No. 1, 25–100 employees: The Insurancenter

The Joplin-based company provides insurance products for personal needs and for business, and President Scott Brothers said most of the company’s clients are local businesses.

The company has developed a national niche market for insurance products for car washes. The Insurancenter is now the largest insurer of car washes in the United States, Brothers said.

He added that it shouldn’t be surprising that The Insurancenter offers employees exceptional insurance benefits.

“We felt strongly that our employees are important and we want to retain (them),” Brothers said. “We don’t only offer a competitive benefit package, but an excellent one,” Brothers said.

Full-time employees pay less than 10 percent of the premium for health insurance. The Insurancenter also offers health insurance to part-time employees. The part-time employees pay 31 to 50 percent of the premium.

The company also pays life insurance premiums for full and part-time employees that work more than 20 hours per week.

“We want the best that we can find and keep,” Brothers said. “It is our philosophy to do the best we can in terms of wages and benefits.”

The Insurancenter also invests in people development.

The company offers tuition and professional development course-fee reimbursement for any continuing education. According to the company’s survey, more than 70 percent of employees are taking advantage of the reimbursement, and the company reports spending $1,501 to $3,000 on training per employee annually.

Brothers said that The Insurancenter pays bonuses to employees who attain professional designations.

“We’re proud of them, and we think it makes us do our job better,” Brothers said.

All of the company’s managers have been promoted from within. The shortest-tenured manager has been with the company for 15 years.

The Insurancenter monitors employee satisfaction with regular surveys, Brothers said, and less than 5 percent of employees left the company of their own initiative in 2005.

“We try to create a good work atmosphere of mutual respect, technology and pleasant work environment,” he added.

The Insurancenter does not practice open book management, but it does share financial details and strategic plans with employees each month.

An affiliate of the Glatfelter Insurance Group of York, Pa., The Insurancenter has been majority-owned by an employee stock ownership plan since 1987.[[In-content Ad]]