AmFed built with Roberts' grit and determination

Mississippi Business Journal, The, Mar 22, 2004 by Jeter, Lynne

RIDGELAND - The company began with a catchy logo - a safari hat - and founder Billy Roberts' grit and determination.

Roberts, the first chairman of the Mississippi Workers' Compensation Assigned Risk Pool Board, established the company in January 1993 as an Assigned Risk Service Provider in response to the state's workers' compensation insurance crisis.

AmFed soon began handling third-party administration for some of the state's major self-insured funds - Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning, Mississippi School Board Association and Mississippi Restaurant Association. Later, AmFed added the state's two largest construction associations - the Mississippi Associated Builders & Contractors and Associated General Contractors of Mississippi - and developed employer, financial and investment services divisions to diversify its income.

Today, AmFed Companies, LLC, consists of five divisions - insurance, employer services, financial services, investment services and its own national insurance company - and is Mississippi's largest provider of workers' compensation coverage and third-party administration services.

Best treatment, managed costs

"As a result of our market share, we are able to aggressively seek the best treatment for our claimants while at the same time managing the medical costs," said Roberts. "We feel that our familiarity with the Mississippi medical community gives us a service and cost edge over the other carriers in the state. We proactively monitor the court system and the changing claims environment to identify and resolve potential coverage problems."

Located at 576 Highland Colony Parkway in Ridgeland, AmFed Holding Company Inc., is one of two 2004 Better Business Bureau Business Integrity Award finalists in the category featuring 100 to 999 employees.

"We believe strongly that if you are going to do something, you need to be the best at doing it," said Roberts. "We feel the best way to accomplish that is to have a well-educated, motivated staff."

Staff takes advantage of ongoing training and education opportunities

AmFed provides its employees numerous training opportunities, paying for materials, courses and testing fees for them to pursue job-related certifications. Two of the company's nurses who achieved the certification in life care planning were the first two Mississippians to achieve the designation. The company also assists employees in obtaining college degrees or other educational opportunities.

AmFed routinely receives letters of appreciation from claimants. The daughter of a seriously injured claimant wrote that AmFed "made it possible for me to have my father back and my children to have their grandfather."

"Without AmFed's help in providing me with this care, I would not be walking today," wrote the claimant. "They have also taken care of making my home handicap accessible so that I am able to get in and out and around my home."

A personal touch, too

In a case where an armed robber was killed while robbing a grocery store, AmFed coordinated crisis intervention sessions with a psychologist for the employees, including four teenagers, even though those services were not covered.

"AmFed has a policy of making personal visits to many of its customers and agents on an annual basis, usually the month after the policy renewal," said Roberts. "We ask specific questions to the customer and their employees concerning claims and policy handling. We also ask questions about how we can improve our service. We verify that the customer has the most recent policy forms and we go through the policy to determine if they have any coverage questions. We also send customer satisfaction surveys to our customers via mail and the Internet. Results of those surveys are tabulated and analyzed to identify any potential service problems."

AmFed employees discuss their goals and needs during their annual review. The company also has an anonymous mailbox for communication to the company president, and concerns are addressed immediately, said Roberts.

"One of our key methods for motivating employees is by establishing and enforcing a sense of pride in everything that we do," he said. "AmFed believes in rewarding employees who meet and achieve goals, whether financial or customer satisfaction. AmFed provides flexible hours and scheduling so that each employee can maintain a balance between their professional and personal lives."

Challenging, but up and running...

Making the transition in early 2002 to owning its own insurance company AmFed National - was challenging. But now that the company is up and running, one of AmFed's goals for 2004 is to charter AmFed Indemnity Company, a Tennessee domestic insurance company, as a wholly owned subsidiary.

"Our mission is to, by reputation, be the first choice of Mississippi-based employers as their provider of insurance, financial, investment and employer services, through our commitment to quality, service, improvement, innovation, integrity and responsibility," said AmFed's Greg McLemore.