Entreken logo

Company snapshot

Entrekin Insurance was founded May 1, 2019, in the coastal Mississippi town of D’lberville. What started as a one-person operation has grown into a successful business that prides itself on being the hometown insurance agency the community can count on.

Growing up, Jody Entrekin didn’t know anything about insurance. There was limited education available—neither his family nor anyone he knew understood home or auto insurance.

When Hurricane Katrina hit the state of Mississippi in 2005, Jody was a first-time homeowner without sufficient insurance coverage. He lost everything except the clothes on his back.

“I learned my lesson about insurance the hard way. I went to an agent and just got whatever they told me I needed. No one took the opportunity to sit down and explain it to me. And when I learned the lesson the hard way, I was very angry.”
– Jody Entrekin, Owner/CEO

 

From this tragedy arose a desire to ensure that no one in his community would experience the same kind of loss due to inadequate coverage. He changed careers and started Entrekin Insurance, an independent agency founded on one goal: to provide quality insurance products and educate clients about the complexities of insurance so they can make smart insurance decisions for themselves.

Modernize Your Agency

Vertafore solutions

  • QQCatalyst
  • Orange Partner Program
    –Agency Revolution
    –Insurance Agent App

Proven results

Retention Rate:

  • Entrekin Insurance: 98.7%
  • Industry average: 83%

NPS Score average:

  • Entrekin Insurance: 99
  • Industry average: +32

Not only does technology help with the agency's marketing efforts, but it also provides the time to focus on educating clients, who are often faced with a difficult decision—choose a policy that meets their needs or a policy that meets their budget. The Entrekin Insurance team prides itself on teaching about prices, deductibles, and trends so clients can be comfortable making informed decisions. QQCatalyst's automation for administrative tasks allows this three-person agency the opportunity to provide this higher level of care.

There's no way I have the time to focus on advertising and marketing my agency. I let the products do that for me.”
– Jody Entrekin

Automated, easy to use, & scalable

QQCatalyst is an insurance management software that provides operational, marketing, and sales pipeline management tools. It enables agencies to strengthen customer relationships and ensure effective business management so they can focus on growing their book of business.

It provides Entrekin Insurance the opportunity to connect with clients and grow its business. With three full-time employees, the agency requires a system that provides client management and service, sales and marketing automation, and robust integrations with other technology solutions. With QQCatalyst, Jody and his team can forget time-consuming processes and manual workflows and turn to building genuine client connections, providing education, and focusing on agency growth.

Entrekin Insurance started with one agent and zero advertising. Within a year of opening, the agency has had more than $500,000 in sales. "I have to utilize what Vertafore has given me the opportunity to utilize. My advertising comes from Vertafore partners and my management system.”

Jody

"Within the first year, Entrekin's sales premiums were already impressive, and have now tripled. This yields a nearly 180% growth rate to date."
– Jody Entrekin

Best-in-class complementary solutions

Vertafore Orange Partner Program

The Vertafore Orange Partner Program provides open access and integrations using available APIs that bring best-in-class capabilities to our suite of products. Jody has been able to increase revenue and client retention and communications by utilizing Agency Revolution’s marketing automation platform, Fuse. He also provides a modern interface through the Insurance Agent App, an integration that allows clients to engage with the agency where and when they want. Entrekin Insurance maintains continuous contact with its clients—from sending birthday text messages to customized emails explaining new policies—building a foundation of trust and reliability. 

After a hurricane, an Entrekin Insurance client was able to submit pictures and other important information regarding property damage directly through the Insurance Agent App. Jody and his team were then able to send the information directly to their carriers in a timely and secure manner, resulting in their client getting paid faster. With these easy-to-use integrations, Entrekin Insurance can stay up-to-speed in servicing their customers, ensuring they are providing the best client experience. 

Entrekin Insurance’s focus on providing excellent service and education sets it apart from other agencies in the area.

 

"That's what makes us different here... it's the compassion.”
– Jody Entrekin

As the Insurance industry evolves and client expectations change, the key to remaining relevant and profitable lies in embracing modern technology. QQCatalyst enables agency customers to build stronger relationships and grow their book of business by simplifying client and policy management and automating daily processes.

Vertafore is here to be your partner and guide you through this evolving landscape. Contact us to learn more about how Vertafore can help you drive growth for your business.

Learn more about QQCatalyst     Contact Vertafore

NetRate: A rating solution offering critical efficiency

American Specialty Insurance & Risk Services, Inc. is an MGA/MGU with letters of authority, that writes business through 1,000 independent agents. They underwrite for sports, leisure, and entertainment industries nationwide—businesses that place the company in the crosshairs of exposures such as injuries, concussions, sexual harassment and abuse, guns, terrorism, and venue issues.  

American Specialty president, Drew Smith, has 60 teammates in Fort Wayne, Indiana, working in sales, accounting, IT, underwriting and claims. American Specialty was established in 1989, and purchased by Brown & Brown (B&B) in 2005.

Drew says the acquisition gives the company several advantages, including the ability to work with like-minded individuals and access to robust carrier partner relationships. They use NetRate to handle their commercial lines rating requirements. 

“We’re ambassadors of NetRate within B&B,” said Drew. “We continue to recommend NetRate to other MGAs at B&B. We’re part of National Programs, which is now 25% of B&B revenue.”

Service first, last, and always

The company's website promotes the American Specialty brand, “What Special Feels Like,” to highlight their goal to provide service beyond expectation. This concept is so ingrained in their DNA, that they demand "special" from their vendor and technology partners as well.

“We need to continue to raise the bar, evolve as a service organization, and move quickly as the market changes. We like the speed with which changes can be made with the NetRate application,” said Drew. He added that thanks to NetRate, “carriers see us as a speed boat rather than a cruise ship. If a system is static and slow, it won’t work for an MGA in today’s world. We tried other rating software but chose NetRate because it is the fastest to process and efficiency is critical. That is what special feels like.” 

The focus on service and moving quickly as the market changes is clearly reflected on their website. When the COVID-19 pandemic severely affected large crowd gatherings, American Specialty included checklists, questions to consider, and numerous resources for their sports, leisure, and entertainment clients to review as they started to reopen their venues.

Not only did the website have items to focus on before reopening, with sources to monitor for up-to-date information, American Specialty went the extra mile to create industry specific guidelines for modifications to consider while reopening. 

We like the speed with which changes can be made with the NetRate application. If a system is static and slow, it won’t work for an MGA in today’s world.

We tried other rating software but chose NetRate because it is the fastest to process and efficiency is critical.”  

Drew Smith
President, American Specialty Insurance & Risk Services, Inc.

NetRate: Built for MGAs

Vertafore’s ISO rater accurately rates throughout the policy lifecycle

  • ISO compliant 

  • Seamless integrations 
  • Connect documents
  • Quick and customized
  • Streamlined data collection 
  • Easy to use

An essential NetRate benefit: User-friendly and intuitive

In addition to being flexible and adjusting to the marketplace, having a rater that is easy to use is a key benefit, according to Drew. “NetRate is user-friendly and intuitive—easy for a new teammate to use.”

Also, the NetRate application supports American Specialty’s filed rating plans, adding to their efficiency. “We’re in a no-mistakes business, so eliminating the need to re-key data streamlines the process and helps avoid errors," Drew said.

“We have used NetRate for many years and think of your team as an extension of ours. You continue to move with us. We appreciate your approach to work, and that your team is visible."

He added, "We’re glad see you at conferences—you’re always on our list as a vendor we want to meet up with at events.” We couldn’t agree more! Meeting up with clients gives meaning to our work at Vertafore and we are proud to support the commercial insurance industry at events. 

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