All Manager Meeting Recap
It was two years in the making thanks to Covid, but we finally were able to meet for the eighth annual WRC All Manager Meeting.
On Wednesday, October 27, 46 current and successor managers and their guests gathered with WRC employees in the beautiful River Room at the Grand River Conference Center in Dubuque, Iowa. We enjoyed a delicious dinner and 360-degree views of the mighty Mississippi River. The highlights of the night may have been the ice cream bar and a side of cake with Senior Marketing Manager Doug Modrell’s face on it. Happy birthday, Doug!
Terry Wendorff, President and CEO of The WRC Group, opened Thursday’s meeting by greeting attendees and emphasizing the importance of networking and sharing ideas with fellow client managers over the next couple days. Our first keynote speaker, Tony Cañas, the Chief Motivational Officer of Insurance Nerds and Client Advisor of The Jacobson Group, took the stage. Tony had a very interactive and interesting presentation on engaging and retaining millennial staff in the insurance industry.
Our morning continued with an update from Executive Vice President of 1st Auto Lisa Russell on the Businessowners Policy program and WASI. Vice President of WRC Agency Sara Mohrbacher followed with a discussion on three unique risks that WRC Agency can write. Sherry Taylor, Manager of Product Development and Support, concluded our morning with an update on communicable disease and cyber exclusion endorsements.
We broke for a “tailgater’s lunch” and enjoyed hamburgers and brats in the River Room. The fall weather was a little gloomy, but the river and ferries were still on the move!
Sherry opened the afternoon with additional endorsement updates related to solar panels and service lines. WRC Marketing Manager Kay Midthun then shared marketing strategies for mutuals.
The final presentation of the day was a group effort from the Mutual Assistance team. Personal Underwriting Consultant Melissa Stream, Loss Control Consultant Sabine Voigt, Manager of Property Loss Consulting Jeff Blevins and Property Loss Consultant Steve Carroll joined forces to discuss underwriting, loss prevention and claims handling of high valued homes.
Throughout the day, we participated in roundtable discussions related to the topics presented. Each table was able to share their own processes, stories and experiences. Several attendees stayed after the meeting adjourned to get one-on-one ShareBase training with a member of the Reinsurance Administration team.
Thursday evening, we were greeted by ducks, fish and turtles at the National Mississippi River Museum and Aquarium. Attendees and guests were invited to explore the museum during the cocktail hour and socialize with each other and the wildlife. We enjoyed a dinner catered by J&D Catering of New Vienna, Iowa (can we take a moment to remember that steak?!).
During dinner, we viewed a slideshow celebrating Terry Wendorff’s tenure at WRC. Terry is retiring at the end of the year, so this was a great opportunity to commemorate his final All Manager Meeting. Some people filtered back to the hotel after dessert, and others stuck around to watch the game between the Green Bay Packers and the Arizona Cardinals on the big screen. Go Pack Go!
After one last breakfast in the River Room, Vice President of Reinsurance Brett Daniels kicked off Friday’s agenda with a Reinsurance Department update. He handed the mic to Holborn Corporation Executive Vice President and Branch Manager Tom Frank and Senior Vice President Greg Kaiser for the Friday keynote presentation. Tom and Greg spoke about catastrophe claims and trends.
Our final presentation was given by General Manager of Laclede Mutual Scott Kelley and WRC Vice President of Mutual Assistance Greg Gonnering on rate reviews and adequacy. Each table then participated in a roundtable discussion regarding Friday’s topics.
To conclude the 2021 All Manager Meeting, Terry thanked all the attendees for coming and sharing their time and ideas. In turn, the group thanked Terry with a big round of applause and a standing ovation for his contribution to WRC and the mutual insurance industry over the years.
A boxed lunch was provided for attendees and their guests to allow for some last-minute networking opportunities. As in prior years, please review the handouts, presentation slides and roundtable notes by logging into the WRC website and then going to Documents > Operation Assistance > All Manager Meeting Materials > 2021 All Manager Meeting. Scott’s rate review spreadsheet templates also are available on the WRC website. We would like to thank everyone who made this year’s event great and look forward to seeing you again at the 2022 WRC All Manager Meeting. If you were unable to attend, we encourage you to reach out to fellow managers to hear about their experience at the meeting and make plans to join us in the future!