Today we’d like to introduce you to Gregg Miller.
Hi Gregg, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
The insurance industry is the only business I have ever known. My first taste of the insurance business came as a child, watching his father work as an independent claims adjuster. In 1975, My dad became an insurance agency owner, opening the first Cotton States Insurance office in Savannah.
After my dad opened the agency, I began assisting him with paperwork, answering phones, and taking on odds-and-ends tasks after school. By the time I was 18, I was a fully licensed insurance agent. After graduating from college two years later, I started full-time in the business.
Since those formative years, I have never wavered from my commitment to my clients. I have been in the business for over 40 years — all with the same agency. I became the agency owner when my dad retired in 1992. Cotton States Insurance was bought out by Country Financial in 2005.
“Our office and my staff — our goal is to help people. It’s that simple,”
Experience Matters
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
During my more than four decades in the insurance business, I have seen all kinds of market conditions, but I consider the current climate the most challenging I have ever faced.
“I have been licensed in the insurance industry for 43 years and full-time for 41 years. I have seen many market changes — hard markets to soft markets — and this is the most challenging and hardest time in the insurance market that I’ve seen in my 40 years,” Gregg says frankly.
There are several compounding factors leading to increased rates and lower insurance availability. As hurricane seasons get stronger and stronger, home insurers are becoming increasingly wary of doing business in coastal communities. Savannah, situated along the Atlantic Ocean, has been deeply affected by this. Additionally, reinsurance costs have skyrocketed over the past three to five years, inflation continues to rise worldwide, and the cost of building and construction continues to increase. Together, these factors have created the perfect storm for insurers.
This has led to a tremendous lack of profitability by insurance companies, so they have to do what they can to remain profitable, and that has become extremely challenging in coastal markets.
The insurance market may be challenging, but our commitment remains the same — to help our clients navigate the market, regardless of the broader climate.
What we strive to do here is to help our client base get through these trying times by offering the best products available, but at the same time having a cognizant idea of cost, trying to help them in the best way we can, My main focus in the present moment is trying to help clients navigate this market. We want to manage their accounts and be a counsel to them. We strive to make their insurance program the best it can be and the most price-effective it can be.
With over forty years of experience we have the tools and resources to help clients. We have creative product offerings for coastal and flood-prone areas. We also have the knowledge to educate clients about what they are getting in their insurance package — and what they aren’t. We always keep price in mind but we also remind clients that the lowest-cost insurance isn’t always the best option. “You want the cheapest insurance until you have to use your insurance. Then you don’t want the cheapest option.”
“Looking ahead, I see continued hardening of the market, continued lack of availability of carriers in coastal markets. We’ve seen this really ramp up in Florida and other coastal areas. I see a continuance of very specialized companies and products in coastal communities. “But I am here to counsel clients on how to navigate through the uncertainty. That’s my job.”
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Freddie Miller Insurance Agency Inc?
We are a full service agency offering a full line of insurance and financial services. We are most proud of the fact that we have been serving our community and families for 50 years.
How can people work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
Refer clients to us and let us help with their insurance needs.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://advisors.countryfinancial.com/usa/ga/savannah/gregg-miller
- Facebook: Gregg Miller Country Financial Representative
