KMRD Partners Recognized as 2017 Best Insurance Agency to Work For by Insurance Journal
KMRD Partners, a leading provider of risk management, insurance, and human capital solutions, was named as the Silver Winner for Best Agencies to work for by the Insurance Journal
Culture, people, strong leadership, mutual respect, community care, growth, and profitability are a few of the reasons why KMRD Partners earned the award from Insurance Journal.
Headquartered in Warrington, PA., and with 30 staff members and three offices operating in the Greater Philadelphia area, KMRD Partners is one of the nation’s fastest growing independent agencies with double digit revenue growth each for year for 10 years running.
Great Coverage and a Culture of Putting People First
One of the first messages that appears on KMRD Partners Inc.’s website is a slogan that says, “We never stop improving for you.” KMRD works hard to take that idea seriously, according to President Kevin McPoyle. “We are full-on insurance nerds,” he said. “We love to look at coverage, understand coverage, talk about coverage, and ultimately, negotiate coverage for the benefit of our clients. We won’t send out a policy until it’s been read and signed off on by our team as being consistent with what we negotiated.”
See also: Images from inside our KMRD Warrington PA office.
But the real reason for their steady growth rate is the idea that KMRD is a platform for improving employees and their lives. “People really are our most important asset,” says Bob Dietzel, the Co-founder and Principle of KMRD Partners. “We want our employees to have a well-rounded lifestyle. We give our people the best tools in the industry so they aren’t burdened with tons of forms. People working for our competition spend 80 percent of their days dealing with forms and paperwork. We reverse the equation so our employees can spend more of their time on solving real problems and not on administrative hassles.”
It’s really all about putting our people – and their families – first.
Name Bob Dietzel, Co-Founder and Principal
Better tools isn’t the only reason KMRD won Insurance Journal’s Best Insurance Agency to Work For award. “It’s also about treating people like the adults they are, caring enough to cover them with solid benefits, not micro managing them, letting people accomplish shared goals in an untraditional manner, and so on.” Dietzel says.
“It’s really all about putting our people – and their families – first,” Dietzel says. This seems to be the secret sauce and real reason why KMRD wins so many awards for their sustained growth, ethical practices in business, and great workplaces. “Over the years, I’ve tried not to miss any of my kid’s ball games. I expect our employees to see their own families as most important too.Most nights, at at around 6pm, I sweep the office and tell people to go home. An unhealthy lifestyle is not worth the few extra dollars. I’d rather have stability over the long term than short-term wealth. We’re not saving lives here. We care for our clients but we put our people and families first.”
See also: KMRD Recognized as Fastest Growing Company by University of Delaware
“This reinforces we are doing the right things for our most valuable assets. A happy and fulfilled team of professionals with great client-concentric attitudes make this a nice place to work and fuels growth and client retention”, said Kevin McPoyle, Co-founder and President.
What Our People Say
To win the Insurance Journal’s Best Insurance Agency to Work For award, employees must nominate their agency and take the time to fill out anonymous survey questions. In total, approximately 4000 CSRs, account executives, producers, managers and other agency staff nominated agencies they work for. “Our staff took the time to answer a questionnaire to describe why they enjoy their experience working here,” says Diezel, “We are honored and humbled by their loyalty and commitment to our organization.”
“Our staff is awesome! Our firm was also named east coast winner back in 2010,” says Keith Boyer, Managing Partner at KMRD Partners. “It’s nice to be recognized again.”
As one employee wrote in the survey, the constant desire to learn and improve at KMRD Partners seems to pay off. “For only being in the industry for a short period of time, I feel as though I am more knowledgeable, prepared and technically savvy than most others in my industry due to the training and leadership KMRD Partners Inc. provides on a regular basis,” the employee said. Another employee added that each staff member truly understands the insurance products KMRD provides for its clients.
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“As owners, we take great pride in the development of our team,” McPoyle says. “That pride is not a feeling, but an activity-based trait shown in the efforts of our team doing more for our clients, being a better partner for our carriers and working hard on positive outcomes in each transaction and in each communication we have with others. It’s great because we all approach the process of supporting our clients the same way albeit with different skills, experience and functional responsibilities. But we remain consistent in our desire to exceed expectations.”
A Commitment to Service Excellence
Indeed, KMRD Partners was founded with the goal of helping clients understand their risk and provide products and services to help reduce the cost of risk, an employee wrote in the survey. McPoyle gave an example of one highlight that stands out for the firm, in which it was able to go above and beyond in serving a client. “A highlight is the positive feedback we received from a client who was unsure about having us involved — it took two years of discussion — but after our proposal, we improved coverage, added coverage and saved them in excess of 24 percent, or over $400,000,” he said. “We created believers in our process that day.”
During its 12 years in business, KMRD has worked to operate and serve clients with a process involving three core values — discipline, integrity and care — according to its company website. “KMRD’s roots began as a family company, and that atmosphere has not changed as the company has grown and developed throughout the years,” one employee wrote. The family atmosphere at KMRD is particularly evident in the way it partners with the community and promotes work/life balance within the firm, according to surveyed employees.
The Importance of Care
In addition to providing a “total package” for employees – including mission and values, competitive compensation packages and top-tier benefits, training and education, and lots of driver incentives and perks – the agency takes great pride in their community involvement.
KMRD Cares is the name of the community outreach program and everyone enjoys getting involved and serving the community. “Events such as Feed My Starving Children and the “Stomp Cancer” Swamp Stomp 5K show the commitment KMRD has to its involvement in the community and charitable causes,” one employee said. “KMRD also has a commitment to employee work/life balance, which is evident from the many company picnics and holiday parties.”
See also: We’re hiring a Benefits Account Manager/Consultant. See our Careers Page.
Every year from November through Christmas, the employees at KMRD make weekly deliveries of hams to a local shelter. KMRD also hosts a yearly event, Feed My Starving Children, where members of the office and the community package meals to send to countries in need. The amount of meals produced increases yearly, with this years’ goal being to package 1,000,000 meals in a four-day span, one employee wrote.
Events like this can not only serve to demonstrate KMRD’s commitment to its clients and the community it serves, but also create a stronger company culture — something McPoyle says KMRD Partners is always working to do.
The images below are of our KMRD office in Warrington, PA.
Insurance Journal’s Best Insurance Agency To Work For is an employee-nominated honor. 4,000+ nominations from across the country were submitted and only 16 agencies from different regions received this recognition. Winners were selected based on a variety of factors, including employee engagement, culture, competitive salaries, employee benefits, training and education, and other employee perks as drivers of satisfaction in the workplace.
Employees of the winning agencies cite elevated personal wellbeing; rate their relationships with their supervisor as positive; and express a high opinion of company leadership and reputation in the community.
Want to join KMRD? Visit the careers section of our website to learn more about our leadership, culture and job opportunities.
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A modified version of this story can be found on page 20 in the Insurance Journal East Magazine.
To download the PDF version, click here.
