ExtraMileIssue9

2018 ISSUE 1
NOTES FROM NATIONAL INTERSTATE INSURANCE FOR OUR PARTNERS IN RISK

Contents2018 ISSUE 1
Letter from the President and CEO
LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT AND CEO 3
EXTRA MILER: SYDNEY ALVAREZ 4
EXECUTIVE SPOTLIGHT: ART GONZALES 6
EXECUTING YOUR
2018 BUSINESS STRATEGY 8
WE’RE MORE THAN JUST CAPTIVES 16
BUILDING FOR THE FUTURE UPDATE 17
PRODUCT SPOTLIGHT: TOWCAP PREMIER 18
2017 IN PICTURES 20
SLIPS, TRIPS AND FALLS, OH MY! PREPARE FOR SNOW AND ICE REMOVAL 26
TONY MERCURIO
“Every day in Africa a gazelle wakes up. It knows it must run faster than the fastest lion or it will be killed. Every morning a lion wakes up. It knows that it
must outrun the slowest gazelle or it will starve to death. It doesn’t matter whether you are a lion or a gazelle. When the sun comes up, you better be running.”
You’ve likely heard that quote before, but it’s one of my favorites. I
thought of it as we turn the page on 2017 and look to execute on our
2018 plan. Setting lofty objectives and holding ourselves accountable
to them is something National Interstate has been doing since we
opened our doors in 1989. But of course, it’s not nearly enough to
come up with a plan – execution is everything. To that end, this
issue of the Extra Mile features a cover story by Jamie Van Doren of
the telos institute with ideas for ensuring you and your team stay on
track and execute your plan. I hope you find it useful and that 2018
proves to be a record year for your company.
Abe Gubegna, Ethiopian novelist and playwright
And, we remain committed to looking for ways to build the insurance
experience around you, our customers.
As usual, the insurance and transportation markets continue to
evolve and face many challenges. However, while several of our
competitors have either exited or reduced their appetite for the
transportation insurance market, we remain proudly committed to the
industry and look forward to helping you execute on your 2018 plan.
Sincerely,
NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS 28
We certainly have big plans in 2018, and those plans are manifest in
our nearly completed flagship headquarters building that now stands
between our two existing structures. Our first wave of employees
move into the new building this quarter, and we’ll have significant
space for additional jobs. Our ambitions are large, but we won’t
achieve them if we don’t provide world-class customer service and
exceptional value. To that end, we have been and will continue to
spend on IT infrastructure and improved claims systems.
Tony Mercurio
President & CEO
P.S. Come visit us at our new building! We can’t wait to host you
here in Richfield and show you our new home.
Subscriptions:
Extra Mile magazine is a free, quarterly publication offered by National Interstate Insurance Company in
support of its customers. To subscribe, call 800-929-1500 or email amanda.genther@natl.com.
Publisher:
Established in 1989, National Interstate Insurance is one of the leading specialty property and casualty
insurance companies in the country. Offering more than 30 different insurance products, including traditional
insurance, innovative alternative risk transfer (ART) programs for commercial companies and insurance for
specialty vehicle owners. Its customized solutions are made possible by its talented and dedicated team
members. National Interstate employs over 700 employees in offices in Northeast Ohio, HI, and MO.
© 2018 National Interstate Insurance Company
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Editorial Contributors:
Amanda Genther
Tony Mercurio
Chris Mikolay
Kate Mitchell
Jamie Van Doren
Mike Winchell
2 3

An insurance company’s risk management team is only as strong
as the talent on the team. Top talent is necessary to serve as a
resource for the safety, health and well-being of all National Interstate
customers. Our team, including this quarter’s Extra Miler, Sydney
Alvarez, provides value-added consultative services to our customers,
assisting them in ensuring regulatory guidelines are met, safety best
practices are embraced, severity is reduced and losses are minimized.
Sydney, a Risk Management Specialist, breaks perception and truly
goes the extra mile to provide value-added, safety-centered solutions
to our customers.
That being said, developing creative ways to minimize exposure and
obtain buy-in support from our customers can be one of the most
challenging aspects of her role, but this is an area Sydney excels in.
With an ability to analyze losses and current-state safety programs,
Sydney is quick on her feet when thinking of creative ways to address
and communicate concerns to customers.
Sydney’s supervisor believes that there is a difference between a risk
management consultant and an excellent risk management consultant.
A risk management consultant simply identifies opportunities for
improvement, while an excellent risk management consultant
identifies opportunities, creates solutions and sells the solution to their
customer. An excellent consultant, Sydney’s belief is that open and
transparent communication with our customers will lead to positive
and collaborative relationships.
Many would consider Sydney a road warrior – traveling most days of
each month to prospective and current customers for safety and loss
control visits. It can be a tough job living out of a suitcase more often
than not, but above all, Sydney is a National Interstate ambassador.
An ideal team member, she is always willing to do whatever it takes
to get the job done to ensure a positive impact to National Interstate’s
overall business.
Sydney
Alvarez
More about Sydney
AN EASY-TO-IMPLEMENT SAFETY TIP THAT I ALWAYS
RECOMMEND ON LOSS CONTROL VISITS IS:
This is a difficult question, because every company I work with is so
unique. I wouldn’t say there’s a one-size-fits-all safety tip, but one thing that
is universally important is a company’s commitment to its safety culture.
It is crucial that your safety department has the autonomy, tools and
resources that it needs to be successful. It is also crucial for any company
seeking a positive safety culture to take a top-down, bottom-up approach
and have the appropriate support from senior management in order to be
successful. One simple tip I can give is to always remember that our Risk
Management team is here to support your efforts.
MY FAVORITE THING TO DO OUTSIDE OF THE OFFICE IS:
Go hiking with my dog and fiancé. We have a 6-year old lab rescue, and
she gets so excited when we put her leash on. She loves to chase squirrels
and thinks that every person she sees wants to be her best friend.
I was a Spanish minor in college and would love the chance to practice the
language and experience unique cultures.
THE BEST PART OF MY JOB IS:
Engaging with our customers both on a professional and personal level.
I love working with them on a daily basis and improving their safety
programs collaboratively. I also don’t think that I could sit at a desk all day,
every day, so having the opportunity to travel and meet our customers faceto-face
has been an amazing experience for me.
PEOPLE WOULD BE SURPRISED TO KNOW I:
Am getting married in Ireland this year. My fiancé, Derek, and I have been
together for nearly 9 years and are high school sweethearts. We didn’t
want a traditional wedding and sought out a destination that was close to
both of our hearts. We are very excited to tie the knot in such a beautiful
place with our close family.
MY FAVORITE TV SHOW IS:
Criminal Minds - I love the suspense and problem-solving in the show. I like
to see if I can guess the outcome before they do. Although, sometimes the
show does keep me up at night!
WHAT IS THE LAST BOOK YOU READ:
What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty. It is about a 30-year old woman that
loses 10 years of her memory and has to figure out how her life ended up
the way it did.
IF I WON THE LOTTERY, I WOULD:
Spend some time traveling the world - there is so much to see! I’d love to
travel to different areas in South America, like Argentina and Chile.
IF I WASN’T WORKING IN RISK M ANAGEMENT, I WOULD:
Open a pet rescue. I love animals and there are so many to save. All of my
pets, (including a cat, rabbit and dog) are rescues, and they are the best.
MY DAY CAN’T START UNTIL:
Preferably around noon… But if before then, then I’ll need my cup of coffee
before I start anything else.
IF YOU COULD BE A SUPERHERO, WHAT WOULD YOU
WANT YOUR SUPERPOWER TO BE?
I would want to have the power of invisibility. I think this would give me a
lot of options when trying to save somebody.
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In your own words, can you tell me what you do?
I am responsible for all legal and regulatory affairs of the fourteen
companies that are in our group of companies. Our companies
generally work in all fifty states, plus D.C. and the Cayman Islands,
and it is imperative that we get things right and do it in a thoughtful
but swift manner.
What are the most important decisions you make
as a leader?
The most important decisions I make are ones I know will make a
meaningful impact on a major part of our businesses and the many
good people who work so hard at National Interstate to make us a
success.
In what ways have you seen National Interstate
change during your time here?
In the 8+ years I have been with the company, we have had
tremendous but controlled growth of our companies. During that
time, we have nearly doubled our gross written premiums (GWP),
the number of employees and built our company infrastructure while
still maintaining a disciplined approach to our business. The other
big change is that we went from being a publicly-held company to a
privately-held company with the Great American Insurance Company
merger transaction that closed in November 2016.
Can you name a person who has had a tremendous
impact on your career? Why and how did this person
impact your life?
Yes, there were four people. The first two were my mother and
father. They were great people that did things right and always
supported me in my career goals. The third was the Honorable
Thomas F. Bryant, (Ret.) of the Ohio Third District Court of Appeals
and the fourth was a former General Counsel. I worked for both for a
number of years and learned so much from them. They were strong
mentors and attorneys who behaved ethically and showed me the
right way to do things as an attorney.
What advice would you give to someone who aspires
to become a senior leader like you?
Educate yourself, keep learning, have a strong work ethic and
persevere.
What are you most proud of?
On a personal basis, my wonderful wife, Jacki and our three
daughters. I am blessed having them in my life. On a professional
basis, graduating law school, passing the bar and having a
meaningful legal career as an attorney for the past 26 years. I have
been fortunate to have such a great run.
What motivates you to get out of bed in the morning?
The responsibility I have to my family, the company and my legal
and regulatory teams. I eagerly look forward to the challenge each
day brings; it energizes me.
What’s your favorite thing to do when you’re
not working?
Spending time with my family doing any number of things. And
hiking, anywhere, in any weather and just about any time.
What three words would your co-workers use to
describe you?
Dedicated, thorough and passionate.
What have you been listening to in your car to and
from work?
Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers.
If you could trade places with any other person
for a week, famous or not, living or dead, real or
fictional, with whom would it be?
Thomas Jefferson.
If you could mass-market a t-shirt with a message
on it, what would that message be?
“So many books, so little time.”
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By Jamie R. Van Doren, Associate Director of Marketing and Digital Engagement, the telos institute
8
and your team have put hours into crafting a strategic plan.
YOU Maybe consultants, advisors or board members were involved
as well. Regardless, it was a lot of work. Yet, so often strategic plans
miss the critical next step – effective implementation.
The percentage of strategic plans that fail isn’t clear – measures
are all over the map. However, we know that plans fail for a variety
of reasons. Plans may be overly ambitious, too complex and poorly
understood or lacking any clear actions or metrics. Maybe there isn’t
consensus on the plan or employees never even know about it. Finally,
maybe once it’s been written, no one bothers to do anything with it.
And we all know that a strategic plan without a plan for execution is
little more than a binder on a shelf collecting dust.
Why does this happen?
Knowing that execution is important and having an actionable plan for
HOW to execute, are not the same. It is critical for leaders to lay out the
steps necessary to implement the plan and identify how to reprioritize
and reengage in planning when the unexpected occurs.
There are many ways to approach execution. In most cases, some of
the steps are universally agreed upon. But it still leaves you with the
“how” of implementing each step. For example, we all know that
communicating the plan is essential. However, there might also be
disagreement around what, specifically, to communicate (e.g. the whole
plan or just the critical metrics that affect specific departments). There
might be disagreement as to how to communicate the plan (do we have
a meeting with department heads or create an online publication for
everyone), and what the outcome of such communication should be.
Because of these differing perspectives and often-unanswered
questions, we’ve found that a model or a framework of some kind
helps. To that end, we recommend a new model to guide your strategy
implementation: The Engagement Model for Strategy Execution. (see
figure 1 on the next page)
The core of the model relies on and inspires higher levels of employee
engagement. We know high levels of employee engagement
profoundly influence the success of an organization or project. A study
by Gallup found that organizations with highly engaged employees
out-performed peer organizations by 85% in sales growth and 26% in
gross margins. Not bad!
As we go through The Engagement Model, we’ll periodically utilize a
fictitious organization to illustrate a point. This fictitious organization,
XYZ Trucking Company, is made up of an amalgamation of organizations
we’ve worked with in the past, as well as the challenges they’ve faced.
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FIG. 1
Meet XYZ Trucking Company
XYZ Trucking is a small carrier. They primarily serve a few key clients,
mainly small retailers and family companies. They’ve enjoyed some
growth over the past 25 years, going from a single truck to a fleet
of 25. However, they haven’t always been able to take advantage of
growing demand and recently lost a client to a larger carrier. They’ve
decided to focus on expanding their fleet. The executive team is
excited, because they’ve completed a new strategic plan and they
believe they can pull in some new clients and expand beyond the
region they’ve been serving for years. With so much demand they
wonder, how can they fail!
Aligning with Purpose
It’s useful for you to consider how your strategic plan aligns with the
purpose of your company, as well as its vision and values. This is
critical, because it creates the foundation for long-term engagement
with your employees, who are the ones bringing your plan to life.
Research overwhelmingly indicates that most employees do not feel
that their organization is aligned with its values or any greater purpose
beyond profit. Obviously, profit allows an organization to grow, thrive
and compensate employees. But profit alone is not enough to ignite
creativity, unleash discretionary effort or inspire loyalty.
Most strategic plans have high-level goals or initiatives that are core to
the plan. You can take each one of these and ask yourself three questions:
1. Why is this important for us to do?
2. Why should our employees care about this goal?
3. How does this relate to our higher
calling/purpose/mission/values?
These three questions help triangulate and frame the strategic plan’s
message in a way that will resonate with and engage employees.
Once you have your answers, write down the goals of your strategic
plan into a few short sentences that incorporate the why and how.
You’re going to want to share those statements with your employees.
Consider printing them on a big board or poster so all employees
can see them and be reminded of what the company is trying to
accomplish together.
A Note on Purpose
If you haven’t developed a stated purpose for your company, it’s
OK. You can do that now by considering what it is you do and why.
There has to be a reason you got into this business; something
you enjoy about it and something that keeps you motivated when
times are tough.
One Example:
XYZ Trucking’s CEO called together all the employees and asked why
they did the job they do, what they thought was important and what
difference it made. Based on those conversations, they came up with
the following purpose:
“Trucking is the backbone of American commerce. We help ensure
that stores stay open and people can buy the things they need. We’re
committed to safely getting goods into the hands of those who need
them when they need them, so that the economy continues to grow
and American families continue to prosper.”
Where are We Now?
One reason execution goes awry is because the plan is overly
ambitious. Avoid this by taking a realistic look at where your company
stands in relation to customers, capacity and challenges.
To understand the state of the business, as it may relate to your
strategic plan, answer these questions:
1. Customers: How many customers do we have and what’s
the volume of business we get from each one?
2. Capacity: At what capacity are we operating during different
months? Are there predictable times we could take on more
business? Are they times we can’t?
3. Employees and Infrastructure: How many employees do we
have? Are some close to retirement? How and where do we
recruit? Do our employees have all the tools they need to
get the job done?
4. Sales and Service: How do we acquire new clients? How do
we retain current clients when there are problems?
5. Finance: How are our finances and cash flow? Do we have
money to invest in future growth?
6. Wins and Losses: What was our biggest win or success last
year? What was our biggest challenge?
Answering these questions allows you to take a clear, realistic view of
where you stand. As you answer them, you’ll begin seeing some areas
you need to focus on to implement your strategic plan.
One Example:
If XYZ Trucking expects to go from being regionally focused with 25
trucks to a fleet of 50 and a larger footprint, they’re going to have
to solve issues of recruitment, training and cash flow. When they
announce the goal of doubling the fleet, the employees begin to
disengage. They all know it’s difficult to find new drivers. Plus, XYZ
wasn’t able to pay bonuses on time last year because of its existing
cash flow problems.
Strengths & Best Practices
Individuals and organizations perform better by leveraging strengths.
A deficit-based approach can lead you to underutilize your best assets.
If your company isn’t focusing on strengths across all departments,
then you also risk reinventing the wheel by not leveraging existing
best practices.
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You can identify your strengths by identifying the areas you excel in,
and then asking “why?” This is a step many companies miss. Knowing
that you excel at customer retention is great. Understanding why you
excel positions you to leverage those strengths in other areas.
If you don’t have many specific metrics, ask your leadership team,
“What are the things we do really well? What do our happiest
customers say about us?”
This is where the rubber really hits the road. If a company doesn’t
understand what makes it great, then they run the risk of damaging
their success.
Targets
Once your team has looked at where the company is today and what
your existing strengths are, it’s time to identify your targets. Every big
goal in your strategic plan can be broken down into smaller targets.
To identify them, look at your goals and look at where you are now.
Where are the gaps? What do you need to change about your business,
structure, capacity, etc., to meet your strategic goals? Do you need
to hire new people? What percentage increase in sales with existing
customers do you need? Or do you need a number of new customers?
Will your plan require new software or other investments?
Identify targets, not just for the sales or the fleet, but for any
department or function that may have an impact on the goals you’ve
identified in your plan
One Example:
XYZ outlined in their strategic plan that they want to double the size
of their fleet so they can take on more business and become a larger
carrier. They’ve realized that they may have put the cart before the
horse a bit. Luckily, they previously took a realistic look at where
they are now and at their strengths. It turns out their reputation with
current customers is so good, they’re sometimes asked to take on
additional loads. They also found that they haven’t specifically been
asking current long-term customers for more business. When they
look at capacity, a strength is their drivers are all very experienced.
Some even come from a tradition of truck driving. Could referrals or
“apprenticeships” be a source of new drivers for them?
Based on the above, XYZ identifies two targets they think will help
them reach their strategic goal:
1. Increase the amount of business they do with current
customers by an average of 15% within six months.
2. Hire two more experienced drivers within six months and
bring on two “apprentice drivers” within three months.
Now XYZ has some specific measurable targets they can aim for to
achieve the bigger goal.
Tactics & Metrics
A strategic plan lays out the overall goals and direction of the
organization. Implementation necessitates a more granular focus. In
addition to broad targets, it’s important to identify specific tactics
(who, what, when and how) for the plan, as well as metrics to help
ensure that progress is being made. For example, if a company has
outlined 12% revenue growth, this could be accomplished in multiple
ways. It’s up to the organization to determine who will do what
specific steps by when, and how to measure success.
To create your tactics and metrics, look at the targets you’ve identified,
and ask yourself these questions:
1. What are some of the necessary actions we need to take
to hit the target?
2. Who or what department will own it?
3. What’s the time frame? How else can we measure success
or progress?
4. What are the milestones or progress points along the way?
One Example:
In order to achieve the increase in business outlined, XYZ Trucking
knows they need more sales. XYZ hires a sales person, who calls some
new companies and who may also be tasked with growing existing
relationships.
But there’s a problem. They currently have more opportunity than
capacity. XYZ knows they need to hire additional new drivers and lease
or buy additional trucks. But they don’t have the cash flow to do that,
and what’s more - the margins are razor thin on the new business
recently brought in, and the new customers want to pay at 120 days.
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New drivers and new trucks cost money, and XYZ does not have the
cash flow to be able to invest in growth. Not identifying tactics and
metrics is leading to some big problems.
XYZ tackles the problem by using steps from The Engagement Model.
The first thing they do is identify the minimum margin they need for
new business, which helps them identify the minimum bids they’ll
place for loads on the load board. Second, they communicate capacity
to everyone in customer service and sales. Third, they focus sales
efforts on acquiring a specific percentage of additional business from
existing customers (which was a target they had previously identified).
Fourth, they create measurable goals around current and past
customers to call for new business and referrals. Last, a monthly sales
activity report is created to track all important metrics.
Finally, to solve the cash flow issue, XYZ decides that they’ll explore
partnering with a factoring company – at least in the short-term.
Action Items & Innovation
Tactics and metrics lay out the options for meeting the specific
objectives that ultimately roll up to your strategic goals. But you can’t
know everything that will come up throughout the year ahead and
not everything always fits neatly into achieving one specific goal.
Additionally, a tightly-controlled plan doesn’t allow for innovation or
failure. While no one enjoys failure, missing goals and objectives
happens – especially when you’re trying something new. You must
have flexibility in the plan to account for that possibility.
Action items are more specific than tactics (e.g. buy new invoicing
software). To identify action items, ask your relevant team members to
come together. Share the overall strategic goals you’ve identified, the
tactics and metrics. Then, brainstorm around what specific actionable
steps the team members could take to meet any of those goals or
targets. Have the team identify possible new solutions or actionable
steps. Nothing is too far out there when you’re generating ideas,
because you’ll decide later what you want to try.
While this step of the process may seem a bit more intensive, it does
help engage employees. It also reveals solutions and possibilities that
you, as a leader may not have even thought about. Further, people
are more willing to commit to actions or goals that they had a hand
in creating.
Once you’ve outlined all the possibilities from the brainstorm, engage
in some discussion and identify two to three actionable steps you
want to commit to for each of your tactics.
One Example:
XYZ Trucking has brought the team together to communicate the
big goals of its strategic plan and some of the tactics they think are
necessary. They’ve identified the need to increase the fleet and bring
in more business. Since these are aggressive targets, the CEO wants
to ensure everyone is onboard and ready to roll.
The discussion with the team is very helpful. People share their
concerns about the apprenticeship driver program. Harry, one of
the more tenured drivers, speaks up that he’d actually enjoy the
opportunity to be a mentor. They all decide that as part of the process,
they’ll take a new driver on three runs for the initial evaluation. They
proceed to outline some of the other steps to deciding if and when
an apprentice becomes a driver, including how/if XYZ pays for all the
training and certification or a part of it.
A lot of other options are discussed like providing a bonus to drivers
who submit a referral for additional business from a current customer
or from a potential new customer.
They discuss some options to address long drive times and
scheduling drivers to take advantage of preferred routes when
appropriate. They even talk about allowing some drivers to go parttime
instead of retiring.
XYZ doesn’t put resources into every idea, but it’s clear there’s a lot
of opportunities for growth and everyone from the truckers to the
accounting folks are engaged and ready to go.
Measurement and Realignment
We’ve mentioned metrics a few times. Both quantitative and
qualitative data is valuable. There should be a plan for how often you
review numbers, and at what points you want to rethink some aspect
of your strategy if things aren’t going well. Or, when to consider doing
more if things are going exceptionally well.
Specifically, look at each metric you’ve outlined. The ask yourselves:
1. How often and when will we look at progress in this metric
to see if we’re on track?
2. What are some of the things that could happen that may
cause us to not meet the target metric? Are these factors
under our control?
3. If we miss or exceed a metric, will that trigger a reevaluation
or some action? If so, when?
4. What are potential options if we miss a metric? What if we
do better than expected?
5. If we aren’t meeting a goal, instead of abandoning it, should
we change it or the goal timeline?
Additionally, if you’re taking on a significant new venture, consider
deciding when you think it may be best to step away. Determine when
you’d know it isn’t working and how you’ll move on.
Conversely, what if things are going much better than expected?
What if the phones are ringing off the hook? What plans are in place
to increase capacity, or to invest revenues that are growing faster
than expected?
One Example:
XYZ Trucking had business they might have to turn away because they
were at capacity. Cash flow was where it needed to be to invest in
growth, but they were not meeting recruitment targets for the number
of applicants, new hires or apprentices.
Instead of abandoning the goal, XYZ reevaluated. They went through
the Action Items & Innovation step to brainstorm some ideas. One
suggestion was to do more brokering. They may not make much (or
any) margin, but they could keep the customer until they are able
to hire additional drivers. Another idea was to bring back well liked
retired drivers on a part-time basis to recruit and mentor newer drivers
and help build a more engaged driver force.
Now, XYZ had options to explore that would keep them on the path
towards their strategic goal.
Engaging Employee Support
You do not succeed alone. You already know that you rely on your
employees to bring their best selves to work and their best ideas to
the table. We’ve alluded to how you can engage employees through
certain steps of the process. Below are three ideas on inviting the
participation of team members that will ensure the success of your
strategic plan.
➼➼
In addition to sharing your big goals on posters or boards for
everyone to see, consider making other aspects of your strategic
plan public - like the metrics for success. You may also want to
lay out some aspects in the form of a well-designed online or
print document.
➼➼
On at least one occasion, bring employees together as a group
to discuss how the strategic plan fits in with the purpose and
aspirations of your company. Invite employees to share how
they think they can make the plan a reality. One way to do this
is at table discussions. Let each table identify and then share
their best idea with the larger group, so that excitement builds.
Document all of the ideas and share the best of them with the
broader organization. Then act on them!
➼➼
Share milestones and wins within the organization. Most
importantly, recognize the contributions of all those involved.
Recognition validates a person’s efforts and ensures they feel
that exceptional work is rewarded.
If you do no other thing we outline in the model, do this – engage
your employees.
In absence of a solid strategic plan, in absence of a plan for execution,
engaged employees will accelerate growth and success. Engaged
employees are more attuned to customers. They’re more innovative
and solutions-oriented. They invest more of their discretionary effort –
which is that extra something that makes them willing to go above and
beyond the daily minimums to “get the job done.” Engaged employees
are ambassadors to your company and the stewards of your brand.
Coming Full Circle
Based on The Engagement Model, you can see that in executing
the strategic plan, it’s transformed into a living document. As you
initiate change in your organization, as the market changes and as
customers respond to both, pausing to review if you are aligned with
your purpose, and assessing the company’s current state, helps to
recalibrate. It creates an impetus to review employee engagement.
We think using the Engagement Model for Strategy Execution to
continually reengage with your strategic plan and make adjustments
will allow you to weather shifts, seize opportunities and embrace
change and people as a source of competitive advantage.
About the telos institute:
At telos, our focus is at the crossroads of our clients’ most critical
issues and highest leverage opportunities: business strategy, leadership
development and change management.
Operating globally, cross-pollinating successful mindsets, processes
and approaches across all industries, telos tempers deep functional
expertise with broad insight to drive transformational outcomes.
From large-scale, enterprise-wide interventions to smaller targeted
initiatives, our consultants are equally experienced working in
C-Suite settings or starting in the middle of organizations and
building momentum.
For more information, please visit http://thetelosinstitute.com/.
15

Building for the Future Update
This is the quarter where the dust settles, the construction vehicles
depart and our employees move into our new third building.
We can’t wait to host you at our new centerpiece building in Richfield
and hope to see you soon!
Many people know National Interstate as alternative risk, or captive,
experts, but you might be surprised to find out we have close to
$300M dollars of in-force traditional premium as I write this article.
National Interstate understands that every insurance buyer is
unique. So are their insurance needs. That’s why we offer over 40
different insurance products ranging from traditional insurance to
captive programs. It’s why our company tagline is “An Insurance
Experience Built Around You”.
Captives are great for some businesses, but we know they are not for
everyone. With diverse insurance options spanning the commercial
and specialty transportation segments, we truly create an innovative
product solution for you, instead of a one-size-fits-all option.
Our company tagline holds multiple meanings, including insurance
options catered to your needs, but it’s about the entire experience you
receive as a customer of National Interstate. A live person answers
your call during business hours because we value communication
and transparency. With a visible management team, you have the
opportunity to meet and cultivate relationships with your insurance
partner. And, we offer risk management resources and products
tailored to your unique industry.
For more information about our insurance programs, please visit
www.natl.com or call 800-929-1500.
Remember, we offer these solutions:
➼ Traditional Insurance (Guaranteed Cost/Low Deductible)
➼ Large Deductibles
➼ Quota Shares
➼ Corridor Aggregates
➼ ART/Captive Programs (Group, Rental, Single-Parent, Owned)
AMANDA GENTHER
Media Relations Specialist
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PRODUCT SPOTLIGHT:
TOWCAP PREMIER
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C harter buses. School buses. Fleet trucking. Moving and Storage.
Crane and Rigging. Waste Haulers. Ambulances. Propane
Marketers. National Interstate is proud to offer both guaranteed cost
and customized alternative risk insurance solutions for many of the
toughest, most underserved classes of transportation business.
While National Interstate has maintained a presence within the
towing and recovery industry since 2004 – most recently on fleet
operations – the insurance market for this industry has experienced
significant instability during that same timeframe. Over the last 24
months, several towing programs have either changed carriers or
exited the space entirely, including three of the largest writers of tow
truck insurance over the last ten years.
As a result of this market volatility, many large, best-in-class towing
and recovery operations were left with either significant rate
increases (30%+) only days before their renewal, or worse – no
insurance options at all. It became clear that the towing industry
needed a different solution for those companies that are safetyfocused
and effectively managing their loss experience. A solution
that allows them to reduce their overall cost of insurance, but
perhaps more importantly – offers stability and predictability.
With nine best-in-class class founders as of November 1st, National
Interstate has proudly launched the TowCap Premier Alternative Risk
Program in conjunction with our respected agency partners – the
first group rental captive designed exclusively for the towing and
recovery industry.
TowCap Premier provides a customized solution for towing and
recovery operations with 25 or more trucks and service units who
maintain strong balance sheets, a focus on continuous safety and
training and a willingness to bear some risk.
National Interstate is thrilled to bring TowCap Premier to the towing
and recovery industry. Throughout 2018, we look forward to working
with our already best-in-class founding members to further improve
their operations, raise safety standards throughout the industry
and reduce their overall cost of insurance – bringing much-needed
stability to the towing insurance market.
If you are interested in learning more about the TowCap Premier program,
or our traditional program for fleet towing and recovery operations, please
contact Lauren Fronczek at lauren.fronczek@natl.com or
800-929-1500 x1141.
TOWCAP PREMIER PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS:
➼ $50,000 per occurrence retention
➼ Traditional lines of coverage (outside of the captive)
➼ No capital contribution
➼ Motor Truck Cargo
➼ Industry-leading claims and risk management services
➼ Following Form Excess Liability
➼ Captive lines of coverage
➼ Property
➼ Auto Liability
➼ Inland Marine
➼ Auto Physical Damage & Garagekeepers
➼ Cyber Liability
➼ On-Hook Cargo Liability
➼ General Liability
➼ Workers’ Compensation
MIKE WINCHELL
Director, Specialty Transportation
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The Year in Pictures
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01 Return of Equity:
Our Alternative Risk Transfer programs operate on a three-year accounting
cycle, whereupon we return the unused loss fund dollars to members in
positive equity positions.
02 Showing company support at our customer, Green Lines Transportation’s
32 nd Annual Charity Golf Outing.
03 Extra Mile cover feature, Suburban Disposal, receiving their framed issue.
04 Lauren Fronczek from National Interstate and Rick McConnell of McConnell
Manit & Trout, alongside a (very) tall Boston Celtic, Kelly Olynyk.
05 President & CEO, Tony Mercurio joined by customer, Nick of Atlas
Disposal and former Cleveland Brown, Bernie Kosar.
06 Waste agents taking in a tour of Progressive Field
07 National Interstate employees representing at the 2017 WasteExpo in
New Orleans, LA.
08 MEDIC Captive members unwinding after their Advisory Board Meeting at
the home of Tony Mercurio.
09 Employees and MEDIC members spending time together at TopGolf in
Scottsdale, AZ.
10 Craig Sullivan from Watauga Medics receiving an award recognizing his
time as advisory board chairperson.
11 Rich Raymond from Armstrong Ambulance receiving an award
recognizing his time as advisory board chairperson.
12 Customer, Roger Bettis of Green Lines Transportation posing with Tony
Mercurio and Director of Truck Alternative Risk Programs, Josh Stoll.
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01 Voyager and Velocity members held a joint Advisory Board Meeting in
Grand Cayman with plenty of opportunities to connect, collaborate and
enjoy all that the island has to offer.
02 At the Fall 2017 Las Vegas Safety Workshop, insureds attended a
hands-on session about Physical Abilities Testing and in-cab driver fitness
routines.
03 Mike Gillen with Jerry Threet of Dielco, accepting an award celebrating
the end of his tenure as the Finance & Investment Chairperson for Titan
Specialized.
04 Mike Gillen with Jim Vitez of KMX International, accepting an award on
behalf of his son, Jamie Vitez, celebrating the end of his tenure as the
Underwriting Committee Chairperson for Titan Specialized.
05 Scott Backes of Transport National on the charter boat heading out to go
sturgeon fishing in British Columbia, showing off his National Interstate
baseball cap.
06 Jim Vitez with his sturgeon, and the boat captain.
07 Steve Knight from Knight Brothers dba Intermountain Rigging & Hauling,
fishing for sturgeon in British Columbia.
08 Melissa Snorek from Perkins Transport, accepting the new member
award from Titan Advisory Board Chairperson, John Vaughan of Edwards
Moving & Rigging.
09 Calypso participants and National Interstate employees at Paradise Point
in San Diego, CA during their Advisory Board Meeting reception.
10 Participants hard at work during their Advisory Board Meeting.
11 Employees and their guests enjoyed a night at FirstEnergy Stadium
in Cleveland last January. Activities included dancing, stadium tours,
autographs with Cleveland Browns alumni players and a virtual reality
experience!
12 In July, the company hosted employees and their family’s on-campus
to celebrate the summer with a construction-themed party. The children
loved the event, and you can see some of the big kids even got in on the
fun too!
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01 Employee volunteers donated their time at the Have a Heart, Do Your Part
Radiothon benefitting local Akron Children’s Hospital.
02 National Interstate is proud to support the Akron Children’s Hospital
Akron Marathon Race Series. In June, we sponsored the 8K and 1-Mile
Races, which recognize our commitment to health, fitness and employee
engagement. Many National Interstate employees, friends and family
members participate in the races, volunteer during the event and enjoy
the entertainment activities.
05 In April, we held a Topping Off ceremony, where the last beam was
placed in the super structure of our new building. The beam, painted
white, was signed by employees and featured a tree and American
Flag. It is a custom that originated in Scandinavia to celebrate the
safe completion of the framing of the building. The tree is a symbol of
continuation in the structure going forward.
06 National Interstate employees and their families volunteered their time to
clean up Edgewater Beach in Cleveland on a cold and windy Saturday.
04
The September Marathon again brought out more volunteers to staff our
two fluid stations and 73 runners!
03 Employees in the 2017 Leadership Academy at their graduation. The
Academy consists of three residencies and six individual coaching
sessions over the course of nine months. It promotes professional
development to employees identified as high-performers.
04 National Interstate ended a record-breaking week of donations with a
day of service at the Akron-Canton Regional Foodbank. Helping sort and
organize donations from the community, employees gained a hands-on
view of the impact we made in the community.
07 Our ENGAGE community service committee coordinated donations for the
Humane Society of Akron, and even brought a mobile pet adoption center
on campus. And a few cuddly pets walked away with new forever homes
that afternoon.
08 National Interstate employees competed in the 2017 Akron Corporate
Challenge against other local businesses in events including footgolf,
softball, cornhole, tug of war and bowling.
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PREPARE FOR SNOW AND ICE REMOVAL
Slips, trips and falls are already a significant concern for most
transportation companies, often topping the list of their
workers’ compensation cause of injury reports. These injuries
naturally increase for those impacted by colder weather with the
added challenge of accumulating snow and ice patches throughout
uncovered workspaces.
Tips for Reducing Ice and Snow-related Injuries:
➼ Remind employees to shuffle their feet when walking through
the parking area, yard or other uncovered workspaces. This will
help avoid a fall on the ice by keeping feet in contact with the
ground at all times, and not directly placing one’s foot down
on unseen ice.
➼ Consider purchasing snow
cleats for your drivers and other
employees who travel through
such uncovered spaces. The most
common reason employees do not
wear cleats when provided is that they should be removed
when entering a vehicle in order to not create damage.
Therefore, look for brands that will not cause damage to
the vehicle and do not need to be removed, such as the pair
below. This will assist with employee adoption and utilization
rates on your investment.
➼ Consider a snow and ice detection sign
for your yard like this one. This additional
warning signage will not only act as a
reminder to employees re-entering the
space to use caution, but will identify the precise conditions
they should prepare for.
➼ Additional signage should be posted in breakrooms and around
the office and garage. This is common for any safety warning
or announcement, but still remains effective. Regular attention
to a risk will make it more prevalent in employees’ minds and
more likely to be considered.
New OSHA Walking Workspace Update includes Snow and Ice Removal
Not only should you focus on snow and ice removal for the safety
of your employees and to keep your injuries low, you now need to
do so to avoid an OSHA citation and fine. Effective January 17,
2017, OSHA included snow and ice removal to the Walking-Working
Surfaces regulation in order to protect employees from snow- and
ice-related injuries. 1
To stay compliant, create a removal plan that includes:
➼ Designation of more than one person to arrive prior to other
employees and ensure they are capable of snow removal and
laying salt. Always have a back-up employee should the other
be out of work that day.
➼ Proper removal equipment and PPE-like snow cleats for those
persons.
➼ A communication plan for times when accumulation is
inevitable to notify employees re-entering the space of the risky
conditions.
Stay compliant with OSHA and work to mitigate slips, trips and falls
that may lead to costly workers’ compensation claims by following
these simple steps.
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Sources:
1 https://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_table=STANDARDS&p_id=9714
KATE MITCHELL
Risk Management Team Leader
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3250 Interstate Drive
Richfield, Ohio 44286
New Year’s Resolutions
I resolve to focus on work-life balance and actually make it a reality! Through
a more balanced life, I hope to be a better role model for others.
Michelle Wiltgen, AVP, National Marketing Manager
Learn, grow and evolve to improve as a leader for Vanliner, and a better
person for my family and friends. But if I don’t find a way to take my wife on
a vacation involving palm trees, none of that other stuff will matter.
Matt Grimm, President, Vanliner Insurance Company
I resolve to step back and focus more closely on the world around me and let
that insight help guide my actions, personally and professionally.
Steve Blankenship, Vice President, Passenger Transportation
Cherish time with family and friends, enjoy the little things and be happy
with where I am in this stage of life.
Mike Lucas, AVP, Vanliner Marketing
While I’m not really a New Year’s resolution person, my personal mantra is
‘Be Joyful’, which means more than happiness, as happiness is internal. Joy
is external, and should be shared with whoever I encounter during my day. I
try to take the opportunity to improve another person’s day at work, home,
anywhere, and I will continue that into 2018.
Jan Lombardi, AVP, Finance
My New Year’s resolution is to further evolve as a leader by: Reminding
myself that the most important aspects of my job include listening, caring,
inspiring and celebrating; making every effort to treat our employees the
way I want my children to be treated when they enter the work force; and
endeavoring to be patient, empathetic and authentically human. Oh, and I’d
also like to lose 20 pounds.
Colleen Shepherd, AVP, Vanliner Claims
While it may be difficult to improve upon perfection, in 2018, I hope to be an
even better father, friend and coworker than in 2017.
Tony Brown, Vice President, Human Resources
My hope for 2018 is that Tony Brown will be a better friend and coworker to
me than he was in 2017.
Chris Mikolay, Vice President, National Accounts
In 2018, I hope to have my National Interstate home be a paperless office,
except for what is already copied and hidden in my desk drawers. Also, I will
learn to share my chocolates with others. Otherwise, when left to my own
devices, I will eat them all and have regrets later.
Janice Shee, AVP, Reinsurance