The first week of April wasn’t a good time for Merle Miller, owner of Stewardship Property Solutions. At 1:30 a.m., a drunk driver slammed into his office building located in Massillon. Fortunately, no one was in the building at the time, which still left a big mess to clean up property and insurance wise.
Luckily, Miller knew the right person to call. Tommy Brenner, a business risk advisor for the insurance agency Hummel Group, is one of Miller’s most trusted counsel. His recent predicament reassured him of his choice to do business with Hummel Group five years ago.
“The next morning (after the incident), Tommy calls me and already has things in motion,” Miller recalled. “He understands the need for urgency when there’s urgency required. And he’s kind. I love working with him, and he’s who I think of when I think of an insurance agent that knows the importance of executing in the right way and for the right cost to the right policy.”
Brenner gives out his cell number to his clients so that whenever something urgent comes along, they can contact him without a problem. When he received the voicemail from Merle the morning of the accident at the Stewardship Property Solutions building, he responded right away by activating the claims team and connecting with Merle to walk him through the process to restore the damaged building.
“I don’t promise that I’ve got the solution right away, but I do promise that I’ll at least begin to get the process started and be available if there’s something that needs attention sooner rather than later,” Brenner said.
Miller and Brenner got things moving following that phone call and retrieved an architect and an adjuster to come out that same week. Along with that, Miller was able to select his own contractors to provide estimates, with the help of the Hummel claims team. And as planned, when the policy was created, Miller’s building could be brought back to its original condition.
“This is one of the larger claims that I’ve ever had to submit, and Hummel was on top of it. I’ve got a number of people working on things, and they’re executing well,” Miller said.
When Miller first weighed his options on insurance agencies five years ago, he was disappointed by the lack of good rates the agencies came back with. He was going to give up and keep his original expensive plan until he received a call from Brenner.
“I was just foolishly approaching policies or insurance before, but he got us better coverage,” Miller said.
When Brenner reviews a policy for a prospective client, over half the time it’s not a reflection of their business, so they end up not having the proper coverage. After an evaluation on the front end and deciding if Hummel Group’s coverage will suit a potential client, Brenner and his team dive in to better understand the business and make sure they put together an insurance solution that is a direct reflection of the operation.
“We evaluate together, we hold hands through the process, and if we determine together this makes sense, we take a step forward,” Brenner said.
After having the first of many future meetings with Miller, Brenner went back and put together a plan. When he came back to Miller, he presented him with an easy to interpret proposal, gave appropriate coverage for what a landlord and property management company needs, and a premium at or below what Miller was originally paying for.
“We were getting significantly better coverage, so in the meeting, I was like, ‘Tommy, you’ve got our business,’” Brenner said. “Usually, I wait and I think it over and I do more comparing, but that time there was none of that, and he’s been our agent ever since.”
As an independent agency with access to 34 different companies, Hummel Group has a network that allows them to find carriers they don’t have a direct relationship with to see if they can find a solution. Rarely do they ever run into a circumstance where they’re unable to find a carrier for the operation they’re partnering with.
Brenner’s gone on to help many of Miller’s clients because of Miller’s high praise for the services Hummel Group provides. Miller complimented the steady amount of insurance carriers Brenner has in his call log that still care about insuring rental properties.
“(Brenner) knows how landlords need insurance approaches for investment property better than most other agents,” Miller said.
In the beginning, while working with Miller, Brenner pointed out things to him that had room for improvement. But as they began to work more closely, their acquaintanceship turned into mutual respect, then a friendship, and then concluded with a business relationship.
“It always helps when you can deliver good news of cost savings,” Brenner said. “From there, (Miller’s) entrusted us with nearly all of his business ventures, and we’re an extension of his team now.”
Miller appreciates Brenner for being able to take a fresh look at what they needed for coverage, which ended up being the best coverage possible at better price than he was paying before.
“I would highly recommend any investor give Tommy and his team at the Hummel Group a call, and an opportunity to put an estimate together for comparison with their existing insurance coverage and premium. He represents the best of insurance agents,” Miller said.
Start by getting a quote today or call the office at 800-860-1060 to schedule a time to get started.
