Rising Star Will Kantlehner Shares Keys to Success in Commercial Insurance and Construction

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Will Kantlehner, AVP, Gallagher, and a 2024 Construction Power Broker shares below.
Risk & Insurance: What are some of the keys to your success as a commercial insurance broker?
Will Kantlehner: One of the most important lessons I learned early in my career is the importance of relationships. As a broker, our job is a balancing act of managing the needs of a customer while also finding the right carrier partner.
There are always challenges that come up, and I rely heavily on those relationships when an issue arises. When a carrier partner feels valued and part of the team, it is remarkable how far they are willing to stretch to accommodate a customer’s request. Maintaining strong relationships with your carrier helps drive the best outcome.
Another important element is the ability to understand the needs of a customer. A contractor that performs private work or contracts under a time and material basis will have a different need than a public works/hard-bid contractor.
Hard-bid contractors are more price oriented because they win, or lose, work based on their bid price, whereas a contractor negotiating work is often more value-oriented. While a competitive price is important, the value driven by the agent/carrier can overcome a slightly higher cost structure.
R&I: In the economic sectors you work in, what are some of the biggest challenges insureds face?
WK: One of the largest challenges in the construction industry is business perpetuation and succession. Working through these conversations early is important.
The goal with internal perpetuation is finding qualified individuals who are willing to take on the responsibility and can financially afford the economic burden that buying the business will create.
External perpetuation has many of the same issues with finding a good fit for the culture of the business while not losing the qualities that made a business special.
There is not one right answer to this issue as every business is unique, but having a strategy requires a business to be proactive on a subject many people don’t enjoy discussing. It also can take many years to enact a perpetuation plan, so waiting until an owner is getting close to retirement creates its own challenges.
R&I: If you could name one thing the commercial insurance industry could improve on, what would it be?
WK: Pro-activeness. It often feels as though much of the industry is constantly reacting to the most urgent item on their desk that given day.
One example of the benefits of being proactive is on an insurance renewal. Part of our process is to make the insurance renewal an unexciting event that is used more to remind a customer of their coverages.
Unless we are entertaining competitive quotes from the marketplace, we’ve already come to a general agreement with the carrier on renewal pricing so there are no surprises at the renewal meeting.
R&I: Where do you find the most joy in your work?
WK: Every day is unique and there is always something new to learn.
Personally, I find construction fascinating. Learning how our infrastructure is built amazes me. Although insurance and surety are my portion of the project, I have to understand how a project is actually constructed.
From the bonding side the questions are centered around the project at a macro level.Is the business qualified to perform the work and who will be building the project from that company? What is the overarching project schedule and scope of work?
Insurance can be more micro-focused such as what is at the jobsite on a given day, what equipment is being used and who is responsible for the respective insurance placements.
All of this gives me the opportunity to learn how contractors build the infrastructure that surrounds us. &