Car cruising is when people drive their cars slowly together on certain streets just to show off their cars and have fun with other car fans. It started a long time ago and is still popular in some towns.
The Chevrolet Chevette is a small, simple car that was easy to buy and drive, especially for people getting their first car. The 1979 version was a popular choice because it was cheap and reliable.
The Mazda RX-7 is a sporty car that uses a special type of engine called a rotary engine, which is different from most cars. It's fun to drive and popular with car fans.
Referral business means people tell their friends about a good service, so those friends become customers too. It's better than calling strangers to find customers.
The Ford Mustang is a famous car that many people like because it looks cool and goes fast. It has been around for a long time and lots of car fans enjoy it.
Mopar is a name for parts and accessories made for certain American cars like Dodge and Jeep. People who like these cars often talk about Mopar when they want to fix or improve their vehicles.
JDM means cars that are made for Japan and sold there. People who like cars often want these because they can be special or different from cars sold in other countries.
The Plymouth Barracuda is an old American car famous for its sporty look and speed. It has a cool curved back window that makes it stand out, and many people like it because it was one of the first cars made to be fun and fast.
Car
Mercedes-Benz 240D
The Mercedes-Benz 240D is an older car that runs on diesel fuel and is known for lasting a long time. People like to drive it every day because it's reliable and interesting to others.
The Mazda Miata is a small sports car that is easy and fun to drive. The first version is famous because it has simple controls and feels very connected to the road.
Hagerty is a company that helps people who own special or old cars by providing insurance and advice. They also help car lovers connect with each other.
The collector market is where people buy and sell special cars that are old, rare, or important. It's also about people who love these cars coming together.
Monterey Car Week is a big event where lots of people who love cars come together to see, buy, and talk about cars. It happens every year in California.
LIVE
Welcome to The Accelerator, a podcast for insurance agents and brokers who know there's
more to life than bundling home and auto.
Yeah, we're talking collector cars, better sales strategies, and ideas to grow your business
without boring you to death.
This isn't just another industry podcast.
It's the one you're actually going to want to listen to.
Welcome back to The Accelerator.
A charity podcast focused on fast-tracking agent success.
This is episode two of season two, and if you haven't listened to episode one,
you should definitely go back and listen to it.
So we closed out season one talking to our president of insurance, Jeff Brillia.
We opened season two with Larry Webster.
He basically runs all of our media in our magazine.
We're really talking about the charity bull market list and what the next wave
of collector car opportunity looks like.
You should be thinking younger demographics, newer vehicles, and how agents can learn and
lean into that intelligence to really grow and drive business.
That's right.
And today, we're building on that thread.
A last episode was about the market opportunity.
Today is about what it looks like when an agent runs with it.
What I love about today's guest is that he didn't just dip his toes into the collector car space.
He jumped in.
He integrated his personal passion with a very intentional business strategy.
Jeremy Benjamin is a partner and shareholder at Winton Ireland Storm and Green Insurance Agency
in California's Central Valley.
He's been in business for over 25 years, works across agribusiness, commercial,
and personal lines, and has become a real force in the California collector car space.
But here's what makes Jeremy unique.
He didn't treat collector vehicles like a niche side product or an accommodation.
He saw the overlap between his client base and car culture and built a growth engine around it.
So Jeremy is also a legitimate car guy.
And what I'm excited about this episode is John and I have been talking a lot about the
opportunity and this is an actual person has taken that opportunity to run with it.
So it helps ease the car guy.
You don't have to be a car guy or girl, but it helps because he's passionate about it.
So he's a certified judge for Porsche Club of America.
He founded the Winton Ireland Cars and Coffee Plus event.
We're going to hear more about that.
It's been going on 13 plus years.
His agency has earned Herity Top Gear recognition, a clutch award from Herity,
and the road to 50 honors.
So what are we going to talk about today?
We're going to talk about how Jeremy first became engaged in the collector vehicle market.
What changed his mindset around utilizing this to grow his agency?
How he's really built the momentum that he's sustained?
What has meant for him and his agency?
For growth and practical advice for agents who want to lean in and do exactly what Jeremy did.
So Jeremy, welcome to the accelerator.
Thank you so much for having me, Brian John.
Thank you for having me on the show.
It's a great honor and I'm a big fan of the podcast.
Congratulations on one year.
You've had a great lineup of guests and I look forward to sharing my insights and
hopefully inspiring and motivating the listeners.
Thank you.
Yeah, I told Jeremy we were at his party at the Cypress Lodge at Pebble Beach and I told him
he's going to be a guest and I figured this would be a great episode because what we talked
about last time was how agencies can utilize the kind of market intel and the opportunity
to connect directly with car owners and Jeremy's actually done this.
And so you can hear from John and I and what we think and all that.
But until you actually hear from someone who's actually done it,
I think that is the reason why I called Jeremy and said, hey, I'm taking you in.
You're our next guest.
You promised me you'd come on and now is the opportunity.
And it's a great honor and it just really starts with all of us.
Our relationship with Haggerty goes back to the late 90s and we were kind of hopping along,
but it really didn't get into full gear to a little bit later.
I joined the firm in 2000 and really the passion I have for cars and collector cars and just
the car people really are great people and I enjoy their company and I enjoy the time
that we spend together.
But as an independent agency in the middle to large market,
we really handle everything from agribusiness, commercial benefits,
and then we wrap in personal lines.
And then within personal lines in the early 2000s, we were kind of hopping along with collector car.
Just to give the listeners an idea of just where I'm at here in Turlock,
we're in the heart of California Central Valley.
We are really the heartbeat of food supply chain.
Most likely you to going into your grocery stores in Michigan area,
chances are something from the Central Valley is there and we are really the center of agriculture.
We work closely with growers and processors and dairies and various businesses that support
the ag industry like construction, manufacturing, service industries.
And in the early years of Haggerty, we discovered that most of our farmers had this common denominator
between farming and being car enthusiasts.
So they love hot rods, they love muscle cars, classics, exotics.
This area here is just the rich history of car collecting and we take pride of our vehicles.
Each one of us has a story to share history and serves as a connection to the past.
And just also the listeners to know that this Modesto Turlock area is the origination of car cruising.
And that's where Modesto McHenry stretch is such a big cruising community.
And that's where George Lucas in 73 created this and made this beautiful car movie called
American Graffiti. To just the passion that I have, just how I got into the collector space
is just how I integrated both that passion and my at that at this point now 2000 and later on
we built that bridge. I brought those together. So just a little bit more about me. I grew up
with family and relatives that just love cars too. So in the summer, my brother and I would go into
go to San Jose and spend the summers with my cousins and my uncle had three gas stations.
And in the 80s and 90s, gas stations had service bays. So the service bay had a couple of mechanics
and then my brother and I, our job was to actually pump gas. Full service was the thing.
And that's when I fell in love with Porsche because we had a mechanic there that just was a
true Porsche mechanic and the neighborhood really embraced him. But that didn't come to
fruition later on. And I'll talk about that. But my first car was a Cadillac Sedan de Vil
passed on to me by my by my parents. The car that I really called my first car was a 79 Chevy
Chevette, Candy Apple Red, Greco Hubcaps Gold. And then the car that I really restored myself
early on shortly out of high school and into college was a Mazarek 7. So I had a little blend
of cars. And then during school, I had an Infinity G20 that was my commuter and my college car.
That's what really started the fascination and later on. So it's just been so fun.
Something I'm really curious about, you mentioned that connection between
the agribusiness owners and the farmers and this passion that they have for collector vehicles.
I'm curious how you brought that framing to the rest of the team at the agency,
seeing as it might be something new for them or a new way of thinking and how you demonstrated
the potential there or how you kind of articulated, hey, this is a market we might want to pay more
attention to. A lot of our customers are into this and there may be a little something more here.
2010 really, I would say the mark that we made a shift happen
since the name shift happens. But we made a shift really. We focused on,
at that point there was a push, a little bit more emphasis. We had representatives from your team
would stop in more frequently. We had more discussion and we certainly, and I understand
the company was having a big drive to grow the business. So we took that year to really learn
what our inventory of collector cars was at that time and we had and how do we bridge the two and
start creating initiative to really develop a strong strategic plan. And so we looked at and
learned at that time the appetite. We studied it and we understood now that we really focused on
your the true appetite of what a core vehicle is with Hagerty and then and took that and that
information and insight and we then created best practices. And we looked at it as our core business
and back to the association between farmers and having having cars. They just have the space.
They have warehouses and they can store these cars. So there's that connection. But really it
happened from a risk management perspective. We looked at it and we looked at those identified
those vehicles, looked at your fallacy form and learned that a greed value is really
guaranteed. A greed value is the way to go. Replacement cost, ACV. We all know that
that. If you want these vehicles protected, your your your life, you know, possessions,
pride possessions, you really have to switch the switch over from an ACV policy to a guaranteed
greed value. So so having the different departments in the agency, we started with the agribusiness
department agribusiness. We have agribusiness, commercial, construction, benefits, personal
lines. We really focused on agribusiness since the farm package policy often cover personal
orders. So so again the farm package has different parts to the policy form. It has the general
liability to cover the land, has the property to cover the home and buildings, auto for both
farm and personal vehicles. And then you have an umbrella layering over that to give that
coverage for the general liability in auto. So we then took the personal vehicles registry
from that farm package policy and we the initiative that we created to learn the core values,
understand what is in the Hagerty appetite and mesh the two. So we started this renewal cycle
starting 2010. This renewal cycle that we identified those core values started moving them
out of the farm package policy into our Hagerty book of business at that point. We're growing
that book of business then. So that that really was the key. And then we did that we moved on to
the commercial lines. We looked at our construction business with our contractors having having
autos and some of those you know those folks they also like cars. So so we continuously
did that process over and over and really word got out. Word got out we they started identifying us
as the collector car agency. And that's how we really the referral business is where we shine
the most in all segments of our business. And and that was just one of one of many ways to get that
that get that opportunity in front of that collector. Love the picture that you're painting
here. Maybe the average listener might not think like oh farming community like what kind of
opportunities there for collector car and farmer farming community right and could you talk a little
bit about when you're doing those types of things and your love for Porsche like what are those other
things you've done from a benefit side of things for like account rounding like we talked about
like do you lead with the farm and then get the collector car or do you get their collector car
and then get the farm or like how does that work? Could you talk a little bit about that?
Absolutely and and really it's this business there's just two things I've learned from the very
beginning when I joined 2000 and that's relationship and trust. And so the farming community they have
the relationship they want to form that relationship they want to talk about their their history they
want to talk about their story they also want to trust someone they want to have that trust
with an agent with someone like Hagerty to really say okay I'm protected if something if my car is
totaled this is the amount I know what the amount is it's very black and white and it's an active
retention I'll talk about that a little later but having the connections between farming and
collector car owners we get into that conversation with their car and we get into the conversation
about their collection but it really allows us to talk about other things back to the point I made
with risk management we go through their portfolio and look at all their risk and their actual farm
if it's a farm packet if it's a manufacturer if it's a all of them have to be brought up in
discussion especially when you have an umbrella policy so we lead in through trust building those
relationships having conversations about their their pride and joy and that's their car and then we
through the through the relationship that we are we are building we get the opportunity
and the invitation to really get into discussions about their other lines of business and it's
certainly a wonderful way to to market yourself to prospect and you're really not prospecting you're
just getting referral business and you know what they say about referral business it's about 75%
likelihood of having a discussion when someone refers you over just a cold call or prospecting
and etc so so it's a really valid connection between the two it's a good segue and I have
to ask is your your logo is on your shirt of your cars and coffee event I love your hats you
did I wear all over the country enough I've posted and sent you pictures of them literally in other
countries but I think it'd be really interesting if you could talk about the event that you guys
have founded and how it's morphed over time you know it started as as a cars and coffee little cars
and coffee I believe and then it's morphed into this like almost whole weekend I think it'd be
really interesting to talk a little bit about that Jeremy absolutely so the idea was developed
in partnership with you all and we created this social marketing initiative that brought car people
businesses and community all together we launched our first
WISG cars and coffee plus and I'll talk about the plus in 2013 hosted here right here on our
property tour log the first year Bryant we had 32 cars and now we have about a month before the
whole registration system just shuts down because we are now at capacity of 140 cars and we don't
log the motorcycles but we have sprinkled on the campus all around our motorcycles again we
have a large campus so we we have a a corral for a particular car club that can come in and
in corral we have a mark on the lawn so we've hosted Ford Mustangs on the lawn as as a mark model
A's Mopar's Porsche's Volkswagen's but that plus was really a kind of a collaborated discussion
three years ago Bryant we you and I were together we huddled with your team
one of your hosted events and I shared what we're doing here with everyone it was really
cool because you said and others kind of you know they concurred like gosh this is amazing
and you said put a plus so ever since that conversation we added a plus next to WISG cars
and coffee just just to give the listeners a rundown real quick the event it's not a typical
cars and coffee it's a little bit more that's why the plus but it it starts an evening before I
invite 40 of my insurers specifically 40 insurers that have registered for cars and coffee the next
day I invite them to a reception at a local restaurant a good friend of mine has a restaurant
here in town called Angelina's we hosted in his wine room we have great conversation camaraderie
getting us ready for the next morning but the next morning starts really early started five in the
morning we have a setup that all the volunteers come in we have 40 volunteers made up of our team
made up of our community friends right into six o'clock all the mark cars come in this year we
have a JDM class coming in we have a valley dream cars a nice group youth group that is getting
really into the collector car space and then we have the car club coming in and then a little
fast forward we have donuts coffee the linguisa sandwiches egg sandwiches are a huge hit but
couple other things that we do we have youth judging and the youth judges are we invite a
local youth club a club organization in our community that's generally nonprofit we bring
them to the event we invite them to the event and they actually judge the cars but it gives them a
platform because during the youth judging segment and the ward ceremony they stand up and talk about
their actual organization that's really important to me because I want that to be an opportunity
for them to be shined during that time and they do they get that opportunity we get into youth
judging at 930 the then we pass it on to an automotive guest that talks about the industry
talks about we've had author moderator and former race car driver we then in a really special moment
this is the plus again a little bit more than a typical cars and coffee we have an automotive
achievement award that's really important and near near to me I highlight an individual in our
community that has made significant contributions to the car community either with their own
collection education or their personal efforts in the community and that's really been well received
the family comes in generally the the person receiving the award doesn't know that he's
being selected so the generally the the family the kids and they all come up and say something
about dad or grandpa or or mom and it's so cool and then 11 we conclude we clean up and I take
all the volunteers and all of our special guests that travel in all to a local brewery and we have
lunch and celebrate the day but that is the piece is this event has bridged that community and
marketing it's just been a silent soft sell it's uh it's just through sharing the enjoyment
storytelling finding parts not really having an agenda or having a formal promotion for the agency
we rather do all of this and not really measure ROI but really have an enjoyment the word of
mouth the conversation happens and that from a marketing standpoint is huge we can spend tons
of money on on on media or advertisement in a magazine but this truly sends us just a strong
message that we care we love and we do it's this is it's not about measuring any type of of of
things now I cannot believe we are going to celebrate our 13th year this year and it's just
truly has been a joy for our team and our community so this October 3rd we will have our 13th year
to celebrate the collector cars and the people but I want to add one more thing and that to that
plus this year we're adding a sponsorship opportunity with that sponsorship opportunity is
going to go back into a charity that we select and because it's so fitting to have the youth
judges represent an organization the youth judges this year are it's the Boys and Girls Club
of Stanislaus County they're there are youth judges and the fundraising that we will add to
this year the proceeds will all go back to the Boys and Girls Club of Stanislaus County it's
truly awesome day and then it just it just people talk about it all year long so our marketing is
is that that's our marketing John that's great thanks thanks for bringing all that all the way
back I appreciate it that is quite a journey and quite an achievement that you and the team have
have brought to life congratulations on that and you know I think for people that maybe are new
to this or considering doing something like this you know where you are today might feel a little
intimidating like I don't know if we can get there I don't know how to how to do that and also
coupled with that is this growing sense of a shortage of time and a need to put time and effort
into some type of return on investment so you know one I love that you frame this as not something
that we measure ROI against not something that we have like a detailed sales plan to go you know
after business at this event we've heard that from other guests we've had on the podcast as well that
you know you show up you you know you be genuine you talk the talk you make sure people have a
good time and the business naturally flows from that and I think that's a really good insight to
share with with our listeners you know but I would have to assume Jeremy you have to correct me if
I'm wrong here but that this is producing results for you and and for the agency and that you are
seeing you know good returns and in trust you're seeing good returns in relationship building and
you're seeing good returns on the bottom line too so because you continue to invest in it and grow
it so I'm just curious if you could talk a little bit about how you know you what kind of successes
you have seen from really from like an insurance production standpoint I have to get into like
obviously numbers or anything like that but just like obviously if you could just talk a little bit
about some of the success you've seen to maybe give agents out there that are thinking about this
you know maybe a little bit of confidence to give it a try some of the successes that you've seen from it
absolutely and truly has been rewarding and from a recognition standpoint our agency has been
recognized and thanks to you we have grown year after year after year and I think ever since our
initiative of growing we have grown I would say about 25% annually just year after year after year
with our book of business specifically in collector car but it takes one passion and and anyone on
listening if you have the excitement of collector cars know that getting into different car clubs
being a member of different associations and joining and owning your own car gets you in the door
having those opportunities to have conversations I have met so many great people in
just in the three car clubs that I'm part of I'm part of a Sacramento car club it's all
exclusively Porsches and that's where I got my judging actually I haven't talked about my judging
I judged Porsches through the PCA I received my certificate and so I attend different
Porsche Club of America concor events and in 2022 I got invited to judge the
Workshare Union and the last two years I've been lead judge in the GT class which is really really
fun and back to those door openers this car community opens the doors they want someone
to listen to their story but they also want someone that they can trust and they just
allow you in completely to the strategy John we certainly want to earn that business we want to
earn that right to to do more with that client but we've we've identified that we have a certain
segment and that's the farming community construction community they love cars and if you
get in through managing that pride you know that prized possession or that that particular
and correctly insure it so they're that little that memory that brings grandpa back or great grandpa
or dad or a mom back into you know through the claim process they will allow you in to
to do more with them and their their family and their business and so so but to the listeners
please get involved get involved if you're a Porsche owner get involved in your PCA club
and you will open the door to so many opportunities if you're a a JDM car jump into there's there's
great you you all do a great job with advertising different events that are happening go to those
events and when I say you all haggard he does a great job advertising those different events but
I certainly think there's an involvement requirement if you get in bring the family bring your wife
bring the kids be involved and the reward is just wonderful and if you don't measure
the the dollars and cents it'll all come together I I've been there I just I know it all comes
together it really is the passion project and you will certainly be rewarded not just
monetarily but just from the joy of being around great people thank you Jeremy for
sharing that that's you know a message that we tried to share with our agent partners as well
but as Brian said at the top of the conversation today we can we can say it all all day long
but it's still coming from two guys that work at Haggerty and to have it you know come from you
someone who has lived it and breathed in and experienced it and seen real results it's really
meaningful I mean to quote quote feel the dreams if you build that they will come it sounds like
that is what you guys did if you build that they will come right so and I know John you asked about
time and we're we're certainly embracing AI we are we're certainly embracing the technologies
it's not replacing what we do it's just enhancing what we do it's enhancing
the time that we spend so that gives us more time to be with our clients and at the end of
the day you can make time utilizing the tools that AI provides but getting involved and being
present AI will not replace this the emotional the conversation the relationship it will not
we all well as of now that's what we know right it will not maybe down the road that that that my
quote is you know it could be different but right now we're embracing what we know and that is to
enhance what we're doing but this relationship this building the bond with the client
and the and the insured and allowing that trust to happen and so that you can open the doors to do
more and and really it just all comes down with the with that whether it's as 1967 I bring it up
67 Mustang or a 65 350 Hertz edition or a 67 Nova or a what other cars do I love
you know the the barracuda with the wrap back window of course the Porsche family I love and
and and my daily I forgot to tell you that my daily driver which is not insured with you it's
my personal auto is a 1983 Mercedes Benz 240d that's my daily driver and I love that car drive it
to and from to meetings and it's a conversation piece and I do have a license plate frame that
you all gave me and says haggardy life is too short to drive boring cars so I do have that
around the license plate they they see me coming they see me coming here you go yeah I think thanks
for sharing that it's I'm sure that's a fun daily not a lot of people will be up for that type of
experience every day that's that's great I want to go back to one thing that you mentioned because
I think it's a really important insight and that's with the rise of AI and with so many digital
experiences and with people spending so much time online and there being a almost a commoditization
of digital communications where it's hard to really form trust and relationships with people
and brands and agencies online folks are moving to the real world and the real world connections
and the events and the relationships and those shared experiences are really what's going to
be a differentiator for successful agents and agencies and other types of professions especially
in the sales profession moving forward people are going to be seeking those out and that's going
to be a way to break through you know the online world and develop strong deep engaging relationships
and it's a shift maybe in mindset from oh let's spend you know however many dollars on you know
digital ads or let's put together comprehensive you know social media approach and not to say those
aren't important but you might want to just think about how you can balance that with an
investment on your time and effort and showing up to these events and and and going to car club
meetings and going to local cars and coffee and meeting people and sharing those experiences with
them and those passions as a way to to break through the online you know digital clutter and
really stand out and build new relationships with people. John I agree with that and and I agree that
AI will allow us or push us to move out of you know that you know the communication will happen
through email etc but picking up the phone having that conversation or being present it'll uh the
demand from the insured will be there from the shift that will happen through AI because they
really want to see they'll want to see us more they'll want to see us that we are real that we are
who we are and and the passion that we bring they want to engage in in that very social
and direct and personal discussion versus an email or etc so so it'll push us and and make the
industry really stay focused because those that will embrace AI will be better at and almost to
that point that they will be forced to really stay engaged with their insurers and having events
being there with events especially in the collector car space they will see that and they will check
that box that that this is the real Jeremy this is the real John a real Bryant and that's why I
have my business with them that's why I have it with Winton Ireland that's why I have it with
Hagerty because they are truly the leaders in this and this space but it's really fascinating to
just to see where that goes but I think we will all be motivated to just be engaged at all times
with our insurance yeah Jeremy I just gotta give you a kudos you know your story is incredible
that's why I wanted you on the podcast and I've seen it firsthand you've built a legion of fans
you know from your event you do an event at Pebble Beach where I've met I mean last year I
met a woman who's an artist from like London who like paints people's cars and I didn't even know
that existed in real life but she makes a good living it sounds like and her be here and I became
friends you know like it's just awesome to see like you talked about like you know like I'm in
this community how can I be part of this community oh these farmers have collector cars like let's
dive into their passions and it just is awesome to see it's like the proof is in the pudding
and it's gotta be kudos well what you guys have built is incredible and it's it's awesome to see
to your point you're when I meet people at your events they're so loyal they're so incredible
you know just amazing that the clientele you have and the relationships you've built it's very
genuine and I couldn't agree more no one AI is not going to be any of that you know saving 15%
on 15 minutes or less no one's going to be at any of that stuff that you've created it's bulletproof
so yeah Hagerty brought us together and we've been going to car week my wife and I've since 2011
so now this is our 15th year three years ago we decided let's bring our friends and the people
that I've met from all over I've just been so just so great to meet wonderful people from
UK and colleagues from Michigan and and friends from all over the and and bridge the two bring
my clients and friends there and invite all my other friends that are not from the immediate area
let them all meet and have a great conversation it's just so fun to see it's my way of giving back
and giving back to what you guys really started and giving back to my my insurers that are car
people that come to car week if I know that they're they're coming to car week I make a point to
send them an invitation to come to our reception which is just a few hours but it really starts
the whole it's like a kickoff for car week it's that Wednesday before everybody kind of you know
everything gets started and before your motorlux event which is a wonderful event too that that's
kind of the starting point for car week and ours is just before that so it's just a fun segue
and getting everybody together but it's truly that is to bring people together
and if you put that first everything else kind of comes together getting their business allowing
you to join their discussions further on to doing other things for them and having those
opportunities that really present themselves because they like you for being a car guy you know so
Jeremy we've known each other a few years and the success that you've had and you know some
of what you've built but it's just been a really neat time hearing your your story and and all the
detail that you've been willing to share so I want to first say thank you and you know as we're
kind of coming up towards the end of our our time together today I'm going to ask for one more thing
and you shared and it's been really evident you have a passion for cars and you've had a passion
for cars for a long time and that has really helped you know power your your success in this space
now we will often give advice to agents that aren't quite as you know car literate as you are
to you know that you don't have to be an expert to start that if you show up and you ask you know
ask genuine questions it's really about asking questions having people you know listening to
folks which you've mentioned you know and being there which you've also mentioned which I think
is really good insight for folks that are just getting started here but what I'm going to ask
ask of you if you could maybe share a piece of advice or two for those folks that are out there
that are considering you know maybe this is an area I could look lean into to grow more you know
where would you have them start especially if they don't maybe have that history of car culture
you know how would you direct them what what advice would you give what I would recommend
someone maybe a new producer or maybe a producer that has a book of business is to really reach out
to you all and reach out and and having that relationship with Hagerty and allow them to
give you some guidance I know we work closely with our team and I will say that our team our
Hagerty team does a wonderful job educating sharing the the core list of appetite the
underwriting changes that happen each and every year if they do there's a mileage change that's
happening here in California that we're embracing and communicating with our insurers right now
but I would say and suggest that if you are in the insurance business and you have a just an
inkling of passion of collector cars first and foremost go back and research to see if there's
a car club that you have in your community specific to that particular car that you are passionate
about get involved get to go to an event take the family they are so friendly with kids
and dogs and walk it it's a Saturday morning have a cup of coffee second if you really
are more a little bit more further along and you have a book of business in the collector space
with Hagerty specifically reach out to your Hagerty team and just say that I want to embrace
this business I want to take it on and I want to learn more and let them teach you where the areas
of their appetite are and just put some time and energy into it eventually you'll get so far into
it that you will be part of it to a point that you get your own car that you really want and
now you're part of the club because you you own that particular either a Subaru or a Mitsubishi
or a Miata I know that was funny that Larry mentioned that Miata gen one is I'm not saying
exactly verbatim but he said something about it's the best analog sports car I'll beg the
differ my 240d is best analog sedan I like it I like it yeah I think Larry said it's the best British
Japanese sports car like basically in the 70s and the Japanese perfected it right so yeah I love
that advice I love that advice though Jeremy where if you're looking to get into this and you know
you haven't quite started yet you know find a car club or a car event in your area get connected
with your you know local Hagerty rep or you know here to help and assist educate help you grow and
find space in the collector car community and then show up and you know be present and ask
questions and start building relationships I think that is just some really great advice for folks
that are you know considering getting involved in this market or are looking for new ways to
grow and develop their their book of business so thank you that's a great way to to close with
that really nice piece of advice want to say thank you on behalf of Bryant myself and your friends
and team at Hagerty thank you so much for making the time to be with us today and sharing your
experiences and background it is my pleasure and it's an honor to be here thank the entire team for
me and I look forward to seeing you guys during car week thanks Jeremy appreciate it
a big thanks to Jeremy for sharing his story and insights with us today I appreciate most
about this conversation is that he made something very clear this isn't about tactics first it's
about mindset he didn't start with a marketing plan he started with passion relationships and trust
then he layered strategy on top of that yeah John I just want to pull out a few takeaways from our
listeners that resonated with me right so first Jeremy just didn't generate demand he identified
it he realized his agri clients and construction clients already loved cars the opportunity was
staring him right in the eyes and sitting in plain sight it just wasn't being intentionally
served and cultivated so second he didn't chase our wide beginning there's a lot of pressure
going through then how many people can you get quoting he really approached it more as building
a community he started with the cars and coffee event it more spin to cars and coffee plus turn
into an entire weekend it really really was a way to bring people together the referrals the cross
selling the girls followed naturally and third he really integrated and not isolated the collector
car space he used as a way to bridge into the farm package into commercial accounts
into umbrellas deeper risk conversations that his strategic account rounding at his finest
yeah that was really a masterclass on how to do that well and just very successfully over time
I also love the forward-looking insight as AI and automation accelerate what becomes more valuable
presence human connection shared experiences that's not going to go away if anything it
becomes a differentiator for you and for your agency Jeremy made a powerful point technology
enhances efficiency but relationships drive growth yeah for agents wondering where to start
Jeremy gave you the roadmap but I'll just reiterate it for you join a car club you don't
necessarily even have to own that type of car what kind of car do you like the best if you've
always like Porsches just join people will welcome you that's too much commitment just go to a local
event they're everywhere cars and coffees local cruisans just go start talking to people asking
about their vehicles trust me they will tell you everything if you don't know where to start call
your local a Hagerty agency sales manager they're more than willing to help you that's how Jeremy
got started you know learn what Hagerty's looking for for types of risk appetite and just you know
just don't show up once you know commit like five maybe six opportunities throughout the year to
engage with that same audience they'll eventually realize that you're there and supporting them and
they'll reach with you ask them questions be genuine don't be scared you don't have to be a
passionate car person you don't have to be a certified judge you actually don't have to know
anything about cars they will teach you every single thing about their car as they have that car
for a reason it speaks to them they want to talk about it you only need to be present and curious
yeah so whether you're in California Central Valley and Michigan Florida or really anywhere in
between the collector market isn't just about cars it's all about community and if you lean in
authentically as Bryant was talking about and how we heard from Jeremy they could become a meaningful
growth driver for your agency Jeremy my friend thank you again for sharing your story and our
strategy we'll see you up Monterey Car Week this summer at your wonderful event at the Cypress
Lodge and several other things you have going on for our listeners if you found this episode
valuable please share it with a colleague if we haven't yet go back and listen to our first episode
of the season with Larry Webster our last episode with Jeff Brillia lots of really good insights
there these conversations build on one another until next time keep on leading in keep building
relationships keep accelerating and never stop driving
About this episode
Jeremy Benjamin shares how he transformed his insurance agency by integrating his passion for collector cars with a strategic business approach. Operating in California's Central Valley, he discovered a unique overlap between agribusiness clients and car enthusiasts, leveraging this to grow his agency's collector car portfolio. Jeremy discusses building trust within the farming community, shifting policies to guaranteed agreed value coverage, and creating events like Cars and Coffee Plus to engage clients. His story highlights practical steps agents can take to tap into niche markets and build sustainable growth through authentic relationships and passion-driven initiatives.
What happens when deep personal passion meets smart business strategy? In this episode of The Accelerator, Bryant Kolle and John Gessner sit down with Jeremy Benjamin, a true car enthusiast who turned his love for collector vehicles into remarkable agency growth.
Jeremy shares how connecting with clients on what they genuinely love and building trust, community, and authentic relationships became a winning formula for sustained business success. Forget cold sales tactics: discover how becoming an active participant in the car community, hosting unforgettable events, and focusing on human connection can deliver real growth.
Here’s what we’ll cover in this episode:
(00:27) Introducing the collector car market opportunity
(01:05) Jeremy’s unconventional growth approach: passion meets plan
(06:03) The Central Valley’s car culture and how local insight drives business
(09:22) Shifting the agency mindset and aligning teams
(13:53) Account rounding and deepening relationships with car enthusiasts
(16:24) Building WIS&G Cars & Coffee +: the event as marketing superpower
(24:51) How referrals and real-world presence drive revenue
(29:25) Embracing AI without sacrificing the power of human connections
(38:26) Get started with car clubs, curiosity, and community
(42:06) Key takeaways for agents
Links mentioned in this episode:
WIS&G Cars & Coffee +: https://www.instagram.com/wisgcarsandcoffee/
Send your questions and feedback to Bryant and John at [email protected]
