Author: ACT News Team
“We have the best chance of disrupting our industry,” says Christine Horne, a 17-year industry veteran who now serves as VP of system support at Bankers Insurance, headquartered in Glen Allen, Va. “We help put people’s lives back together after a loss. That’s a powerful statement about our industry and I think in many ways drives the passion a lot of us feel for what we do.”
Christine believes the insurance industry has some of the most creative, thoughtful, innovative people of any industry, and she ought to know. Christine is involved in the Applied Client Network and serves as chair of its product advisory committee; she’s on IVANS’ agency advisory council; she’s a member of AUGIE’s executive committee and an AUGIE ambassador; and she’s active in the IIABA’s Agents Council for Technology, among a host of other duties and organizations in her personal and professional life.
“I just say yes to everything!” Christine says. We’ll come back to that in a bit.
How does she handle all of this AND her work at work? Not a problem, she says. The message and mission of all her professional groups dovetails with what she’s doing internally at her agency. It allows her to help others get better at their jobs, and it’s constantly making her smarter.
Positioned to Make a Difference
The self-described “contrarian” says she loves the process of discovering new and better ways of doing what we do in insurance. But it’s not only a sentiment. Christine is a voracious reader of industry material and enjoys digging into all that our agency management systems can do. Once you find out how rich the systems are and learn how to use them properly, your work processes can be greatly enhanced, and your efficiency can skyrocket, she says. That’s happy stuff.
In recollecting her early years in the industry, Christine remembers her original agency, which was small, so “we all wore a lot of hats.” One of hers was systems administrator. When that agency was bought, she helped with the integration into the new shop. After a short while, the person who held the system support position left that role, and Christine saw it as another opportunity to grow.
“Once I moved into the system support role, I found it was fascinating. The systems have a lot to offer, so sometimes it’s like getting out our detective badge and pursuing the case,” she says.
The new position really fed into Christine’s passion: growth through opportunity. Which brings us back to “saying yes to everything.” No opportunity is too small, in Christine’s opinion. She started in the industry as a receptionist at her original agency then saw the chance to get her property/casualty license and grabbed that. She followed with a life and health license and her series 6/63 licenses. Along the way, Christine was blessed to meet Vernell Hogan. Vernell and she “clicked.”
“Vernell really mentored me and gave me opportunities.”
It sounds like one needs a lot of education and hard work plus having the luck to run into the right person along the way, but Christine says a bunch of letters after your name goes only so far. People without a college degree can be very intelligent, diligent, creative individuals with a ton of potential. It’s a matter of finding the right employees, people who bring the right attitude probably more than the right academic degree, she says.
“I think someone who is hungry to learn and to grow is the best candidate for hire and advancement—someone who doesn’t think any job is beneath them,” Christine says. “Things I learned at McDonald’s still help me today. People have got to be willing to roll up their sleeves and do anything that’s needed in the agency. Our agency respects every role in our firm. Everyone is integrated to support the whole agency effort.”
What about the new generation? They are our future.
“The main thing is, you’ve also got to conduct yourself as a professional,” she says. “You have to be willing to work collaboratively and with a broadly diverse group. And remember that, if you’re going to get attention, make sure it’s of the good kind—you know, because of accomplishments. As the saying goes, it takes 100 attaboys to make up for one oh-no.”
Tech Takeaways
Since Christine is a system support veep, it stands to reason she can give us some pointers on agency technology implementation.
“At Bankers,” she says, “we treat technology as a tool, not as our master.”
That means they don’t immediately jump on every jazzy thing that comes down the pike. They talk to their users. They talk to their clients. And they figure out what technology offerings will best help the agency fulfill its role in the community. Those are the products and services they adopt.
“Solutions will differ from agency to agency and even within an agency,” she says.
That doesn’t mean the firm has no standardized processes or repeatable, transferrable workflows. It just means the agent is permitted, within set parameters, to use the tools available to fit each client’s particular needs. Some want to text. Some want to email. All pretty much like e-signature. The goal is to free the staff to give clients the customer experience they prefer. That does sound kind of “contrarian,” doesn’t it!
“E-signature is a freeing technology. It makes a world of difference,” Christine says. “Interface supports our whole agency: so-and-so has done their part, now the ball is in my court. I can see where the ball is! How great is that!”
Christine applauds her agency’s training department. “They are fantastic,” she says. “When we get a new functionality, training studies it and promulgates it. We have a help desk that shows people the shortcuts and tricks. We show those who are resistant how much faster and better their processes could be, and that has proven to win them over. Everyone wants work to be easier, right?”
The flexibility good technology gives allows a lot of offsite work as well. People can still connect because they have the appropriate lines of communication and access outside the walls of the agency. “Our systems essentially allow us to be anywhere at any time,” she says.
That kind of access is good not only for internal communications and workflow but also for external outreach. Knowing your clientele and how they want to interact is crucial. Everyone talks about going digital, having online sales, minimizing the burden of face-to-face, in-shop interactions. But hold on a moment!
“I’m torn,” says Christine when asked about the future model for the independent agency channel. “Everyone wants ease of doing business, yes, but millennials also consistently say they want personal advice—crowd-sourced or from experts, whichever—ultimately that advice will come through or from the agent. It’s really just a matter of making our connection moments better. And those define the technology we will use. And, by the way, successful agents are already adapting.”
On a Personal Note: Christine Horne
Family: Wife of 26 years, mother to one son and three spoiled dogs
R&R: Hiking, knitting and crocheting, baking—especially fabulous cakes for Christmas—enjoying local festivals and traveling
Current Reading: The Wisdom of Crowds by James Surowiecki and Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee
What You Would Eat If It Had No Calories: Wow—tough question! I think I’d have to go with anything Indian. That is my favorite cuisine, and I’d eat it every day if I could.
Favorite Person in History: Here’s the contrarian side of me: I don’t like favorites. Favorites are too limiting and, for somebody like me, subject to change depending on what I’m currently exploring. J