First Baldwin Insurance – exciting news!

Dear Friends and Business Partners:

First Baldwin Insurance’s relentless pursuit of delivering quality risk management, peace of mind and excellent customer service has again not gone unnoticed.

In 2015, First Baldwin Insurance was recognized by Business Alabama magazine and the Auburn University Raymond J. Harbert College of Business as one of the fastest growing companies for exceptional revenue growth. In 2016 Warren Averett CPAs and Advisors again extended an invitation to First Baldwin Insurance to compete in the Top Tigers program for this honor.

While we look forward to sharing our ranking with you in April, I want to share some insight about how we’ve positioned First Baldwin Insurance to receive recognition like this and prepare us for future success.

Team Expansion
Since January 4, 2016, First Baldwin Insurance has hired five agents formerly working with direct writers, one from a financial services company and two recently licensed. All bring a desire to provide quality risk management that protects clients and families, which is very well-representative of First Baldwin Insurance’s service-minded focus. That’s just one indication that our recruiting efforts have been outstanding. We are receiving more calls and resumes –even on a weekly basis– from individuals seeking a career that will grow along with a progressive company like ours. Today, First Baldwin Insurance is staffed with 19 licensed agents and several operations personnel, but expanding our team will continue to be a focus as we prepare to capture opportunities provided by population growth, the abundance of new home starts, and the presence of new businesses in our local area and beyond.

Professional Development
First Baldwin Insurance has a strong commitment to education. We have a goal of developing a staff of skilled risk managers to protect our customers, their personal and business assets, and their future earnings. We have a growing number of commercial clients in Alabama and surrounding areas, so to better serve them, three of our agent producers have entered a 30-week course with Liberty Mutual Insurance. A fourth agent will enter the Liberty Mutual Insurance course later this year. Upon completion and passing the required exams, these agents will earn an Accredited Advisor in Insurance designation, which only certain top industry leaders achieve. In addition, four licensed account managers and our accounting coordinator have finished an eight-week self-improvement course designed to enhance communication skills, accelerate problem resolution and manage stress. And finally, our longtime operations consultant from Boston, MA spent time at the agency last month providing continuing education training on risk management and customer service. She will return to the agency one more time before the end of 2016.

Agency Growth
Over the next 14 months, we’re expecting to exceed $10,000,000 in organic premium growth. We have developed a skilled team of individuals committed to providing a high level of customer service to our clients and referral partners. Though our infrastructure is much like that of a large insurance conglomerate, we have a nimble frame that allows us to respond more efficiently and effectively than our competitors. In 2015, we expanded our operations to include licensing in Florida, Mississippi and Louisiana as we pursue growth on the commercial side. We want to continue this expansion, and we are currently looking for opportunities to acquire and operate agencies in Alabama and Florida.

To date, First Baldwin Insurance has served more than 5,400 individuals, families and business owners, and placed more than $750,000,000 in insurable interests with our carriers and brokers. We have a solid understanding of what the consumer needs, and that drives our intention to expand to new markets and build relationships with new businesses and companies.

We are proud of what we’ve accomplished as an agency, but we continue to focus on the future. Our goals are fueled by providing quality insurance coverage and customer service to our residential and commercial clients and business referral partners.

But without the partnership of referral partners, business partners and carriers, our growth and our recognition for those efforts would not be nearly what we had envisioned. Thank you for your confidence in First Baldwin Insurance. We look forward to a mutually beneficial relationship in the future.

Best Regards,

Jeff Powell Agency Principal First Baldwin Insurance