FEATURES
COVER STORY: YOUNG GUNS 2017 ERICA DICKERSON
ERIC SWANSON
Property broker, St. Louis
ALECKSON INSURANCE AGENCY Age: 32
BURNS & WILCOX BROKERAGE Age: 32
Erica Dickerson is a property broker at Burns & Wilcox Brokerage in St. Louis, Missouri. With a primary focus on building, growing and retaining a strategic book of business, Dickerson specializes in highrisk property insurance for hotels, habitational schedules, restaurants, manufacturing, construction and catastrophic exposures, including coastal wind, earthquake and flood. Dickerson’s dedication to revenue growth has consistently landed her among the firm’s top producers, and so far in 2017, she is fast approaching her internal sales goals and closing in on a spot in the esteemed Burns & Wilcox Million Dollar Revenue Club.
Vice president
Eric Swanson is changing the producer role and the concept of risk transfer by combining his expertise in insurance with legal knowledge. While working as a producer, he attended evening classes at Chicago-Kent College of Law and passed the bar exam two years ago, receiving the California Achievement Award for the highest score in mediation. Now, Swanson is able to provide contractual review alongside the insurance policies he places at Aleckson Insurance, which allows more thorough coverage for clients and enables the agency to market the ‘Business Backstop Approach’ he created. Swanson sits on the agency advisory council of several carriers and is a member of the Education Committee of the Association of Subcontractors and Affiliates of Chicago.
CASEY BELLO Chris-Leef General Agency
PARKER RAINS Vice president FISHER BROWN BOTTRELL INSURANCE Age: 35
Parker Rains started as a producer at Fisher Brown Bottrell in 2010, and since then, he has maintained one of the largest book growths within the agency. He was also responsible for setting up two successful offices from scratch to reach new markets and for creating a sales process that the entire agency adopted formally in 2017. Rains heads the company’s Nashville office, which works primarily with middle-market companies looking for access to big markets and value-added services. Rains credits his business savvy to the exposure and training he received from team sports. “When you’re involved in that team atmosphere, you affect the overall performance of the team,” he said in an interview with Crain’s. “If you strike out or don’t get the account, it hurts the team. The competitiveness I had in sports also shows up in business. My position is 100% commission – as most insurance jobs are – and I like the competitiveness of that.”
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CHRIS-LEEF GENERAL AGENCY Age: 35
Eight years ago, Casey Bello joined Chris-Leef General Agency as a receptionist. Since then, she has been promoted four times and now manages a staff of 10 people across various functions, including administrative, marketing and policy technicians. As a vital member of the management team, Bello has worked hard to enhance the level of professionalism, efficiency, morale and overall customer service of the agency. In her time as operations manager, the company has doubled in size, and Bello has been instrumental to that growth through her work in streamlining processes, including the onboarding and training of new staff. In addition, she also ensures the company remains connected to the community by spearheading outreach efforts.
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2/08/2017 11:21:00 PM