When insurance competitors merge they get more know-how, visibility

BOULDER – Maybe there is strength in numbers – even a small number like two. That’s the lesson Gary Meyers and Elizabeth Dining learned when it comes to the insurance business.

Two years ago Meyers and Dining, both competitors who owned agencies (Meyers of Meyers & Co. Insurance, and Dining of Adaptive Insurance Consultants), decided to merge their experience and know-how into one company – MeyersDining Insurance in Boulder.

How did that decision change business?

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Expenses went down, and business went up. “Business is very good. We’ve grown quite a bit since our merger,” Dining says.

MeyersDining Insurance has 400 groups covering 9,500 employees. The company itself has 17 employees, including seven salespeople, and $35 million in sales.

From a birds-eye view, it looks as two pieces of a puzzle came together. “It was an easy fit,” Dining says. “I didn’t have what he had, and he didn’t have what I had.”

Before the merger Meyers had 250 groups covering 8,200 employees.

Dining started her insurance career 17 years ago when she sold one individual policy to a friend and then cold-called local businesses to sell group policies. She eventually grew the company to 650 individual customers and more than 200 group clients.

As a pair, they now offer more lines of coverage: large and small groups: property and casualty for commercial clients; individual medical, home and auto insurance.

“It came down to more resources and more knowledge and more lines to sell,” Dining says. “Now it’s really kind of an A to Z thing. It’s nice and it works.”

The merger also made Dining and Meyers’ blip on the radar more noticeable.

“Carriers now approach us,” Dining says. “Because of our size, we have more resources available to us. And we’re bidding on groups that have typically been dealing with larger brokerage houses. More and more companies are calling us. There’s more visibility, and our name is out there more.”

The company is growing beyond Boulder. The principals are looking at launching an ad campaign in Denver in the spring.

On the personality side, Dining says their differences benefit the combined business. “We are different, but different in a good way that complements one other.” Dining says.

“We have different styles of selling and managing. We have different ways of approaching things, but it all meshes well.”

Premiums continue to go up, so the challenge for insurance brokers is to find custom-made packages for each client.

“All clients want and need something different,” Dining says. “So our job is not just shopping the plans but also communicating the plans.”

Dining’s advice to other small companies thinking of merging: “The first thing and the most important is to make sure you like what you do. And find a partner you respect and trust. You can bet that any buttons that can get pushed will get pushed. There are compromises to be made. But in exchange, you have a team and a partner you can fall back on.”

She also recommends getting a clear vision of what you both want to create.

What does the future look like for MeyersDining? “Our growth could be limitless, as long as the quality of our work doesn’t suffer,” Dining says. “We’re not just looking to be a 100-person company. We don’t want to be impersonal or pass customers along to an 800 number.”

In the insurance industry, brokers have access to the same carriers, so to stand out from the competition it comes down to how you manage your agency, she says.

“Our vision is to do it with service and real people who develop relationships with clients. And then we add technology and systems that are up to date, then you can take care of all your clients’ needs in a way they don’t even expect.”

MeyersDining

Insurance
3223 Arapahoe Ave. Ste. 300
Boulder, CO 80303
303-443-1586
www.meyersdining.com
Gary Meyers, Elizabeth Dining, co-owners
Employees: 17
Primary product or service: Insurance
Founded: 2005