The Power of Independence

View This Article in BOSS Magazine

Remaining a private Insurance Broker gives Lockton the ability to operate outside the box

“Hire the best people. Give them the tools they need to best serve their clients and then get out of their way. When you do that, good things happen.”

That was one of the core beliefs Jack Lockton, late Founder and CEO, built his insurance brokerage on in 1966. The Kansas City-headquartered firm now provides insurance, risk management, employee benefits, and retirement services from more than 140 locations in 30 countries.

Still a family-owned private enterprise, Lockton benefits from having the independence to do what’s right on their clients’ behalf, to drive forward with innovative, industry-changing ideas, and to tap into the power of the best minds in the business – their own people.

Kassandra Olea

Lockton’s ongoing empowerment of its people – along with an investment in community and the flexibility to always do what is best for its clients – is what drew Kassandra Olea, AVP of Employee Benefits & Risk Insurance for Lockton’s Midwest Series of offices, to the company.

“Lockton’s ultimate goal is to leave the world a remarkably better place,” Olea recently told BOSS. The veteran producer came into the insurance industry at the age of 18 and has spent several years building a successful career – from working in sales and marketing to joining the brokerage and consulting side of the industry.

Prior to joining Lockton, Olea reached her goal of becoming a Producer, building an impressive book of business along the way, but found herself wanting for something more.

“I felt like my service teams were exhausted and overworked,” she recalled. “I knew there was a lack of red tape at Lockton, and they invest into tools that change the way organizations – and the insurance industry – operates for the better. They build phenomenal teams of people with deep expertise and excellent training.”

Lockton invests heavily in their people, offering ongoing opportunities for professional and personal growth. “That investment means expectations are extremely high. Producers at Lockton are held to a different standard. We are given the tools and the opportunity to become leaders. That’s what I wanted for myself,” Olea explained.

Joining Lockton had been on her radar for years. She was drawn to its reputation and culture, viewing it as a place she “could hang up my coat, build my career, and continue cultivating relationships for the next 30 or 40 years.”

Lockton’s global reach, combined with accessible experts and resources at local levels, enables the insurer to address their employees’ needs, helping to raise each team member to their highest potential. “I’ve been given access to more resources than I ever expected, the support has been amazing,” Olea said.

Lockton’s way of doing business also frees them up to operate “outside the box.” For clients that self-fund their benefits programs, Lockton’s stop-loss team can scan claims and pharmacy data, identifying anomalies and incidents where escalation or a second opinion may be necessary and offer an outreached hand to the member. It also allows them to form partnerships that enhance these capabilities.

One such collaboration, the Complex Care Program (CCP), is with the Mayo Clinic. The CCP provides extensive medical expertise to Lockton’s People Solutions Clients, focusing on high-cost claimants and those with specific diagnoses or other claims anomalies. This helps people obtain timely and accurate diagnoses, significantly reducing costs and improving outcomes.

In the case of a 1-year-old boy named Aron, who suddenly stopped eating, growing, and thriving, a client’s benefits team reached out to Lockton for help, knowing Aron and his family were struggling.

Through the CCP, Lockton’s CMO, Christine Hale MD, MBA, facilitated a multispecialty evaluation for Aron at Mayo Clinic. Aron spent a week at Mayo and saw multiple specialists. During that time, providers uncovered an inherited condition requiring a bone marrow transplant. Thanks to the CCP, Aron and his family received the answers and treatment they needed. Within a couple of weeks, Aron started to gain weight, saw increased levels of energy, and is now a healthy, happy little boy.

“The fact that we were able to get answers for this family, get Dad back to work, and get Aron feeling better and acting like a kid again really brings home what we’re doing here at Lockton,” Olea said.

Aron’s story is just one example of how Lockton leverages its independence to tackle real world problems. This ability to cut through red tape not only gets people healthy but helps Lockton clients control the costs of their benefits offerings. When Lockton’s Complex Care Program is involved, ensuring people receive the correct diagnoses and treatments can save more than $300,000 per claim, on average.

Since its inception nearly 60 years ago, Jack Lockton’s belief and investment in people has remained the company’s bedrock. Today, Lockton is the largest privately held, independent insurance brokerage firm in the world, having closed out a strong 2023 with more than $3.1 billion in revenue. These fiscal successes help Lockton keep supporting its communities. In addition to hundreds of hours of volunteer work from its Associates, Lockton reinvested into the communities financially, giving back more than $23 million in 2023.

For the fourth consecutive year, the company has been named a 2024 U.S. Best Managed Company, sponsored by Deloitte Private and The Wall Street Journal. This honor is given to private companies that demonstrate superior performance in their chosen industry and celebrates the success of their management teams.

Lockton is changing how the world sees insurers by centering their success on serving their clients’ best interests and creating the next generation of insurance specialists for a changing world.

“We’re just doing things that make sense,” Olea concluded. We have a feeling Jack Lockton would agree.