrier meet its immediate objectives. As a smaller organization you will be speaking with carriers in terms of smaller dollar amounts and this is to your advantage. Many times you will be able to get an “X” percent bonus approved by your carrier partner for this or that type of new business whereas the larger competitors are not given the same latitude.
The Benefits of Automation
When it comes to automation you’re damned if you do in the short term and ABSOLUTELY damned if you don’t in the long term. Many argue that they cannot afford a top of the line system or that they don’t need it and to each I call bull****. Paper file agencies are dying off faster than the dinosaurs following the meteor crash and those on archaic systems will be soon to follow. This is an area that is well worth the investment and is MANDATORY if you’re looking to build an enterprise.
Some of the largest and most successful agencies that I’ve seen are unfortunately also the organizations that have automated and compartmentalized so much of the work that their people – the assets of the business that can do both the most harm and the most good – no longer think about their job. This means that they do not provide the benefit to the agency of recommending process improvements. As we grow our agencies we need to remember that it is supremely important to grow and nurture our people as much if not more than we do any other part of our organizations. In the end it is our people that sell, service and retain our clients for us. One good way to think about people is to look at other assets you have in your life… Do you have the least expensive car? Do you have a 5 year old flip phone or are you chomping at the bit to buy the latest iPhone? Now having thought of that, would you ever pay the least in your industry or area for your people? I think not, but that is what many of the larger agencies are doing and where we as the more agile and free thinking agencies can take advantage.
I am truly excited to be in our industry at this time and my only concern is that there is so much opportunity that I don’t want to get sidetracked from my goals.
Matthew Davis, MBA, CPCU, AAI
by Matthew Davis MBA, CPCU, AAI | GDI Insurance, Human Resources
Does Your Agency Culture SUPPORT or
UNDERMINE Your Strategy?
I recently posted on Social Media one of the COOLEST and most AMAZING compliments our agency has had…
“Just had one of the greatest compliments to our staff and GDI as a whole!!!
A new client sincerely asked to meet with me to specifically discuss our hiring practices. Our team member was understandably nervous in relaying the message to me, especially since he was in the lobby waiting for me. He looked me in the eye and asked me how we go about hiring.
I asked him why (not knowing if was for a positive or negative reason for his request).
He said that he’s had nothing but great experience with everyone he’s met on our team and that he’d like to do some of what we’re doing as it pertains to hiring in his own business.”
It Has NOT Always Been This Great
I returned to our family’s agency after a 4-year hiatus in May of 2010. I remember vividly walking in about 2 months after my return with my head down and thinking that returning to the insurance industry (specifically the family agency) may well have been the worst career move I could have made. The reason for this thinking was due to the agency’s culture.
To get an idea of the agency culture at the time we need to look at the prior few years that led to the mid-2010 agency I walked in to – in the years leading up to the financial meltdown of 2007/2008 our agency was heavily weighted toward clients in and around the residential construction market. When I went down, so did our revenue and by mid-2010 the agency moral was tapped out and many of the team were on the verge of burnout.
The moral was so bad that I (the owner’s son at the time) didn’t even want to go to work – so how was I supposed to expect our team to be excited about it?
The FIX
I’d love to say that it was by the stroke of intelligence, business savvy, or some other innate quality of mine that we turned our moral (and agency as a whole) around, but honestly it wasn’t my doing.
We started off by having a revolving door of employees for a period of time which luckily led to some really beneficial hires. With these new hires putting their faith in our management we began the arduous task of identifying the “target” for our hiring.
We made the initial mistake of taking too much time filtering and not enough time meeting candidates, once we flipped that over and started meeting them we found the foundation for our winning process.
FIT & ATTITUDE
We then look for qualities and abilities that are aligned with the position we’re looking to fill. And the most important two are ALWAYS: (1) Will they fit with our organization based on their attitude/personality, and (2) are the WILLING to learn?
The BEST Strategy will fall flat without supportive Agency Culture
Our staff now does more than they ever have and routinely surpass the plans we as ownership put forth and base our agency goals upon.
Now that our Agency Culture is aligned with our Strategy, we’re in a winning mode!
I am thankful for our stellar team and am excited to see where we can go from here.
Matthew Davis, MBA, CPCU, AAI
