Highlights - Acuity

4SERVICE THAT’Sin VALUABLEMany thanks and congratulations to thefollowing individuals recently celebratingemployment anniversaries:(l to r): Bob Prochaska, Joyce Morgan,Kevin Raeder, Ann Slife, Fran Fabian25 years:Ruth Berger - Commercial Underwriter15 years:Kevin Raeder - Senior CommercialUnderwriter10 years:Jill Belonger - Customer Service Rep -Endorsement Processing5 years:Kevin Beasley - Senior Claims Rep - OHFran Fabian - Customer Service Rep 2Bob Prochaska - Programmer AnalystAnn Slife - Staff Accountant2 years:Joyce Morgan - Policy AssemblerDennis Parish - Senior CommercialUnderwriterLona Platner - Customer Service Rep - ClaimsPeter Wilhelm - Senior CommercialUnderwriter - WI(l to r): Ruth Berger, Lona Platner,Jill Belonger, Dennis ParishSTAFFin TRANSITDue to internal reorganization, many staffmembers received new job titles.These include:CommercialServiceRepresentative 4Kim HoitinkRoxanne LensmireDeb TenHaken-EhrenCommercialServiceRepresentative 3Deb ChvarakLinda JetzerMelissa HammerLisa KuehlSue MinnehanKatie NitschSara SchobertKari SteffenShirley BastMary LewandoskeAngie JacquartPeggy LauersdorfJane LydolphNancy VogelLynn BrunnbauerMargaret FreeJane ThomasCommercialServiceRepresentative 2Donna SchmitzDeb CarlJessicaLewandoskeAmy MeissnerSharon PetersonMissy ReinekingDana DasslerSkye SobergGeriAnn VandeVissePhyllis HendrikseFran FabianJen KawczynskiTeresa LettJoan McMurrayBarb RogersCommercialServiceRepresentative 1Alice LaChapelleShelly FischerLori GierkeBarb KelmJoyce McCoyKristine SchwochMichelle StangelConnie TrempeCommercialServicesRepresentativeCoordinatorJane BehrendtBarb LahtiDocument/TranscriptionProcessorRuth GreenSarah AndersonRosa MartinezKaren QuickerTracy StauberTerri NischikThe followingstaff membersalso receivednew titles:Mary Jane Dassler- Imaging OperatorAdam Norlander- AccountingManagerAnn Slife- Senior StaffAccountant -ReportingMichelleMolkenthine- Senior StaffAccountantTrisha Propson- Senior InsideClaims RepSam McClone- Senior InsideClaimsRepresentativeFinally, thefollowing staffmembers weretransferred tonew positions:Kim Zimmerman -from Marketing toSecretary IV inExecutive/AdministrativeDepartmentLinda Engel - fromCommercial LinesQuote/ApplicationOperator to MarketingClerk IICorporate Lawyer BringsDual Perspective to ACUITYIf you’re looking for Weldon Zufelt,you best first try his office at 630Riverfront Drive in Sheboygan. He readilyadmits that the demands of his law practice,which he founded in 1988, have kept hisdaily calendar full for the past 14 years.“Those years have gone by very quickly!” helaughs.Zufelt, a member of ACUITY’s Board ofDirectors since 2001, has spent his entirelegal career in corporate law. However, heactually came to specialize in this area inpart due to his service in the armed forces.After earning his law degree from theUniversity of Utah, Zufelt was drafted into theArmy and spent his tour of duty in Germany.Returning home, he found a position as legal counsel for the DefenseSupply Center in Cleveland, Ohio.The experience he gained there in dealing with government contractseventually led him to the Kohler Company in Kohler,Wisconsin, where he served as General Counsel for several years. In1983, he left Kohler to join the legal staff of another area manufacturer,the Vollrath Company, where he was General Counsel andSecretary.A few years later, however, Vollrath began to decentralize itsoperations and sell off various subsidiary companies, eliminatingtheir need for a centralized legal staff. Rather than seeing careermisfortune, Zufelt recognized opportunity.“I realized that Vollrath would have as much, if not more, needfor legal counsel as a decentralized company as they had before,”he explains. He quickly networked with the new heads of the variouscompanies and secured work with them as anindependent counsel. As a result, in 1988 he openedthe doors to his own firm.Over the years, Zufelt’s client base has grownto include many area firms, and his focus hasremained in corporate law. “People think of corporatelaw in terms of forming corporations andgetting operations off the ground,” he says.“However, my area of specialization hasalways been the ongoing operations of thefirm. That’s kept my relationships withclients strong over time.”Weldon ZufeltDIRECTORin SIDERBuilding those relationships is what Zufeltfinds most fulfilling about his work. “As a generalcounsel, involved in the day-in, day-outoperations of a business, you become more ofa trusted partner in their operations. It’s notjust point problem solving,” he explains. “I’vehad many client calls where I’ve done as muchcounseling about the operations of the businessas I have about legal matters, and that’sextremely gratifying.”A Dual ConnectionOne of those client relationships has beenwith ACUITY. “There are obviously insurancespecificaspects to ACUITY’s operations, but ata fundamental level, they’re still a businessdealing with the myriad of legal issues thatbusinesses contend with,” he explains. Those have included suchissues as purchasing, employee relations, and contracts.Additionally, Zufelt has found his knowledge of the inner workingsof ACUITY’s business helpful to his service on the Board, andvice-versa. “It’s always helpful to understand the company and itsgoals,” he explains, adding that there are challenges to this dualcapacity as well. “You need to wear one hat for your work as alawyer, and one for your work as a Director, since the two rolesrequire approaching problems from vastly different perspectives.”Zufelt serves on Boards of Directors at several other of his corporateclients. Doing so has given him a good point of comparisonfor ACUITY’s operations. “The strength of ACUITY is, and always hasbeen, the people who work here across all levels of line and management,”he says. “I’ve been impressed with the caliber of peoplehere from day one.”Though Zufelt’s schedule leaves him with little freetime, he makes a point to stay connected with hisfamily. He and his wife, Alene, have four grown children,Eric, Brady, Jill, and Cathy, and two grandchildren,as well as a contingent of relatives in hishome state of Utah.“I guess that one of these years, I probablyshould take up golf,” he says, but adds that hehas no regrets about his busy work schedule. “Ifeel fortunate to be involved in a career thatgives me so much satisfaction.”5in FOCUS O ctober.2002in FOCUS O ctober.2002

When Roger Arnoldy joined theMarshfield Insurance Agency in1984 as a producer and part owner, thefirm consisted of just two other staff membersand was primarily a life and healthinsurance agency. “We had just $20,000 inP&C commissions at the time, and we definitelyhad a lack of companies to represent,”recalls Roger, who brought a P&Cbackground to the agency. “It was barelyenough to pay the rent.”Despite these challenges, however,Roger set out to build up the agency’s P&Cbook and, four years later, agreed to purchasethe remainder of the agency tobecome its sole owner. “Looking back, Iwonder how we even made it past thosefirst few years,” he says.But make it they did. Today, the agencyemploys a staff of 20 and is now the largest independent agency inMarshfield. Current owners of the firm include Roger, his wifeBonnie Arnoldy, and their brother-in-law, John Southworth.Reaching the level of success the agency enjoys today didn’tcome easily. “In the first years, we“were purely focused on survival,”says Roger. “We simply worked harderand longer than most people. Wemade a lot of calls, and had a lot of doors shutin our face. But eventually, we developed a reputationthat got us in more doors than wereclosed.”That reputation is one of service, something that every agencystrives for and promises but which the Marshfield Agency hasensured in part by limiting its geographic reach to within a short distanceof Marshfield. “When a policyholder calls with a claim, someonefrom the agency is out there within five minutes,” Roger says.“We couldn’t do that if our accounts were 100 miles away.”People PowerAGENCYin SIDERHusband-Wife Team RevitalizesWisconsin AgencyNEW HIREin DUCTIONWelcome to the following individuals whorecently joined the ACUITY team:In the early evening of Monday, September 2, a tornado tore throughLadysmith, Wisconsin, one of four to touch down in Wisconsin that day but alsothe most damaging. Fortunately, there were no fatalities, although dozens of peoplewere injured and property damage was substantial.With severe storm and tornado warnings in effect that afternoon, ACUITY’s catastropheresponse had already begun to prepare before the tornado developed, and fieldadjusters were put on alert. By first light on Tuesday morning, claims teams were onroute to the area.Also that morning, our Central Claims staff at CorporateHeadquarters put their disaster plans into motion. Rather thanwait for policyholders to report their claims, we began makingcalls to every insured in the affected area and triaging claims.When insurance agencies themselves may be damaged by astorm, this practice is particularly important.At the same time, our field adjusters were canvassing thecommunity, inspecting properties door-to-door and attemptingto contact insureds who couldn’t be reached by telephone. By Wednesday, all emergentclaims were well in progress and, by Friday, every total loss had been assessed.We’re thankful that no loss of life resulted from this storm, and are proud to helpthe residents of Ladysmith in their ongoing efforts to rebuild their community.6 Roger also attributes the success of the agency to the staff the Far from charging blindly into other territories, the agency plans7firm has been able to attract and retain over time. “We have a verygood group, and very little turnover, he says.” He also credits Bonniewith taking care of the day-to-day operations of the firm and allowinghim to focus on sales efforts. Bonnie also brings her own perspectiveto Marshfield’s businessstrategy.“If it were up to Roger, we’d dolittle or no advertising,” sheexplains. “I believe you need to getthe word out, but to spend your dollarswisely. And lately, we havedone some pretty bold advertising.”Roger has come to appreciate herperspective. “You can’t argue withits results,” he says.The agency’s current successdid come with some lessonslearned. “Where we initially startedwith too few carriers, we eventuallyhad signed on too many,” Rogerexplains. “At one point, it seemedthat we represented every regionalcarrier and, in a small community likehere, we simply couldn’t keep all of them happy. So we began cuttingback.”Fortunately, ACUITY remained in the agency’s repertoire and hasenjoyed explosive growth with the agency over the past severalyears. The reason for this successful partnership, according toPeople Power: Key members of the Marshfield Insuranceteam include (back row) long-time staff memberAnn Richel, John Southworth, Ryan Arnoldy;and (front) Bonnie and Roger Arnoldy.In all areas where wedeal with ACUITY, theysimply havegood, good people.Roger, is quite simple. “In all areas where we dealwith ACUITY, they simply have good, good people.Agents simply don’t have time to waste. Our fieldunderwriter, Craig Melgaard, is an absolute”straight shooter. He doesn’t make us spin ourwheels on accounts that aren’t a fit, but he’s therein a pinch when we need him.”Market MaximizationDoing business in a relatively small community has both itsadvantages and drawbacks. “Everybody knows everybody else, andat times that’s really helped the referral process work,” explainsRoger. “However, we’ve also realized that we’ve probably maximizedour market penetration here. We can’t continue to do what we’redoing now and expect to grow.”to leverage its current areas of expertise to penetrate new marketsselectively, with used car dealerships one of the likely first targets.“Whether we’re going to be successful remains to be seen, but atleast this time around, we’re not working from ground zero.” William C. HunterSenior Loss ControlRepresentativeRandy EllisSenior CommercialField UnderwriterBrian SimonsPremium Auditor (Illinois)Heather ZempleDocument/TranscriptionProcessorBrian GenschStaff AccountantAndrew HughesSenior Loss ControlRepresentativeShawn ChrismanActuarial AnalystKrystal KathMail Room ClerkSusan MinnehanCustomer ServiceRepresentativeMaria SchillingMarketing ClerkAnatomy of a CatastropheNEW JOBin FORMATIONAre you interested in joining the ACUITY team? Do you know of someone who islooking for an excellent career opportunity? Or are you a current ACUITY staffmember who is seeking career development and advancement?If so, ACUITY’s Human Resources Department is interested in hearing from you! Hereare the positions we are currently looking to fill:Entry-level programmers and claims representativesfor the January training classAdditionally, new opportunities are opening all the time. For information on any of theposted positions, or to express your interest in being considered for future openings,simply contact John Signer at 800.242.7666, extension 1020. Or, send an e-mail to“hr@acuity.com.”in FOCUS O ctober.2002in FOCUS O ctober.2002

No-Hands Commercial Lines Processing Moves ForwardACUITY’s paperless push in Commercial Lines continues withthe implementation of automated renewal processing.Until now, renewal policies approved by Rating or Underwritingneeded to be pulled and routed for final processing. Now, renewalpolicies approved by underwriting using the paperless front endsystem are automatically processed without any further manualintervention.Far from being a minor change, this major initiative is alreadycreating efficiencies, getting renewal policies in the hands of agentsand insureds even faster.8Town Hall Highlightscontinued from page 1Sales and AgencyRelationships• We will continue to upgrade our agencyforce in order to build better partnerships.• We will continue our focus on continuingeducation for agents, provided at nocost, and will likely provide over 10,000continuing education credits in 2002.Operations andStrategic Planning• ACUITY has 139 employees for every$100 million of business written. Theindustry average is 214 employees per$100 million.• Our voluntary turnover has droppedeven further, to just 4 percent.• We are planning a building expansion.• We will be rolling out credit card paymentcapabilities to policyholders shortlyand will have electronic funds transferby the end of 2002.• We continue to look for ideas to retainour competitive advantage into theeventual soft market. Our staff identified120 new product ideas, 12 of which arecurrently in progress.In short, to say the mood of the meetingwas optimistic would be an understatement.“In football, the team that out-blocksand out-tackles the other team will winconsistently,” said Brian Benishek,Regional Sales Manager. “It’s no differentfor us. We’re just halfway into the season,and we’ve already clinched a playoffspot.”FOCUS ONin STRUCTIONCongratulations to the following ACUITY staff members who have recentlycompleted coursework and passed exams:Lori Klotz - Delivering Insurance Services (AIS-25) course through The InsuranceInstitute of AmericaLisa Klapperich - Personal Risk Management and Insurance (CPCU-2) course throughThe Insurance Institute of AmericaStephanie Walchesky - Legal Principles course through (AEI) American EducationalInstitute) Claims Law programBob Wagner - Personal Lines Institute of CIC (Certified Insurance Counselor) throughThe National Alliance For Insurance Education & ResearchPolly Oxley - Commercial Casualty Institute of CIC (Certified Insurance Counselor)through The National Alliance For Insurance Education & ResearchJody Paltzer - Insurance Operations (CPCU-5) course through The Insurance Instituteof AmericaDave Cole - Managerial Economics and the Organizational Behavior courses throughMarquette UniversityNancy Ramm - Commercial Underwriting: Principles and Property (AU-65) coursethrough The Insurance Institute of AmericaDavid Thiel - Ethics, Insurance Perspectives, and Insurance Contract Analysis (CPCU-1)course through The Insurance Institute of AmericaRevitalization of Personal Lines continued from page 2more coverages to homeowners policies, many of which policyholders don’t need or want,”Felchner says. “Additionally, adding those coverages drove up the price of a basic policy. Wewant people to be able to pay for just what they need to buy.” Package discounts will alsoapply for customers carrying both home and auto coverage.By offering greater underwriting accuracy and pinpoint pricing, ACUITY’s homeownerschanges were also designed in part to address problems with the line of business that haveplagued the entire industry. “In 2001, our homeowners loss ratio was unprofitable, althoughit was still half of what the industry was,” says Felchner. Importantly, while some companieshave curtailed their homeowners writings or pulled out of markets altogether, ACUITY willremain a viable homeowners market for agents.ACUITY Home is the latest initiative in our ongoing revitalization of our Personal Linesprograms. Currently available in Wisconsin, the program will be available in Illinois and Iowaby October, with other states soon to follow.in FOCUS O ctober.2002ACUI10419/02