RightSure provides P&C and life insurance products in 42 states. The agency has appointments with more than 70 insurance-carrier partners and is a top agency for Safeco and Progressive. Here, RightSure leaders gather in the conference room of the firm’s offices in Tucson, Ariz. (Provided photo)

RightSure, Inc., is a 14-year-old independent insurance agency based in Tucson, Ariz. It has grown up around a tech-enabled customer experience that not only helps the business to stand out from the crowd; RightSure, Inc., is also one of three winners of the 2022 NU Agency of the Year Award, which is sponsored by Nationwide.

You can learn more about this agency as well as the other two winners of the 2022 NU Agency of the Year Award during the upcoming complimentary webcast, “Planning for a Successful 2023: Agency of the Year Award Winners Roundtable.”

The three winners of this award are leading independent agencies in the U.S. that demonstrate strength in their variety of business.

“As with any company, we are be­sieged by new and improved software and platforms on a regular basis” says RightSure President and Founder Jeff Arnold. His agency provides P&C and life insurance products to businesses and families in 42 states. “The differ­ence is in how we have pivoted to focus on the end user experience. If agencies focus exclusively on having a better client experience and improving the interaction with every policyholder — every single time — it will show up in Google reviews, and be magnified by the number of non-solicited referrals.”

The NU Agency of the Year Awards program is sponsored by Nationwide.

To deliver an exceptional tech-based customer service, RightSure introduced an insurance technology platform that streamlines the insurance shopping ex­perience. Called RATEGuard, the com­pany’s proprietary technology platform is powered by artificial intelligence and embedded with RightSure’s discount discovery technology that helps custom­ers beat insurance company rate in­creases. Specifically, the platform shops homeowners, renters and auto insur­ance rates from more than 40 carriers to identify the most competitive insur­ance pricing available to policyholders.

“Think of it as a ‘done for you’ insur­ance shopping platform that allows customers to embrace the ‘end of insur­ance shopping,’” Arnold says.

The RATEGuard platform also specifically finds all available dis­counts and helps consumers avoid insurance company rate increases. In 2022, RightSure added a new “Dis­count Discovery” technology facet to the company’s RATEGuard program. This means that all policyholders’ policies are automatically re-shopped to identify potential savings opportuni­ties. This proactive programming tool means policyholders are alerted to policy saving options without having to ask for a requote. As far as proac­tive customer service goes, this level of automation makes a profound impact on the customer service experience.

“RightSure is not another quoting tool, it’s a discount finding, artificial intelligence-backed, technology that helps put an end to insurance shop­ping,” Arnold says.

RightSure Founder Jeff Arnold (center) is seen here with Vice President Shaun Monet Kunkel (left) and Executive Vice President Felicia Garcia (right).

Arnold’s team recognizes the in­creased role that technology is playing within the insurance sector. As such, at RightSure, any new technology the agency integrates or adopts must be perceived as tech forward — a better way of doing business with them; as well as tech enabled — generally doing business how RightSure’s policyholders prefer, whether it be chat, text, email, or self service via the agency’s app. As Arnold explained, the company is also always mindful that automation should either enhance the customer journey or the team member experience.

“We avoid being tech-shackled. So many companies introduce technology that actually inhibits the client experi­ence and we therefore include clients at all stages of testing new technology for their benefit,” Arnold says. “Technology in and of itself is not going to distin­guish any agency.

However, a relentless pursuit for ‘moments of wow’ and a diligent focus on treating customers exceptionally well, will position your firm as the place to do business with.” That’s why the RightSure team is continuously evaluate and assess what’s working and what’s not in terms of the technology solutions that the agency utilizes. Any problematic areas are eliminated to ensure the process is smooth for customers as well as team members alike.

RightSure has been blessed with not only the quality of awards, but the sheer number they have received. Some of these recognitions include being named the “Best Independent Insurance Agencies to Work for by the Insurance Journal; the Insurance Leader of the Year by Finance Monthly; and the Top Insurance Employers by Insurance Business America.

The Standouts: The three winners of the 2022 NU Agency of the Year Award fuse technical innovation with insurance expertise and the good old human touch.

When reflecting on these of accolades, Arnold is quick to point out that the RightSure team is actually of the opinion that it all starts with culture.

“At RightSure, we believe company culture has ‘zippo, nothing, nada’ to do with some mission statement or corporate hyperbole, but rather that culture is how the employees feel, think and act when executives or leaders aren’t around,” Arnold says. “True company culture can be felt by a new employee arriving for an interview. It can be understood internally with no words being spoken, and it can touch that inner part of us all that wants to belong to something that makes a difference. True company culture can be embraced without knowing about an org chart, pandering to some shallow ego of an executive, or digesting a core values pamphlet. When it’s real – you will know it. Your people will know it, and others will flock to your company to be a part of it. We feel like our culture is the reason clients come to our firm by the thousands monthly.”

Indeed, RightSure’s mantra is “Famously Friendly Humans.”

“We are fortunate indeed to be known for our ‘Famously Friendly Humans’ and invest time, attention, energy and detail to train, education and transfer knowledge amongst each other on a regularly recurring basis,” Arnold says. “When the culture is right, the staff will shine. A co-worker once stated that if you do a search for ‘Famously Friendly Humans,’ most of the links and images that appear are RightSure staff. We think that’s awesome.”

Maura Keller is a Minnesota-based freelance writer.

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