Rancho Mesa's Alyssa Burley and Client Communications Coordinator Megan Lockhart sit down to discuss how the company has been awarded the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America's (IIABA or Big “I”) Best Practices Agency designation for the eighteenth consecutive year.

Show Notes: ⁠⁠⁠Subscribe to Rancho Mesa's Newsletter⁠⁠⁠.

Director/Host: ⁠⁠⁠Alyssa Burley⁠⁠⁠

Guest: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Megan Lockhart⁠

Producer/Editor: ⁠Harriet Berholtz⁠

Music: "Home" by JHS Pedals, “News Room News” by Spence

© Copyright 2024. Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc. All rights reserved.

Transcript

Alyssa Burley: Hi, this is Alyssa Burley with Rancho Mesa's Media Communications and Client Services Department. Thank you for listening to today's top Rancho Mesa news, brought to you by our Safety and Risk Management Network, StudioOne.

Welcome back, everyone. My guest is Megan Lockhart, Client Communications Coordinator with Rancha Mesa. Today we'll be talking about the Best Practices Agency designation Rancho Mesa has just earned for the 18th consecutive year. Megan, welcome to the show.

Megan Lockhart: Thanks for having me, Alyssa.

AB: Now, each year, the Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of America, also known as Big I, chooses a select group of insurance agencies for this award. And, Rancho Mesa has now been chosen 18 years in a row. And, as you can imagine, we're really proud of this.

So, Megan, what is the process for determining which agencies will be awarded this distinguished honor?

ML: Yeah, so annually, the Big I analyzes the methods, practices, financials of over 2,600 independent insurance agencies in the nation. And in the 2024 study, only 235 independent agencies qualified or retained their best practices agency status. So, out of the roughly 35 ,000 independent insurance agencies in the U.S., Rancho Mesa is among the 235 to earn the best practices status.

AB: So, I know that there are many business awards out there, magazine publishers, websites, and even other agencies promote possible awards that businesses can win. What makes this award so special and unique?

ML: I'm glad you asked that, Alyssa. You know, sometimes awards that are published are purchased by companies as an advertising tactic to promote business. However, the National Best Practices Agency Award cannot be purchased. In order to win, an agency must first be nominated, then submit detailed financial and operational information, which is analyzed, scored, and ranked objectively based on operational excellence. And, some of these operational excellence factors include outstanding customer service, gross, stability, and financial management. And the agency must be among the 35 to 45 top performing agencies in its revenue category to be awarded the best practices status.

AB: Yeah, that's a great point. And, it's the reason we'd like to announce that we've earned this award. Not only does it prove that we're doing things right over here and the service that we give our clients, but we also help set the standard of excellence for insurance agencies across the country.

ML: Yeah, that's, that's right. The data collected from the best practices independent insurance agencies are used to establish benchmarks in which other agencies can measure their performance and adjust their business based on the best practices guidelines established, really from us.

AB: Very true. And this data is published each year. And, the study for 24 should be available later this year.

So, Megan, if listeners have questions about what it takes to be a best practices agency or what our agency offers, where can they find that information?

ML: Yeah, they can visit the Big I website to learn more about the standards we must uphold in order to get this award, or they can visit our Rancho Mesa website to see what we offer.

AB: All right. Well, Megan, thank you for sharing all of this information and joining me in StudioOne.

ML: Of course. Thanks, Alyssa.

AB: This is Alyssa Burley with Rancho Mesa. Thanks for tuning in to our latest episode produced by StudioOne. For more information, visit us at RanchoMesa .com and subscribe to our weekly newsletter.