Insuring victory: insurance professionals learn how to run for public office at their own political boot camp. (Industry Strategies).

In campaigning for the presidency, Bill Clinton hired James Carville, George Bush relied on Mary Matalin, and Ronald Reagan turned to Lee Atwater. When agents and other insurance professionals run for elected office, they, too, can have the benefit of expert advice, courtesy of a unique program aimed at increasing the industry's representation in Congress, state legislatures and local governing bodies.

This boot camp for political novices is the Insurance Campaign Institute, sponsored by the Independent Insurance Agents of America and Future One, a cooperative effort between IIAA and more than 25 insurance companies that work with independent agencies.

Speakers at the two-day institute are top campaign strategists from both political parties, who have worked with presidential candidates and other national political figures. The roster has included Rich Bond, former Republican National Committee chairman, and the late Rep. Gerald Solomon, R-N.Y, who served as House Rules Committee chairman. They have been willing to discuss everything from raising funds, public speaking and assembling a volunteer organization to advertising, media relations and using support from the insurance community.

The idea for the institute came from Bud Wilson, a past IIAA president, said Timothy Tucker, director of state government affairs for the IIAA. "His vision was to plant political acorns, so they will eventually grow into oak trees," Tucker said. "People who understand insurance issues will get involved in the political process, and eventually, they will get into the political system. And then when we're working with legislators, if they have an understanding of insurance issues, they are more likely to make better public policy."

Because of term limits, the institute has become more valuable than ever, Tucker pointed out. Many people who have expertise in insurance will have to leave office in a given number of years, "and then you'll lose that knowledge," he said.

Currently, about 50 insurance professionals serve in Congress and more than 300 others are lawmakers in state legislatures, the IIAA estimates.

The biennial campaign school has graduated close to 100 people since its inception in 1998. As many as 60% have gone on to win elected office, Tucker said. One of the institute's big success stories is Florida state Rep. Leslie Waters, who attended the boot camp in January 1998 and won election in District 51, Pinellas County, by a mere 245 votes that November. "I just squeaked by--and I do owe a lot to the Big I institute," Waters said. "That was a major part of winning."

A Tough Course

Waters was impressed by the professional content of the institute's workshops and the high caliber of the consultants. But it was a rocky two days, she said. "In one afternoon, I would go from extreme exhilaration--thinking, 'I can do this, I can do this, there's nothing to it'--to hyperventilation, wondering what I had gotten myself into," Waters said.

She was right to be worried. Waters was a Republican seeking election in a Democratic district, and the major newspaper in town had endorsed her Democratic opponent. "I was running against a well-qualified opponent who brought to the table different qualifications and experience than I did. She worked for the state, and her expertise was in mental health," Waters said. "What I brought to the table was a community-activist, volunteerism and corporate-insurance background."

For 29 years, Waters had held a series of management positions in human resources, marketing, corporate relations and government relations at Allstate Corp. In 1992, just 24 days before Hurricane Andrew hit the Florida coast, Waters was appointed Allstate's political action leader in Florida. She worked with 3,000 Allstate employees there to make them more politically aware, not about "save the manatee and chain gangs, but legislation in the state capital, Tallahassee, that impacted their paycheck," she said. "So I went from human resources, the white hat, to trying to energize the troops on political action, which is like selling dog food. And I went into it as a novice and really got a handle on it."

She estimates that by the end of four years when Allstate discontinued the program, her efforts probably impacted roughly 70% of the Florida Legislature. Her strategy included inviting senators and representatives into Allstate offices to give speeches, greet the employees and have lunch with them. During campaign season, Waters enlisted employee volunteers to work the phones, walk door to door and put up signs for candidates. She challenged each Allstate worker to get to know at least two legislators--their state senator and state representative. In the course of the program, Allstate employees managed to build relationships with legislators who later became speaker of the Florida House and president of the Florida Senate, Waters said.

In building her own political success, Waters has often tapped into her insurance background. Following her first election, she was named vice chairman of the House Insurance Committee. Within a year in that role, she testified before a state congressional hearing on a natural disaster bill. Two years later, she became chairwoman of the insurance committee. Waters also is active in the National Conference of Insurance Legislators, serving on its executive committee and chairing its subcommittee on natural disaster legislation.

She thinks her experience as a human resources manager has been a great help to her in politics. Dealing with so many people at Allstate "probably enhanced my listening ability, and that certainly comes in handy when you're listening to constituents, not only on the campaign trail but now as a legislator--listening to all sides, being respectful of all sides and then having to make the final decision at the end," she said.

In February, Waters' political alma mater welcomed another contingent of hopefuls. Two of those institute attendees, Ron Reagan and Bill Hamilton, have put what they've learned into practice on the campaign trail.

Two-Time Attendee

Reagan, an independent agent at RTI Insurance Services in Bradenton, Fla., is a Republican running for the Florida House of Representatives from District 67. He faces one opponent in a primary election in September.

This is the second time Reagan has sought the office. Two years ago, he lost the race by 3,000 votes. But now the incumbent has abandoned the seat to run for another office and has endorsed Reagan, as has the previous incumbent. "We've picked up a lot of momentum now," Reagan said.

Reagan has attended the boot camp twice, the first time for his initial run for the Florida House. That experience was a bit overwhelming, because so much "great information was presented in such a short time that I came out of there with everything jumbled together," he said.

The second time around he was able to absorb much more of what he needed. For example, a talk on what makes a good campaign brochure fascinated him. "I came away from there excited about putting brochures together for this summer," he said. "It was amazing."

Reagan also came away with a knowledge of the nuts and bolts of campaigning and the recognition that he might have a good shot at political office. "Overall, there was a sense that it can be done, that the candidate with the proper message and proper delivery can get his message across and win," he said.

A resident of one of Florida's fastest-growing areas, Reagan says the big issues in his campaign are education funding, transportation, proper planning for growth and the looming crisis in health insurance, especially in a state with a large number of retirees. "It's a vital concern--everything from nursing-home care to coverage for individuals," he said.

Hamilton, an independent agent at Loudin Insurance Agency Inc., Buckhannon, W.Va., ran to represent the 39th District in West Virginia's House of Delegates two years ago and lost by a mere 115 votes. But that time around, he hadn't attended the campaign institute.

After his experience at boot camp, he won his state's May 14 primary. The main lesson he learned that he is applying to his campaign is to relate to the people he's addressing and discuss the issues in a specific, rather than a broad, way. "What I've been doing is talking about approaching legislation proactively instead of reactively," he said.

With recent flooding problems in his area, the first reaction is to spend money to clean up the mess. But a proactive approach would include providing funds to alleviate the problems that are causing the flooding, Hamilton said.

Advertising Tips

At the institute, Hamilton also picked up advice on advertising-- mainly keep the wording to a minimum. "When you're doing ad copy, you don't want to get a lot of content in there; otherwise, people are just going to toss it without looking at it," he said. He did a mailing that he now realizes was too lengthy because it had to be folded over and sealed, a turn-off to three-quarters of recipients, who won't bother to tear it apart and read it, researchers say. "That was the biggest thing that jumped out at me--the fact that it cost me $2,200 to do that mailer, and I may have gotten to only one-fourth of the people," Hamilton said. "It kind of made me a little sick."

Nevertheless, he was reassured to learn that he was already doing some things right. For example, Hamilton has a cooperative advertising plan with Mountain State Blue Cross/Blue Shield as an agent, and he is now using a billboard to advertise his name with his photo. "It's not saying 'Vote for me,' but it's name recognition for the people driving by," he said.

Hamilton decided to enter politics after helping a friend with his campaigns for sheriff, then county commissioner. He's also propelled by what he sees as a strong anti-small-business sentiment among West Virginia's legislators. "I think we need more people in the Legislature who are involved in business and are aware of what's going on,' he said. "I don't think the consumers are aware of how many things we have against us in West Virginia in trying to make a profit for our business. We're one of the four highest states [in premium costs] in the nation for auto insurance, and yet, we're the poorest state in the nation." For 10 years, the insurance community has been clamoring for tort reform, but the Legislature has failed to act, he said.

Both Reagan and Hamilton think that working in the insurance industry enhances their political prowess. Agents have no problem talking to people and putting issues in front of them, Reagan noted. "And we have no problem hearing 'no,'" he said. "So I think that insurance agents, especially those very involved in their community, make good leaders."

Agents also are good at networking on the local level, Hamilton said. His agency does about 55% of its business in personal lines and 45% in commercial lines. That means he meets people from all sorts of occupations, businesses and industries. If he wins the election, he knows he will be besieged by special interests and their lobbyists. "But I think I'm going to have the ability to pick the phone up and say, 'Hey, I have a timber-related bill coming up, I've got 25 or 30 clients that are involved in the timber industry and I can call some to ask if this bill is good or bad,'" Hamilton said. "That's what your legislators should be doing--making contact with the constituents back home to get the full picture."

Aside from squaring off against a 14-year incumbent, Hamilton said the biggest challenge he faces is voter apathy. Reagan thinks fund raising is daunting for any political hopeful. At the institute, he learned that the candidate is always the best fund-raiser. "Picking up the phone, calling somebody and asking for a donation to the campaign is more effective than virtually anything else that you can do," he said. "I try to make five to 10 phone calls every single day!'

Hamilton said his opponent has accused him of being pro-industry and speculated that, if elected, he will be concerned only about insurance-related issues. "That's just totally false, but that could be a negative, because a lot of people might think you're going to be pro-insurance industry," he said. "I think the industry has to do a better job of explaining why things are the way they are to the insurance-buying public."

Waters has encountered similar sentiments from the press or opponents who have cast her insurance career and knowledge in an unfavorable light, she said. The problem is, she added, the public often doesn't recognize the benefits of insurance protection. "Insurance is part of our life--without insurance we wouldn't be able to drive a car, there wouldn't be insurance for building the roads to drive on, there wouldn't be protection for our house and its contents, there wouldn't be insurance for the builders to build the house," she said. "So I have to remind folks about the positives and then turn it around to tell them that I am taking insurance expertise from my business background to Tallahassee to help impact positive insurance legislation and good consumer-oriented policy."

Waters said the insurance legislation she has sponsored provides evidence of that approach. Last year, for example, she championed a major bill that plugged a 30-year-old loophole in Florida's no-fault personal-injury-protection program. The legislation aims at fighting fraud that costs auto insurance policyholders an estimated $245 per policy a year because of "the scams and schemes--the fake clinics, fake MRIs [magnetic resonance images]--that milk the $10,000 PIP benefit," she said. The legislation helps consumers by helping cut insurers' costs, which, in turn, keeps premium increases at bay, Waters said.

She, too, bristles at the suggestion that her political goals focus on boosting industry interests. "I am not in Tallahassee to help enhance the bottom line of an insurance company, but I certainly want to keep the competitive environment so that insurance companies stay in the state of Florida," she said. "On the other hand, I also want to make sure that insurance products are affordable and available to consumers."