Chris Hamilton of Hotchkiss Insurance explains why mid-sized employers should consider self-insurance or group health captives in 2020. After 14 years in finance, he moved into benefits consulting after watching large companies write seven-figure checks to brokers. His advice for standing out: clarity of purpose and a simple message.
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Hey there. I'm excited to have Chris Hamilton of Hotchkiss Insurance with me today. And I wanted to ask Chris three questions about his business, the industry, and what he's doing to grow his brand in 2020. Kris, you work with a lot of mid sized employers, and what would you say heading into 2020 is one big opportunity mid sized employers have next year that they need to be taking a look at?
Yeah, you know, Andy, I think that's a really great question. I think what we're gonna see, particularly in that 50 to 250 employer size space, is you're gonna see a lot of those groups really take a hard look at alternative financing opportunities for their health plans that may be self insuring on their own or joining a group health captive.
Awesome. Awesome. Okay. One question I love asking advisors when I talk with them is why do you do what you do? For a lot of us, we just ended up in the industry. Right, sure. What's your why? I think you have a really interesting why.
So prior to getting into the benefits consulting industry, I spent about 14 years in corporate finance and corporate banking. And one of the biggest struggles that most of my clients had was figuring out how to handle their rising health insurance costs. And I saw the problem escalate even to the point where I saw pretty sizable companies bouncing large seven figure checks due to the arrangements their brokers had put in place for them. I thought to myself, the industry seems completely broken and it was right for somebody that could come in and really take a different approach and, you know, try to provide some new solutions to my clients. So that's how I ended up in.
The industry, saw a problem from the other side of the industry and wanted to come in and fix it. I love it. Last question. You and I have spent the last couple days together working on your brand. Right. Because today, if you want to win business, you got to get attention, you got to stand out. What would you say as you head into 2020? What would you. What are two or three takeaways you took from our time together that you're going to use to grow your brand and your awareness in the market in 2020?
Sure. And that's another great question, Andy. There's a lot of noise in our industry. It seems like there's a lot of people. When I talk to clients or prospective clients, people seem to be talking about some of the same things, but it's just coming at it from every single different direction. And I think the biggest takeaway that I have is the successful brokers and consultants that are out there, they. They need to have a clarity of purpose and a clarity of message and being able to cut through the noise that's out there so that the message can be received by those clients. And I think those that are able to do that effectively are gonna be the big winners in the industry this next year.
That's awesome. You heard it, guys, right from Chris. There's a lot of noise in the industry right now, and if your prospects don't know exactly who you are, exactly what your message is, you're irrelevant. And awareness breeds trust. And so, heading into 2020, if you wanna stand out in your market, you have gotta find a way to get to the attention and, and having a clear message with a clear, simple, yet effective marketing strategy around that message is going to be the best way you create the engagement, the relationships and the authority you want in your market. So, Chris, thanks, man. Great having you. And that's it. Have a great evening, everybody.
