McAuliffe Realty Company Gets a $55,000 Surprise
A few pieces of mail trickled in first. And then there were the e-mails, followed by the faxes about the Drive for 55 incentive that Foremost was offering to Farmers and Foremost licensed and appointed independent agents. Michelle Hobbs, Personal Lines Manager for McAuliffe Realty Company in Augusta, Georgia, took notice of the contest, but was still pretty skeptical.

“I thought it would be a long shot to win, but I went ahead and registered our agency,” she said. “I didn't think we had any chance of winning the Grand Prize, but thought we might be able to win one of the monthly prizes.”

The Drive for 55 contest was the biggest agent incentive offered in Foremost history, and was part of a year-long celebration of Foremost's 55th anniversary. After agencies registered, they only needed one new business policy to qualify for the monthly drawings to win a $100 American Express gift card or a Garmin Nuvi 660 GPS unit. To be eligible to win the Grand Prize drawing, agencies had to write ten new business policies. The Top Driver Grand Prize was the biggest Foremost has ever offered: the winner could choose between a new car, or a boat and trailer, or two Harley-Davidson motorcycles, or a mini motor home, or two ATVs and a trailer, or two snowmobiles and a trailer or $55,000 in cash! The contest ran from February 1 through November 30, 2007.

“It was really easy to register,” said Hobbs. “I just filled in our information and Foremost tracked our new business. I was able to let it go and just work hard on issuing new policies.”

The clock ticked down as the incentive drew to a close, and little did McAuliffe Realty Company realize that one policy could change their future in a big way.

The agency's Foremost representative, Joey Blakeney, and Zone Vice President, Jerry Payne, called McAuliffe Realty Company soon after the contest ended.

“They were insistent on coming to see us in person,” said Hobbs, “but they wouldn't tell us why. When they came to visit, they went over our numbers like they typically do. Then they said, ‘Now let's get down to the good stuff.'”

“We told them that they were the Top Driver Grand Prize Winner in the Drive for 55 incentive,” said Joey Blakeney, Senior District Manager, IA Operations. “Their first thought was ‘where's the hidden camera?' They really thought we were joking.”

“Joey and Jerry ran through our choices of taking the cash or any of the other prizes,” said Hobbs. “It was unbelievable! I thought there was no way we could win – we are not Foremost's biggest agency and we didn't write the most new policies. But then Joey reminded me that everyone got an equal chance and we were the ones who were drawn.”

“We were so excited, we told the whole agency right away,” said Hobbs. “First we told our Personal Lines department, since it was a personal policy that helped us win. Then we went to our Commercial Lines department in a friendly, rivaling way and let them know what Personal Lines had done.”

The agency happily decided they would accept the $55,000 cash prize. “Dick Blanchard, the President of our agency, announced that the entire agency would be sharing the award,” said Jeff Barrett, Vice President of Operations. “He felt there wouldn't have been a way for all of our employees to enjoy the other prize options, so he accepted the cash since it could be shared with the biggest number of people. He took advantage of the opportunity to give the staff a bit of a bonus. We plan to invest the rest of the prize money back into the company to improve working conditions and to assist the staff in becoming even more efficient, as well as putting some into our marketing and advertising fund to drum up more business.”

On January 21, 2008, the entire McAuliffe Realty Company was invited to the official award presentation held at the Partridge Inn in Augusta. Foremost provided a catered lunch in a private room right off the veranda. Several representatives from Foremost, including Arron Lamp, Ron Joyner, Jerry Payne, Eric Schmidt, and Joey Blakeney, attended the presentation to personally congratulate the agency on their win. Ron Joyner, Foremost Executive Director, IA Operations, presented the oversized check for $55,000 to Dick Blanchard, President of McAuliffe Realty Company.

“We feel very fortunate to come out the winner,” said Barrett. “We've had a contract with Foremost since the early 90s and have valued them and have kept a good relationship over the years.”

Good relationships are important to this agency that's been locally owned since 1917. They started out doing mostly real estate and rental business until they shifted to insurance in 1964. In 1972, they began doing business as Insurance Services of Augusta and eventually grew to become one of the larger full-service insurance agencies in the city. They offer property and casualty insurance and work with a wide variety of customers, ranging from personal insurance, and mom and pop shops to large commercial accounts. When Foremost began working with them, they were not the typical agency for specialty lines. In the 1990s, they revamped their personal lines and began concentrating on developing them as profit centers. Right now they generally write Foremost's manufactured home and specialty dwelling products, but more lately are taking on new lines.

“Almost 100% of their business with Foremost is manufactured home and specialty dwelling,” said Blakeney. “And their specialty dwelling has grown 1500% in the last 12 months. I've worked hard with them because of their market and location to help them understand that other things work with our Basics program, like vacancies.”

“We're poised to continue to grow,” said Barrett. “We have a professional staff with a good mix of age and experience. We're relationship-oriented to bring in quality clients. Our clients have a need for what Foremost has to offer with the specialty lines. We are currently in the process of merging with First Insurance Agency, which brings the possibility of new flavor for our business. I could see us focusing more concentration in certain areas, while also obtaining new markets. We will be increasing our ability for commercial and personal lines, and we're very excited to become more involved with the Farmers side of things.”

“Their agency is a quality and profitable business for Foremost,” said Blakeney. “They always do things the right way, and are a great agency to work with. Of course, I have the Foremost team backing me up at the home office – when I walk into their agency, I never hear them complaining about our service in any way. They seem very excited to be doing business with us.”

Even though Drive for 55 is over, the excitement of winning is still lingering for McAuliffe Realty Company.

“It's been a positive push,” said Barrett. “Not only were we able to give our employees a little bonus, we're still displaying the big check in our office. Our employees and visitors see it when they come in and it serves as a morale booster. It's motivation for us to introduce even more clients to Foremost. You definitely have a different viewpoint when you win a contest with a company. It makes you pay even more attention when other incentives come out.”

Before Drive for 55 had even ended, Foremost was already planning for the next agent incentive. Book for 25 is the next contest that can earn your agency some fast cash and it's already started!

Not only are there six $250 cash prize drawings each month with Book for 25, there will be FIVE Grand Prize winners of $5,000 each! The chances of winning are even better than before! One policy is all an agency needs to be eligible for the monthly drawings. Ten new policies will qualify an agency for the Grand Prize drawings. How can agents get their new business to count? All Foremost agents need to do is visit www.Bookfor25.com to register. Farmers agents can register by going to e-Agent and clicking on the link there. That's it. Foremost will do the rest.

Book for 25 only runs from March 1 through May 31, 2008, so agencies should register today so they don't miss out on a chance to win. McAuliffe Realty Company took a chance and now they have a gigantic, Grand Prize check displayed in their office. Wouldn't it be nice to have one hanging up at YOUR agency?

Stay tuned for more information and don't forget to register to win! Maybe your agency will be one of the lucky ones drawn, just like McAuliffe Realty Company was!