Insurance Advocate’s Enterprise of the Year 2013

MSO Sets Expansion, Member Services Goals

“Fresh” is the best word to describe MSO today. Fresh can mean a lot of things, but the Insurance Advocate’s Enterprise of the Year has taken this word to a new level.

MSO, Inc., formerly known as Mutual Service Office, started life as a rating bureau for companies that write risks on an individual basis. With more than 35 members at present, the New Jersey based entity has set its sights on national expansion. MSO has expanded its Board with national representation and added numerous products and educational offerings for its members. In short, MSO is repositioning rapidly to better serve the small to medium sized carrier.

Under Jan Scites’ leadership working together with a motivated and expert team and a forward looking board, this enterprise is “going national” right before our eyes.

We cannot express how enthusiastic this publication was in interviewing MSO’s brass after hearing numerous accolades about the company’s growth. MSO is our 2013 Enterprise of the Year with good reason.

On the matter of expansion: In interviews with the board, the underlying theme was service to members, retention and expansion of the subscriber base, and growth in new geographic areas. Other priorities include continued good relationships with regulators and additional product offerings. MSO is providing education to the industry in the form of webinars, seminars and regularly published articles. Since 2008, MSO has expanded from 9 states to 48.

The MSO team, comprised of industry professionals, is expanding to meet the demands of the bureau’s growth, mixing long time employees with new hires. MSO is upgrading its technology platform across the functional areas, to offer web-based access to better serve its members. The first system, released in 2012, was the program management database (forms, endorsements and manuals). In partnership with a managed service provider, MSO moved its IT operations to the cloud, called the “webtop”. This means MSO staff can work anywhere, anytime, on any device. MSO has managed to add products and information strengths that will form the foundation of the future growth of MSO. Further expansion of programs into Ohio and New York are near-term goals that we believe will make this entity an important national player.

One of the pathways identified by MSO and pursued by its membership is the matter of gaining great agent loyalty to the carrier members. To accomplish this, MSO has been introducing a series of new niche market products, including 7 BOP programs, to be used by its members for the agency and brokerage community. In fact, on the day of our interview MSO had recently introduced programs for funeral directors, dry cleaners and pet services, and was finalizing a personal care services offering. These programs are well suited to the less urban markets served by MSO member companies and their agents. Agents in those areas may be underserved. Many times, they have limited options for placing business for any lines that are slightly out of the ordinary. “This gives MSO a major advantage in the agent’s mind”, according to Mr. Don Applegate, who is Chairman of MSO. “MSO has worked with several models over the years, but now we have forged our own pathway, drawing from different examples in the field, from the very large service facilities to some that are more boutique oriented.” According to Mr. Applegate, the stability that MSO has enjoyed has given it a great basis for growth. “The strong MSO team, with the addition of new analysts and actuarial support, has been able to build geometrically, using the latest technology and added products, offering a whole new way of seeing MSO.”

According to Vice Chairman of MSO, Mr. Robert Gage, creating buzz in the marketplace has become a very important activity. Hence, the selection of some of our products: “We are rolling out personal care services programs such as: nail salons, day spas, even tattoo parlors, to begin to identify MSO with products that are in niche demand and that can prove profitable to our agents and brokers. We obviously cannot compete in some cases with giant companies, although the size of our members is increasing as we expand, yet we can hope to become something that promises and delivers exactly what is stated in our literature. This is the MSO formula and, together with a talented team, it will bring us to great success in the future.”

Jan Scites, MSO’s CEO, joined the entity just after its new strategic plan was adopted six years ago. Jan said, “The MSO leadership team has been reaching goals steadily and has given confidence to our Board of Trustees in steering growth for our members and their agents and brokers. We are confident that the formula will work and are delighted to have been named the Insurance Advocate’s “Enterprise of the Year for 2013.”