Customers, Employees Agree They’re in Good Hands With Ted Todd Insurance

Ask Ted Todd about his insurance agency and he’s likely to talk about the importance of good office design, climbing Mt. Fuji or employee health and wellness — basically, anything other than the nuts and bolts of his industry.
“It might seem a little silly for a guy who’s supposed to be selling insurance to be worrying about chairs and lighting and paint colors, and whether or not the carpet is getting worn,” says Todd, founder and principal of Ted Todd Insurance. “But I think owners should be focused on the work environment, the comfort of the staff and customers, and a corporate culture that nurtures good health.”
It’s Todd’s attention to seemingly irrelevant details that has made his agency one of the most successful Allstate affiliates in the U.S. That’s especially noteworthy considering Allstate is the largest publicly-held personal lines insurer in the U.S., with more than 10,000 locations nationwide.
Established in 1989, Ted Todd Insurance currently employs upwards of 55 agents and support staff at locations throughout south Florida. Headquartered in Bonita Springs, the agency has offices in Estero, Fort Myers, Cape Coral and Sarasota, as well as east coast offices in Viera and Delray Beach. Collectively they service approximately $65 million in premium.
Ted Todd Insurance works with 15 different carriers to provide its 30,000+ customers with insurance products including home, life and auto, as well as boat, motorcycle and other personal lines. The agency also offers retirement planning products.
Providing Value
Despite the numbers-driven nature of Todd’s industry, making money isn’t the primary motivation behind his agency. “It’s important to approach business holistically and try to look beyond making the sale,” says Todd. “I think the best salesperson in the world is the person who gives the best advice and spends most of their time talking with the customers.”
Faye Sutton agrees. The Naples resident became a Ted Todd Insurance customer almost six years ago, when she was still splitting her time between Southwest Florida and Louisville, KY. Now retired from her job as a career development director at the University of Louisville’s College of Engineering, she is a full-time Naples resident and homeowner with property, auto and liability coverage through Todd’s agency.
“Being on faculty, I have high expectations,” says Sutton. “I want quality and I want value, and particularly with insurance, I want knowledge. It’s not easy to earn an ‘A’ from me, but through the years, Ted Todd has!”
Like most homeowners, Sutton says she wants to be adequately insured without overpaying for unnecessary coverage or exposing herself to expensive losses. “That’s what I like about Ted Todd (Insurance),” she says. “I trust them. I know that I have the coverage I need and that I’m getting value.”
Sutton says she also appreciates the agency’s rapid response if she has a question. Based on the extraordinary level of service she continues to receive, she says “you can tell they’re not just after new clients. Theirs has been continual performance. I highly recommend them.”
Salary vs. Commission
Because Todd seeks out employees who share his penchant for outstanding customer service, agents are paid on salary, not commission. Atypical for the industry, Todd’s approach has worked well.
“If you’re getting paid on the quality of the work you do and your focus is on being fantastic to the customer, it doesn’t make sense to pay people on commission,” says Todd. “I expect greatness all the time, so if you’re great, you should get paid great and you should give great service.”
Todd’s agents not only don’t mind the commission-free compensation, they wholeheartedly endorse it. “I came from an all-commission environment that was very cutthroat,” says Amanda Fraser, a senior account agent in the Bonita Springs office who has been with the agency since last year.
She says that people paid on commission tend to do what’s in their best interests and not the customer’s, and that the competition between co-workers often breeds contempt.
“Getting paid a salary enhances the working environment for everyone,” says Fraser. “And we all work together as a team,” which gives customers the option of working with any agent in the office.
Fraser adds that the agency’s “great corporate culture” facilitates cooperation and rewards ambition. That has helped it attract and retain top employees, some of whom are Fraser’s friends who have joined her from other agencies.
Perks Beyond Paychecks
Ted Todd Insurance employees receive benefits that few competitors offer, including continuing education, career coaching and mentoring, fitness classes, and nutritional counseling and education from a registered dietitian. All are provided free of charge by Todd, who is passionate about employee wellness.
“I believe that business owners have an obligation to help their employees stay healthy,” he says. “Companies that do will attract loyal employees who start the day with more energy and are generally much happier at work.” That’s important in a high-stress industry like insurance, where turnover tends to be high.
Although Todd dreams of one day providing an in-house fitness center and on-site cafeteria for his workers, he currently arranges for them to use the facilities at a local club before work. Participants meet three mornings a week for 45-minute spin and yoga classes, then shower and change before heading to work.
Todd also contracts with a registered dietitian who provides individual nutritional counseling and education to any employee who is interested. She’ll even make house calls to assess whether they’re making healthy food choices.
Setting the Stage
Todd is equally passionate about creating a successful workplace through good design and advanced technology. He says it starts with the right location. “We’re typically in retail spaces because they’re close to where people live, so they’re instantly recognizable and easy to find.”
He also pays close attention to what’s behind the front door of every agency location, personally overseeing the design and décor of each office. For example, the common areas of most locations feature wood flooring, colorful walls, comfortable seating and energy-efficient LED lighting. Florida-themed photos taken by clients are displayed on oversized canvases hanging in the reception areas and hallways.
“For customers who are used to the bare bones, metal-desk look of other agencies, it’s immediately welcoming and inspires confidence in the business,” says Todd. “An attractive office also makes employees feel good about coming to work. That’s important.”
To maximize their comfort and efficiency, Todd has furnished staff offices with ergonomically correct desks and chairs, as well as the latest computer technology. Mobile devices, such as iPhones and iPads, further enhance productivity and customer service. Todd, who once sold computers and has a degree in data processing, says it’s critical to stay on the leading edge of computer and digital technology in order to stay competitive.
“There are a lot of antiquated processes and equipment out there, and probably a lot of long-time agency owners saying they’re not going to invest in technology,” says Todd. “But if my staff doesn’t have the latest tools, how does that help my business?”
In August, Todd installed a fiber optic, integrated telephone network that provides seamless communications between all seven offices and processes phone calls with lightning speed. Among its many features, the system routes incoming calls to the most experienced associate available and automatically sends to their computer screen the caller’s account information. Also, the Bluetooth® interface facilitates total mobility by moving calls seamlessly from office phones to cell phones as needed.
The Flexibility to Succeed
While Todd has an eye for talent, he also has a knack for cultivating potential. He requires that all employees, including support staff, get a state insurance license as a first step in their career development. “I think everyone has the potential to be great, so my thought process is always to promote them,” says Todd. Toward that end, he requires all employees to complete Dale Carnegie courses, after which they receive ongoing support from Carnegie coach Dwayne Keller.
Senior account agent Brittany Bowden says the courses helped her understand the client’s perspective and taught her lessons she can use in everyday life, not just in the office. Further, she says she appreciates that Todd goes above and beyond to ensure that employees stay current in a rapidly changing industry.
But for Bowden, it’s Todd’s eagerness to share industry insights and experiences that have made the biggest difference to her during her 11 years at the agency. “Ted really taught me what it means to be an insurance agent. It’s not a matter of just selling a policy; it’s about protecting our clients.”
For example, she continually assesses client policies to see if there are any gaps in coverage and to make sure they’re getting the best value. She also stays on the lookout for ways to maximize discounts and identify available programs, such as wind mitigation, that could lower clients’ premiums.
“I’m always thinking about the business…because Ted has allowed me to feel as if it’s my own company,” says Bowden, who continued to work from home during her recent maternity leave. “This isn’t a nine-to-five job, it’s a career.”
That’s how Carlos Miranda sees it now, but not so much in 2006 when he was in high school and working part time as an “all-purpose employee” for the agency’s Lehigh Acres office. “It’s been a roller-coaster. There was a time I thought about quitting and going into the military,” says Miranda. That changed when Todd approached him about becoming an agent.
Today, Miranda manages Ted Todd’s Fort Myers/Lehigh Acres office and is working on a finance degree at Edison State College. He describes Todd as a mentor and motivator with an “amazing” work ethic. “Every time there’s a customer in the office, he goes out of his way to get to know them and personally makes sure they are taken care of. He really cares about people.”
Inspired by Todd’s example, Miranda hopes to stay with the company and work his way up the corporate ladder. “I really enjoy my job because I love working with people,” he says. “Everybody has a different story and different goals, so there’s never a dull day.”
Building a Better Agency
Earlier this year, Ted Todd Insurance received the 2013 Uncommon Friends Business Ethics Award. It is presented annually by the Uncommon Friends Foundation, an organization dedicated to character building among area youth and business leaders. The award recognizes a business with high standards of ethical behavior in its industry and community in the way it conducts daily operations and reacts in times of crisis.
Despite such accolades, Todd says he’s “still working hard to figure things out” in a business he admits can be extremely stressful. “Every major home insurer has moved out of the state and prices continue to change, so it’s a very difficult environment.”
However, he says that being affiliated with Allstate has benefited the agency and its customers considerably. “It’s a great time to be an Allstate agent,” he adds. “I’m doing my best to help customers every single day and always looking for ways to improve on our end. It’s a constant challenge, but I like challenges.”
He especially likes conquering them. This summer, he made the grueling climb to the summit of Mt. Fuji. It was something he’d never done before. “There’s a saying about that mountain: ‘A wise man climbs it once, a fool climbs it twice.’”
For now, Todd says he’s content to scale new heights in his business. Earlier this year, he consolidated several Boca Raton Allstate agencies into an office in the newly-built Delray Marketplace in Delray Beach. With the right location, Todd says he’d like to expand into Naples and eventually other Florida markets, such as Jacksonville and Bradenton. But like climbing Mt. Fuji, he intends to take things slowly and methodically, one step at a time.

Ordinary Encounter Leads to Extraordinary Career
Although a career in insurance wasn’t Ted Todd’s dream as a child, sales and a strong work ethic were in his DNA. He grew up on a farm in southern Indiana, where “we worked all the time.” In addition to farming, his mother operated a home-based hair salon and his father worked in retail as the buyer for a chain and owner of two local dime stores. When Wal-Mart altered the retail landscape, Todd returned to school and earned degrees in data processing and marketing.
Insurance sales never crossed his mind until 1985, after he’d moved to Fort Myers and went to the Edison Mall to buy renter’s insurance at the Allstate booth in Sears (which owned Allstate at the time). When the agent learned that Todd had a college degree, he mentioned that the company was looking for new salespeople and suggested Todd call his boss. That’s when Todd says he had “a George Costanza moment,” referring to the Seinfeld episodes in which Costanza’s contrarian approach yields atypically positive results.
“I thought insurance people were boring and weird, and I never wanted to be one, but I called the guy anyway,” says Todd. He got the job but turned it down when he found out additional coursework was involved. He reconsidered during his first sweltering Southwest Florida summer. “I kept thinking about the agents at Sears working in the air-conditioning and the big smiles on their faces,” he recalls.
He started with Allstate in June, 1986 and realized he’d found his calling. “I cared about the people I was dealing with and liked that I could make a good living as long as I was working hard. Plus, I was proud to be part of a great national company,” says Todd. “After struggling all those years in retail, it was a good match.”