A Hartland-based independent insurance agency will triple its office space this September as it plans to double its staff and triple its revenue within the next five years.
R C Insurance Services Inc. is constructing a 30,000-square-foot office building at 1320 Walnut Ridge Drive in Hartland. The full-service insurance provider will occupy 7,000 square-feet of space and lease out the remaining 23,000 square-feet to local businesses.
The company currently leases about 2,000 square feet at its current location at 130 E. Capitol Drive, said Robert Cardenas, president and chief executive officer of R C Insurance Services.
Hartland-based AQS, Inc., headquartered across the street at 1325 Walnut Ridge Drive, has leased the 15,000-square-foot first floor of the building.
R C Insurance Services is currently looking for tenants to lease the remaining 8,000 square feet in the building.
The company currently has 20 employees and plans to have at least 40 employees within the next five years, said Jeffrey Cardenas, an account executive with R C Insurance Services and Robert’s son. He declined to disclose the company’s annual revenue.
R C has doubled its revenue in the last five years as the result of a human resources and financial strategy overhaul, Jeffrey said.
“About seven years ago, we made the decision to expand,” he said. “We have made changes in the last five years to get the company to where we are today, including the decision to split the company into different departments and hire specialists for each.”
As a result of that decision, R C now has four departments, focusing on commercial property/casualty; employee benefits; personal lines and financial services, Jeffrey said.
Jeffrey joined his father’s business five years ago and guided the company through business analysis to find out what components the firm needed to adopt to excel at service and grow in numbers.
It is all about bringing experienced people on board, Jeffrey said.
“It took about two years to get the right people in the right seats,” Jeffrey said. “These have been our transition years human resources-wise. Now we plan to start new with a solid platform.”
With a new strategy in place for hiring and customer service, R C Insurance Services expects to double its revenue again in the next two years and have tripled its revenue by 2012.
Robert founded the company in 1978 focusing on commercial property/casualty lines. After five years, he hired his first customer service representative, which enabled him to more than double the firm’s revenue and employment in the few following years.
The insurance industry is currently experiencing a soft market, in which premiums have decreased. To grow, R C Insurance Services will need to add clients to its roster and round out the existing accounts with a team approach, Jeffrey said.
“We are in growth mode,” Jeffrey said. “We hold people accountable, share opinions, get along. One thing we have done is we have gotten the teams involved in our mission and vision. Our slogan is, ‘Educated agents, educated clients, the trusted team of choice.'”
The team approach includes the hiring of specialists within each department that work alongside specialists in other departments to serve individual clients’ needs. The company has also integrated a “high-touch” environment, where every communication with a client is as face-to-face as possible, including hand-delivering policies, Jeffrey said.
“I have always told my staff if they take care of the clients first, the revenue will follow,” Robert said.
