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No. 14 Commonwealth Insurance Group LLC |
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Commonwealth Insurance Group developed a proprietary risk management process. (Photo/ Larry Monteith)
7515 Northside Drive, Suite 150
Charleston, S.C. 29420
www.thecommonwealth.com
Total number of local employees: 22.
Top local executive: Todd R. Tyler, president.
Product or service: Commercial insurance, corporate benefits and risk management.
Year founded locally: 1997.
Success often means taking a step back and re-evaluating a business plan or strategy. That’s exactly what Commonwealth Insurance Group LLC did as the company grew.
In the early years, Commonwealth focused on business and personal insurance. But as the company expanded, it realized it could most effectively serve its large commercial clients by focusing on their risk management needs and referring homeowners’ policies to agencies that the company set up to handle personal policies, said Todd R. Tyler, company president.
That switch in focus allowed Commonwealth to allocate additional resources to build its consulting infrastructure and become a client’s “outsourced risk manager,” he said.
Commonwealth has since developed a proprietary risk management process called RECON365 that creates a path for businesses to follow, thereby improving their safety and lowering their total cost of risk as well as of insurance, Tyler said.
It was an important strategic move for Commonwealth. From 2005 to 2006, company revenues increased 58%.
Maintaining a focus on organizational management allows Commonwealth to maintain its success.
“We subscribe to the principles Jim Collins outlined in his book ‘Good to Great,’ ” Tyler said. “We get the right people on the bus and get them in the right seats. Sometimes that means getting the wrong ones off of the bus, which is always difficult. However, in the long run, morale is improved, allowing the star performers to excel.”
In 2003, the company faced an important decision. At that point, Commonwealth employed 40 people but struggled to hit its profitability targets because it was spread too thin, Tyler said.
The company regrouped, deciding to focus on its core business units and selling its financial services division. That’s when the growth really began.
“I often tell our salespeople, Tony Dungy (Indianapolis Colts football coach) spends all of his time with his starting quarterback, Peyton Manning, not his third- and fourth-string players,” said Tyler.
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