When COVID-19 hit during Select Risk Services’ second year in business, CEO Keith Ross found a way to turn the challenge into a positive.
“We buckled down and became even stronger as a team by enhancing our communication through constructive dialogue,” Ross told Insurance Business America. “We are all in the office working collaboratively, where we feel our competition is still somewhat on islands. We call it the COVID advantage.”
That penchant for problem-solving is one of the factors that led Ross to be named to IBA’s 2022 Top Specialist Brokers list.
“I always try and provide timely, detailed, problem-solving information that allows all parties to communicate effectively and efficiently,” he said. “This translates to our clients receiving optimum quotes that include favorable coverage, terms and conditions at the desired rate and premium and in the expected timeframe.”
Ross founded Select Risk Services in 2018. Since its founding, the company has posted seven figure revenue and every year year-over-year growth of more than 60%. So far, Ross has maintained 100% employee retention and grown the Select Risk Services team to eight people. He has more than 100 market appointments and several exclusive appointments and programs. Ross has also kept a retention rate of more than 90% on renewals.
“We feel our consultative approach brings real value to both our retail agents and underwriters,” Ross said. “Our goal is to have the best submit-to-bind ratio in the business, which means our underwriters want to prioritize our submissions and deliver us the best negotiated quotes. We are also smaller, so our agents know they will most likely be clear with us, as we won’t be calling on their competition in any geographical area. By working with fewer agencies, we can be better focused and have more time to go deep into their accounts.”
Select Risk Services specializes in casualty lines and also writes inland marine and property. Targeted sectors include energy, environmental, construction, manufacturing, marine and transportation.
