Marji Guyler-Alaniz is the President of AgriSompo International, and the Chief Operating Officer of AgriSompo North America.
Click here to view previous posts.
Being a Stable and Secure Partner, Today and Tomorrow
As we head into our fourth year as AgriSompo, I feel something new, something different, something more stable than I have felt before. Pausing a bit to reflect on these new and exciting feelings, I realize that it is because today we are stable yet growing, smart yet learning, financially strong and openly committed to continuously improving across our organization. We know who we are and we have a clear vision for where we are going. This is an exciting spot to be. It is one we have strived towards, but the learning, growing, and improving are just starting. Let me take a minute to share some of the significant areas that we are focused on in the coming year and some members of our team who are driving results:
People-Focused Culture
The experience, knowledge, and capability of our team is a force to be reckoned with. Through the ups and downs that come with a merger at the size and scale that we went through, our people have been, and remain, our strength. Our team never ceases to amaze me with the care, effort, knowledge and stick-to-it-ivness (yes that’s a word here) that they have. Have things been perfect? No, but we are consistently improving, and I am reminded daily of how great our team is.
Have you met Shay Foster? Shay leads our Billing, Commissions, and Indemnity Payment teams and is a driving force behind ensuring we get indemnity payments and commissions into the hands of our customers and partners timely and correctly. Shay is working closely with teams across the organization to ensure we are constantly improving and evolving in our ability to deliver efficient and effective service.
Shay Foster
Enhanced Customer Experience
Our regions, put in place in our first year to bring service closer to our customers, are functioning well and are led by experienced and engaged leaders. While overall we operate from the same playbook, our regions have consistently evolved to be a significant driver of day-to-day decision making. With enhanced service as one of our five key goals for this year, we are focused on continuing to strengthen our regions. I get the opportunity to work daily with our regional vice presidents and am proud for what each and every one brings to the organization and their commitment to continuous improvement. Meet the regional vice presidents here.
Cultural Shift to Profitable Portfolio Management
What started on December 28, 2020 as a massive cultural shift towards becoming an underwriting company, focused not on the top line gross premium but on the bottom-line results, is well on its way. We are intently focused on creating a balanced spread of risk across the country for stable and consistent results.
AgriSompo has a deep commitment from our parent company, Sompo, driving our focus on becoming more sustainable over time with a long-term look at how we are a global crop insurance leader today and in the future. Through the first few years we were focused on stabilizing our organization and assembling the right leadership team for the future. Today, throughout AgriSompo, we know where we’re going and what our goals are, and we are intent on continuing to make our place as an industry leader. While there will always be changes and issues in crop insurance due to the ever-evolving nature of the program, we have strong teams who are knowledgeable and can quickly address changes and issues when they arise.
Recently, industry veteran Mark Allison joined our AgriSompo executive team, and we couldn’t be more thrilled about the knowledge, experience, and steady hand he brings operationally as we continue our growth in this cultural shift.
Mark Allison
Technology Advancement
From day one we have prioritized stability in AgriNet while making plans for upgrades to ensure the program can deliver what our customers need while adhering to program requirements both today and in the future. As our IT team has evolved in recent years, we have created a progressive and aggressive roadmap for future enhancements to continue to simplify the program and increase our levels of service. We are committed to delivering on these enhancements while maintaining our stability and service in the coming months and years.
Scott Speaker, the Chief Information Officer responsible for IT at AgriSompo, brings decades of insurance industry technology leadership to our team and has been instrumental in aligning us for stability today and progress in the future.
Scott Speaker
Program Stewardship
We believe in a strong safety net for farmers and ranchers and are committed to engaging amongst the industry and with the RMA to ensure we are a voice in the future of the program. As an Approved Insurance Provider and significant risk bearer, we have serious skin in this game along with our partners, customers, and broadly, taxpayers.
With this in mind, we have formed the American Coalition for Rural Engagement (ACRE) to provide continued stewardship of the US crop insurance program. ACRE is a membership organization with a focus on advocacy and education in support of the US crop insurance risk safety net. It is on all of us to do our parts to advocate for a stable and consistent crop insurance program today and tomorrow! Click here to learn more about ACRE and to become a member.
Note my shiny new ACRE pin that I received as a member of our new organization focused on advocacy and education.
In closing, I will reiterate that today, we know who we are and have a clear vision of where we are going. We are committed to continuous improvement, listening, learning, and growing together. We look forward to growing our long-term relationship as a stable and secure partner in delivering crop insurance to the people we all work to serve: farmers and ranchers.