Business: Trunnell Insurance Services
Address: 1300 Iroquois Ave., Naperville
Phone/website: 630-947-7980, www.trunnellinsurance.com
Owner: Anthony Trunnell, 45, of Naperville
Years in business: 23
What does your business do? “We’re a full-service, independent agency. We offer personal lines, commercial lines, life insurance. Our specialty is auto and home,” Trunnell said.
How did you get into this business? “I worked for my father, Doug, when I was a teenager back in Iowa. … I was doing office stuff. He was a farmer. He couldn’t make enough money farming so he supplemented his income with insurance.”
Why are you in Naperville? “The problem is when you’re in small-town Iowa, you start running out of people. You need to go someplace where there are unlimited customers.”
What do you like about your job? “I like the flexibility. … It’s a people business, a good fit for my personality. It has unlimited opportunity, especially if you’re independent. If you work for State Farm or Allstate, you can only sell in certain territories. You can kind of do whatever you want (as an independent). But it’s very hard to get contracts. The flipside is people don’t know you so well because you don’t have that big name even though you represent big names.”
What companies do you work with? “We have 15 or 16 direct contracts. Travelers, Progressive, Hartford, Hanover, Andover. There’s a lot of companies people haven’t heard of. … You have to be strategic. … Each has certain specialties, especially when you’re talking commercial (insurance). … I know a guy who only insures Jewish synagogues. He was the guy. All the synagogues went to him.”
What’s new in insurance? “There’s been a lot of consolidation going on in the industry. That’s why some of them are struggling now because they bit off more than they could chew. All of sudden they need rate hikes. All the extra cash went into buying a competitor. Nationwide is not writing business now. … There are massive rate increases going on now.”
And in Illinois? “What’s crazy is Illinois has some of the cheapest insurance rates of almost any state because we’re the most competitive state. There are more companies doing business in auto and home in Illinois than in any other state. My Kemper rep told me there are 150 companies filed to write auto or home in Illinois. In Michigan, there are 22.”
How do you compete with State Farm or Allstate? “They can only give you one rate. With us, I can give you 15 rates instead of one. … People don’t realize, they have no idea how prices vary. They vary drastically.”
How do you make money? “We (work on) a commission basis from every company. You sell a policy, what they pay, you get a percentage. It can be 5 to 7 percent and some are 20 to 25 percent. It depends on the type of business.”
What mistakes do people make getting insurance? “They don’t get enough. The crazy thing is once you cross a certain amount, you can double the amount of coverage you have and it costs 8 percent more. Insurance companies like people with higher limits because you look responsible. So, you get a discount for having higher limits.”
What do you suggest for homeowners? “If you own a house, you should have an umbrella policy. Just in case.”
How about renters’ insurance? “Most people don’t have it, and it’s nothing, like $10 a month. … Say you live in a tall apartment building. You want to have the liability high, go half a million. … The worst I’ve seen, a client was on the 35th floor. They had a leak. It was their fault. It damaged 11 units below them. They were on the hook.”
Any favorite stories? “You have some weird claims. Things you never think of. … Somebody was putting a rock-climbing wall in their detached garage and wanted to know if they needed extra coverage. I said, ‘No, but you should probably have any kid who does it sign a waiver.’”
Is Naperville good for business? “Yes. A lot of good clients. A lot of people who have nice cars, nice houses, they have toys, second residences. Above average clients.”
How did the virus impact this business? “We didn’t get phone calls because nobody was buying cars, nobody was getting into car accidents. Frequency (of accidents) went down, but the severity went up because people were driving faster.”
Any future plans? “Just keep growing.”
What’s your advice for someone starting a business? “How are you going to get your customers? How are you going to control costs? It’s always more expensive than you think it will be.”
Steve Metsch is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun. If you know of a business you’d like to see to profiled in Down to Business, contact him at metschmsfl@yahoo.com.
