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Family Heritage Life Insurance

Company: Family Heritage Life Insurance Company of America
Company Description: Family Heritage is an industry leading provider of supplemental health insurance products to American families. Founded in 1989, Family Heritage currently protects over 160,000 individuals and families and has received numerous awards for growth, customer service and community outreach.
Nomination Category: Best Organization Achievements
Nomination Sub Category: Sales Incentive Program of the Year

Nomination Title: Family Heritage Life Insurance Company of America

  • How many people are in your organization's entire sales department? 

    Approximately 425 agents produce business each month.

  • What is your organization's annual sales volume? If this information is confidential, simply enter "Confidential" in this space: 

    Annual policy sales volume:   $36 million
    Annual revenues:	   $120 million

  • Provide a brief biography of the leader(s) of your sales organization (up to 100 words): 

    Howard Lewis began his professional career in the financial services industry 
    in 1978 with positions at Central Trust Company and later at Progressive 
    Insurance Company.  In 1983, he joined Capitol American Life Insurance Company 
    where he headed the direct sales segment of that company.
    In 1989, Mr. Lewis secured financing and founded Family Heritage.  Focusing on 
    the principles of service and integrity and on the premise that those who help 
    to build the company should have the opportunity to become owners in the 
    company, he has grown the company to over $100 million in revenues today.

  • Describe for the judges your achievement in this category (up to 100 words): 

    Family Heritage’s sales growth had slowed significantly during the period from 
    2002 through 2005.  Through a carefully crafted set of incentives, the company 
    was able to focus the sales force on the recruiting of new agents and the 
    retention of existing agents.  These innovative incentives came about through 
    a series of meetings with top sales and management leaders.  The changes to 
    the incentive program started in 2006 and the changes continued to be 
    implemented in 2007.  The result was a 17% increase in sales in 2006 and a 22% 
    increase in sales in 2007.

  • Briefly describe the 3 keys to the success of your initiative (up to 100 words): 

    1)	The incentives are targeted to reward sales managers for 
    accomplishments related to growth (rather than just volume) using both short-
    term and long-term incentives.
    2)	Short-term incentives are earned quarterly and are tied to the number 
    of producing agents during that period.  Since sales are directly correlated 
    with producing agents, this results in increased sales.
    3)	Long-term incentives take the form of stock in the company.  Company 
    stock is earned based on the volume of sales, and the value of the stock is 
    dependent on growth.  Therefore, they are incented to help the company grow 
    over long run.

  • List the 3 most important lessons your organization learned during this process (up to 100 word): 

    •	Alignment is key.  Talking about change creates little or no change.  
    Demonstrating it, offering the needed tools and providing incentives create 
    alignment within the organization and results in change.
    •	Consistency is critical to effecting change.  Sending the same message 
    every time results in the message being believed and acted upon.
    •	Linking the incentive pay-outs more closely to the time period in 
    which the results were achieved results in a more focused effort.  The company 
    moved to quarterly incentives in 2006 and the results were significantly 
    better than the previous annual incentives.