KIA&B 2017 Vol. 22, No.5 | Page 28

| AGENCY PROFILE | Keller Leopold Insurance Locations: Garden City, Dodge City, Cimarron, Norton, Syracuse, Bucklin, Ness City Year Established: 1943 (in Garden City) Years in Business: 74 years Full-time staff: 45 BRIEF HISTORY: Keller Leopold Insurance is a third-generation, family-owned agency that has been serving our clients for 74 years. We currently operate seven locations in western Kansas—our home office in Garden City, and branch offices in Dodge City, Cimarron, Bucklin, Syracuse, Ness City and Norton. Our team has grown to 45 staff across all our offices. Our agency offers a full line of products including personal lines, commercial lines, farm and crop insurance, life and health insurance, and group benefits. Agency written premium reached $45 million in 2016. There are six owners of the agency with three acting as officers and managers of the business. All owners are actively involved in business decisions. The managing owners are Doug Keller, Chief Executive Officer; Eric Keller, President; and Alan Schlesener, Chief Operating Officer, who collectively bring more than 90 years of insurance experience to our organization. WHAT ARE YOUR AGENCY’S FUTURE PLANS? Our goal is continued growth through new business production and agency acquisition. We strive to achieve larger economies of scale in our service and to improve our overall spread of risk. ANY MARKETING THAT HAS REALLY TAKEN OFF FOR YOUR AGENCY? Our agency slogan is, “Because Things Happen…” This logo and radio jingle is incorporated in agency advertising and printed material. Our marketing efforts include regional radio, newspaper, online and direct mail. We also believe in being a strong partner in the communities we serve. We have been very actively involved in supporting the United Way, YMCA, local schools and many other community events and organizations. ANY TECHNOLOGY THAT HAS MADE YOUR ORGANIZATION MORE EFFICIENT? Our agency “prides” itself on our use of technology to run our operations. We are a totally paperless office, utilizing Vertafore AMS as our management software. We recently deployed their WorkSmart document management software as part of our system. We also utilize a voice over IP phone system to connect our seven offices and recently implemented video conferencing to facilitate face to face interaction among all our staff. HOW HAS KAIA HELPED YOUR AGENCY? We have been members of KAIA for as long as any of us can remember. We have been active with personnel on Committees and the KAIA Board. The relationships with other members has been a big asset to us as well as the AscK programs. 26 KANSAS INSURANCE AGENT & BROKER | September - October 2017 | Principals: Doug Keller Eric Keller Alan Schlesener