Carrie Millar was honored to be featured
in The Doctors Company Agent’s
Advocate newsletter. This quarterly
publication is distributed electronically
and in print nationwide to 10,000+ top
professional liability leaders.
Carrie Millar is surrounded by 300 twinkling leis — and she knows that each of these lighted accessories represents an opportunity for her agency to be remembered. That brand recognition — or “opportunity to keep warm fuzzies about us” as Millar puts it — is especially important to surviving in a soft market.
Millar, agency manager at Florida Dental Association Services (FDAS), works with her colleagues to promote her agency and the services it offers to dentists at local meetings, tradeshows, student events and fundraisers. Millar plans to use the leis for an upcoming beach party and happy hour tied into the American Student Dental Association’s meeting in Orlando. “Warm fuzzies on the beach” sounds more like the name of a trendy cocktail than a dental malpractice insurance sales strategy, but it will likely get results.
For more than 25 years, FDAS has operated as a for-profit subsidiary and independent agency of the Florida Dental Association (FDA). The program began in 1989 and now insures more than 4,000 dentists across the state and is beginning to expand its programs in surrounding states. Millar started at FDAS in 2004 as an agent, then worked as assistant manager of special programs and moved to her current position as agency manager in 2011.
Millar received a bachelor’s degree in risk management and insurance from Florida State University (FSU) in 2003 and earned an MBA from FSU in 2008. In 2014, Millar earned her certified association executive certification from the American Society of Association Executives: The Center for Association Leadership.
A Trusted Advisor
FDAS strives to be a trusted partner for dentists and is committed to providing excellent service for members of the FDA, reflected in the unique structure of the agency. FDAS reports to a board of dentists through the FDA, making staff keenly aware and connected to their customers. Revenue from insurance sales goes directly toward helping FDA programs and lobbying efforts that are important to members.
The board is comprised of 11 dentists and three student advisors, including two board members who graduated within the last decade to ensure the voices of younger professionals are heard. “It’s our goal to make sure the board is diversified so we have every voice at the table,” Millar said. “We have a different type of accountability to dentists because of our affiliation with the FDA. And the FDA is only going to sell dentists something that is in their best interest and has their backs.”
This accountability and commitment to superior service is at the heart of FDAS, fueling its mission to help members succeed. Millar said FDAS looks for the same commitment to customer service with its carriers, leading to strong partnerships between the agency and carriers like The Doctors Company — FDA’s exclusively endorsed professional liability carrier.
“We work to help dentists and have what they need in place. We want to make sure we are looked at as a trusted source,” Millar said, noting how the agency aims to connect with dental students before they graduate from dental school and educate them on professional liability insurance coverage and their options. The goal, she explained, is to get young dentists to join the FDA and sign their first policy at graduation with FDAS, providing options for every aspect of a dentist’s career and practice throughout their lifetime. FDAS also strives to be an expert in malpractice claims, tort reform, workers’ compensation, the Affordable Care Act — anything that could affect a doctor.
The agency also has student representatives on campus at the University of Florida, LECOM School of Dental Medicine and Nova Southeastern University to connect with dental students and be a resource for them before they graduate and begin practicing. “We make sure they have everything they need,” Millar said. “We have been really successful in being the whole insurance portfolio manager — we write about 1.75 policies for an insured — and we have a very high retention rate.”
Innovative Resources and Tools for Today’s Dentists
In an effort to be the best resource for dentists, FDAS employs five agents located across the state to foster connections at a local level and be the agency’s eyes and ears in the regional dental community.
Millar said that a lot of what FDAS brings to the table are value adds for good service and extra resources. For instance, to offset the issue many dentists and dental students are facing coming out of school with a high debt ratio and pressure to go into corporate dentistry, FDAS partners with a lot of organizations to serve as a resource to help dentists find jobs. “Our goal is to help dental students and new dentists have forms and find partners to get spots in private practices,” Millar said. “It’s our job to make sure there is a vehicle for them to pursue private practice and access these opportunities at networking events and meetings.”
FDAS also has pushed for automated underwriting, electronic applications and electronic quotes for dentists, who Millar explained are fairly low-risk from an underwriting standpoint. “One of the bigger challenges we have faced is the younger generation wants things instantly. So, we really have been working with our insurance partners to have electronic application processes because we are no longer in a situation where paper and a waiting process is acceptable.” Millar also pointed out that The Doctors Company has been particularly vigilant in pursuing automated underwriting for dentists.
It’s this innovation and ability to create solutions for its members’ pain points that have propelled FDAS into the future.
Reprinted with permission from The Doctors Company. The Agent’s Advocate, March 2017.