Economic forecast: Pandemic leads insurance execs to target new clients differently

Company: Cbiz Insurance Services, part of the national Cbiz financial services network, based in Cleveland, handles employee benefits and commercial insurance for a range of clients on Florida’s west coast. Industries it has clients in include manufacturing, construction and hospitality.

Cbiz began the pandemic in triage: its two top area executives, Keith Mercier and Patrick Wright, spent weeks calling and meeting with every client they could to double check policies and re-adjust as needed. Triage eventually gave way to targeting, or trying to target, new business in a whole new environment. Mercier, Florida West Coast Cbiz president, says the region grew its book of business a little bit in 2020. But nothing like the pre-pandemic projections or like what it had been doing in January and February.