A Letter to Our Agents

Paul’s Perspective – October 24, 2023

My name is Paul Choi, and it’s my privilege to lead the Collector Car Division for NSM Insurance Group. Over the years, many agents have asked me insightful questions about NSM Insurance Group’s commitment and strategy to grow American Collectors Insurance. I write this letter to share my perspective from these discussions with a broader audience, including our key agent partners like you.

“The secret of getting ahead is getting started.” – Mark Twain

Shortly after I joined NSM in 2019, we embarked on a transformation journey within the Collector Car Division. We engaged in internal debates, refined our mission, and distilled our goals to make informed decisions on resource allocation and prioritization. The mission of the Collector Car Division can be summed up in seven simple words: “Embrace, Protect, and Expand the Collector Community.”

Throughout this journey, my team and I have quietly built and strengthened our core platform. We introduced the industry leading TreasureGuard™ Classic and Collector Car insurance policy, developed digital marketing expertise, enhanced customer service capabilities, and improved our internal technology and processes. As a result of these efforts, we have rightfully earned our reputation as the highest-rated collector car insurer in the industry.

Commitment to the Independent Agent Channel

As you are aware, independent agents are the lifeblood of the insurance industry. They must be well-informed about competing policies from various insurers to help to educate consumers about alternative coverage options. Independent agents create value by guiding consumers in making informed decisions about their coverage and choice of companies.

To support the independent agent channel effectively, our priorities are four-fold:

1. Develop best-in-class insurance policies with differentiated coverages and features, enabling agents to demonstrate consultative expertise convincingly.
2. Streamline processes and reduce friction costs required to write new and service existing policies.
3. Enhance the intuitiveness and ease of use of our systems to become the agent’s preferred option.
4. Increase awareness of the American Collectors Insurance brand in the marketplace to facilitate sales.

In other words, we are committed to becoming an enabling partner by enhancing an agent’s new business productivity, policy servicing efficiency, producer opportunities, and agency profitability.

Since our last update, American Collectors Insurance has implemented the various resources to better support our broker partners:

• Agent Fastlane Phone Line: (833) 4-ACI-AGT or (833-422-4248): A dedicated agent-only phone number designed to quickly answer calls from our broker partners staffed by experienced, capable team members.
• Agent Portal Relaunch: Our revamped portal expedites the quoting process and allows agents to modify existing quotes, make payments, retrieve ID cards, and submit policy change requests. This portal will continue to be enhanced with new functionality on an ongoing basis.

We have already received numerous positive comments about the changes so far.  I encourage you to experiment with these new capabilities to see how they might benefit your business.

We acknowledge that there are many more opportunities for improvement ahead to fully increase our credibility and gain the trust within the broker channel.  And, while I can’t reveal all the details about future enhancements in this letter, I am confident that you will be delighted with our future improvements that underscore our commitment to the independent agent channel.  Also, I can assure you that we are committed to creating meaningful improvements in the day-to-day business operations, efficiency, and profitability for our independent agent partners.

Your partnership and feedback are invaluable in ensuring that we prioritize, develop, and implement changes that benefit your agency the most. Please feel free to email me directly with any comments, suggestions, feedback, or constructive criticism about our past and ongoing efforts, as well as your suggestions for the future. My direct email address is: [email protected].

In closing, I want to express my gratitude for your patience and understanding during the “remodeling” and “renovation” phase of our NSM Collector Car Division. While we’ve already made significant progress, the final reveal will be well worth the wait.

Regards,

Paul Choi
President, NSM Collector Car Division