BOARDMAN – Even with the COVID-19 pandemic affecting commerce nationwide, Gen3 Advisor Group of Boardman enjoyed triple digit year-over-year growth in 2020.
Founded in 2014 by members of the Rossi & Chrystal families, Gen3 employs eight and acts as an independent marketing organization (IMO) to independent life insurance and annuity agents and financial advisers nationwide. IMO’s act as an intermediary between major insurance carriers and fully independent insurance licensed agents in the field by providing product access, back office services, training, compliance and other services.
With uncertainty dogging many industries, the global pandemic offered a unique opportunity for Gen3 to grow as an organization, thanks to prior strategic planning and positioning in the market, says the company’s president and CEO, Mac Chrystal.
As one of the younger companies in the IMO space, technology was a major differentiating factor in what was otherwise a down year for the insurance industry.
From a workforce perspective, moving to a virtual environment was a simple task for the Gen3 team. Through tools like Slack, Zoom, and a hosted phone system, employee productivity stayed at or near pre-pandemic levels.
When it comes to the client side of the business, the brightest spot to emerge was the accelerated adoption of technology platforms available to the insurance agents with which Gen3 works, Chrystal says.
The electronic vs. paper transition increased efficiency across the board, meaning shorter processing times, clients receiving their policies in a more timely manner, and agents being more quickly compensated for their work.
Looking ahead, Gen3 sees exponential growth on the horizon. The company is poised for additional expansion over the next 12-18 months on several fronts. “We’ll be hiring more people, moving to a larger office, and expanding into the distribution of new product lines,” Chrystal says. “We couldn’t be happier to be doing it with the Valley as our home base.”