Peppler Insurance Group About Us

Peppler Insurance Group is an independent insurance consulting firm dedicated to overseeing, reviewing, and providing sound advice to address the property and casualty insurance exposures of our clients. With over eight decades of background success in the Property & Casualty (P&C) insurance field, our three generations of family perpetuation speak for itself. If you’ve heard the name Peppler connected with Insurance but have had little to no contact with our offices, the following chronicle will bring to light some significant history never before published. Within this section, I’ll be discussing some central essentials and history which will reveal how the name PEPPLER has become synonymous with the term Insurance in the Grosse Pointes and surrounding area. This memoir is dedicated to my Grandparents (Archie & Mildred) and Parents (Wilbur & Mildred) for the immense difference they made to the public at large and many generations of family throughout their lifespans (60yrs). And also, for the very generous contributions of my father, that made the 3rd generation of the agency business possible and whose financial assistance was a critical (time-sensitive) factor when the office building went up for sale.

Representing the third generation, I was the oldest of 3 children who, in 1970, decided to continue advancing the insurance agency founded by my Grandfather in 1932. As my siblings pursued their aspirations, my sister – 1st Degree, Bachelor’s in Education, and 2nd Degree - Bachelor’s in Chemical Engineering; and my brother, Post-Graduate Degree - Juris Doctor in Law. My livelihood, however, was predetermined by bloodline. Thus, I deployed a focused enthusiasm to my academics to build a solid foundation in Business Administration to meet the opportunity of a lifetime: take ownership of a 3rd generation independent insurance agency whose foundation was established by two life spans of nurturing and sacrifice for the well-being and security of their clients and family, utilizing integrity, devotion, honesty, and hard work. This led to a direct lineal descendant's perpetuation into the third generation; The Card-Peppler Insurance Agency, today known as The Peppler Agency.

The First Two Generations

invested over 60-years of their lifetime employment, cultivating and fostering the family business with disciplined hard work, steadfast integrity, and persistent tenacity; it is empathetically noteworthy to emphasize their success did not come without sacrifice. Elaborating a need to focus on the long hours essential to succeed in the insurance business, when the first and second generations office quarters were both at odds with raising a family.

The majority of my Grandfather’s living room consisted of two desks, three filing cabinets, and a long table that held policy brochures, applications, photographs of fires, car accidents, and giveaways. Two points can describe my Grandfather A. E. Card: Point 1.) A. E. Card did not smoke or drink - and yes, he was judgmental about vice - he disapproved of those that did, except if they were customers; Point 2.) In 1997, I was in Florida with my wife when we bumped into a client and made dinner plans with this couple. While dining, Bob (our client), related a story to us about how he became a loyal customer of my Grandfather’s agency: “In 1935, I had just been discharged from the Navy and went to a used car lot on Gratiot with hopes of somehow, buying my first car - when I asked the lot owner, “how much money do I need to put down to buy this car,” he answered while pointing over to a distant figure off to the side of the office, See that man over there, if you go talk to him, he may be able to help you “… So I walked over and introduced myself to A.E. Card, “and while we walked down Gratiot exchanging words, we turned left on Burns, but then he stopped, and he invited me into his Burns Avenue home. Upon entering”, [Bob began laughing so hard the table joined in] “My God Ron, it was like walking into a bank, he had papers, adding machines, rubber stamps, typewriters, applications of all sorts in there, so we sat down.” “The next thing I knew he said sign here, here and here…and I think I made weekly payments to him for both the car and insurance” -when no bank in Detroit would talk to me.” Since that day, there’s no other place I’d even consider, “his entrepreneurship and kindness to a stranger astonished me. I felt as if he dropped from heaven.”

The modus operandi of running an in-home insurance agency continued at my parent’s residence in Grosse Pointe Woods. In 1950 my father selected a corner house on Roslyn & Goethe with foresight for office parking and ease of directions. Having learned the building and construction trade by watching projects going up during the great depression, my father was a fast learner and exceptionally talented at remodeling his basement. First, he split it in half, building in a separate new staircase and side-door office entrance. The office dimensions comfortably held five large wooden desks (4 still in service today) and three full-size filing cabinets for policies with a 5-foot lateral file running on top for customer index cards used to track policy numbers, addresses, phone numbers, etc. Claim history was filed separately on a back index card. For a medium traffic residential office and workflow system of the ’50s, it was a cleverly thought-out, functioning office layout that remained our operating headquarters through the ’60s and ’70s.

As I brought out above, of notable cognitive-dissonance were the pros and cons of having an insurance agency located and operated out of your home. For example, the phones (3-lines) were ringing at all hours, and customers would drop in at any time they felt a need, weekends, evenings, even Sundays. Since my sister, brother, and I were raised under these conditions, we did not see much of mom and dad, except each night Mildred would cook dinner from 5-6 pm; we would eat together at the kitchen table promptly at 6 pm. We took turns doing dishes, but from 7-9 pm, Mildred would return to the office and call on every expiring policy, advising each policyholder of any rate increase and the reason behind it. Most evenings, Wilbur would make out-of-house calls, leaving the kids on their own with little supervision thus little discipline to complete homework. Although I have experienced both sides now, I unequivocally stand with the first amendment that declares there needs to be an absolute separation, just as pronounced as the first amendment in the U.S. constitution regarding church and State.

Your home should be your comfort zone, a place where you can relax and enjoy real family time, nurturing, and role-modeling to raise and instill values in your children. But while running a hectic insurance agency in the living room or basement, it still takes both parents’ involvement which fell short due to the workload spreading-thin the time needed to spend with the children, especially during their developmental years. Of less importance but still genuine to those of us possessing knowledge of the P&C industry was the sacrifice in earnings caused by the initial revenue generated by small agencies taking years to build up to a healthy, sustainable level. This is inherently true in the P&C revenue structure, so the agency income only supported a modest lifestyle for each family generation for two generations. Luxury cars and Cadillacs were simply out of the equation; i.e., even A/C in their cars and houses didn’t exist until the 80s.

I was extremely fortunate to have a bloodline of insurance thoroughbreds who survived the growing pains and passed down a well-established P&C book of business that grew from within as families grew and multiplied into adulthood. In large measure, due to our priority service and competitive rates, a majority of our clients referred neighbors and friends to our agency. We were also blessed with solid insurance company relationships built and sustained by both generations. Representing one of Citizens Mutual Insurance Company’s first agents, my Grandfather’s agency code number was 17, and my Father was #276. Citizens Insurance has become a leader in Michigan’s top domestic marketplace primarily because of their selection criteria of appointing only top-tier agencies they choose as partners; Thus, they’ve increased their standing and portfolio of competitive policies year after year, beginning with the brilliant Flagship leader: Roy A. Westran, CPCU, President

The W. G. Peppler Agency continued to operate out of my parent’s basement after my father retired in 1971. At this point, I was a second-year music major at Eastern Michigan. His retirement triggered a final ultimatum which became my last chance to claim an interest in continuing the agency. I recall the Vietnam war protests and anti-establishment dissents were in full swing on EMU’s campus. At age 19, I had to make a complete turn-around to snap into serious business, or my parents would have sold the agency and comfortably retired. But for my mother’s willingness to hold onto the agency for two more years while I proved myself at Wayne State University, the 3rd generation would not exist. This is very representative of the emphasis both of my parents placed on education as the key to success in the ever-advancing competitive business world that exists today. Having experienced a personal hardship while competing against veteran agents, he’s aware of this fundamental truth, as my father was not allowed to finish high school coming from a dysfunctional German family of 8. During his many years as an insurance agent, he avoided company meetings and other insurance functions as he felt inferior due to not completing high school. His success took much more effort and hard work as he was forced to learn the dynamics of insurance agency operations absent of the fundamental subject courses taught in High School.

Going back a year, in the summer of 1970, I happened in at Sears & Roebuck and ran into an attractive high school acquaintance, Janet Collins, who was on break from her job in the catalog department. I asked Janet out to dinner at Blazo’s, and our relationship became more serious while I was at Eastern Michigan studying music. Then in the fall, Janet began her first year at Olivet College. As our relationship grew, Janet completed her first year at Olivet and transferred to Eastern Michigan for her second year of academics. At the same time, I moved from Eastern Michigan to Wayne State University with a change in majors to pursue a full Business Administration curriculum.

During the summer break that followed, I planned to work in the agency. But before starting, I discussed Janet working for us at the agency with my mother, beginning with filing and general office work. Jan had some office experience completing orders at Sears and general office duties at Bock Radio & T.V., where she answered the phone and used her typing skills. Little did I know that this summer position would turn out to be the beginning of Janet’s lengthy and successful career with the agency. Since I had now committed to a career as a third-generation agency-owner, Janet, with 2-years of academics behind her, chose to forgo her college degree and join the agency staff full-time. So, Janet began training under my mother’s expertise for a secretarial position.Eventually, Jan attended Insurance Company funded home and auto insurance training classes sponsored by Citizens and Safeco. Each company held an in-house study class for premium quoting and home and auto coverage edification. Janet was a fast learner and coupled with the hands-on training by Mildred, Jan became very proficient in personal lines as the classes held by Safeco & Citizens were highly structured. Three months before graduating from WSU, Janet and I married on September 21, 1973. Here again, we followed in the footsteps of past generations of married partners working together. Although this pattern can create complications, it takes a superior blend of personalities for married couples to work together successfully.

History Speaks Volumes

and sheds light on many significant evolutionary precursors: Of impressive background, honor, and merit, before Mildred entered the Insurance business, she pursued executive administration experience and training which she mastered at Cleary Business College. This accomplishment led her to the coveted position of Personal Executive Assistant to Walker L. Cisler, then-President of Detroit Edison. Mr. Cisler was considered the brainchild of Atomic Energy’s Fermi One Power Plant. Consequently, Mildred’s tenure and travels here and abroad with Walker Cisler required classified security clearance, authorized and signed by Dwight D. Eisenhower, as Mildred’s involvement/duties with Mr. Cisler during the initial planning stages of Fermi One required “Classified Clearance.”

After several years serving in this capacity, Mildred’s exposure to Mr. Cisler’s brilliance and modus operandi heightened her business protocol broadening her business acumen collectively. Then at age 32, after meeting my father, she realized the time had come for her to focus on their primary, natural desire to procreate. Because the time had come to start a family, she resigned from her position with Walker Cisler. Upon her marriage to W. G. Peppler, they began insurance training under Archie Edwin Card. After a short time, they began transitioning the portfolio of policies to the 2nd generation, forming W.G. Peppler Agency in the early ’50s. Their quest for starting a family emerged with record-breaking success, producing Date of Births:1950,1951,1952, with a mere 13 and 11-month proximity to myself.

Of phenomenal significance, according to CNN Money, family-owned businesses fight long odds to become generational legacies. According to the U.S. Bureau of Census, about 90 percent of American companies are family-owned or controlled. With this in mind, it is noteworthy that two-thirds of family businesses fold before reaching the second generation, and just 13% make it to the third. Advance planning and positive adolescent exposure are vital keys to fostering a potentially successful family entrepreneurial legacy. Agreeing is Forbes Magazine: whose recent study concludes: “Less than one-third of family businesses survive the transition from first to second generation ownership. Another 50% don’t survive the transition from second to the third generation.” These current studies and “points-in-fact” are indisputable and resonate broadly in my perspective by referencing the enormous exposure units upon which these statistics have been derived.

The Third Generation Evolves

Once my career decision was made, my concentrated field of study at Wayne State University was absolute: Business Administration with a strong emphasis on tax, accounting, statistical methods, and business law. The significance of combining these specific areas of study led me to link all related subject matter knowledge offered within Wayne State’s Business School I could fit into my Business Administration curriculum. I felt confident the benefits derived from my approach would round out and enhance my general business knowledge. This ability would foster knowledgeable leadership respect through applying the combined mechanics to my future property and casualty client base. Also, this could play a significant role in setting me apart from the majority of agents who rely solely on a pre-licensing review class to pass the state licensing exam, absent of learning the broader business management essentials taught in formal training. Accordingly, the continuity, relevance, and interactions found in financial accounting, statistical methods, tax law, and business law would promote and achieve a well-rounded, broader, and balanced intellect perspective that is needed in advancing the third generation of agency leadership to reach a supreme level of proficiency success.

Upon graduating WSU in 1973, at age 22, I took my father’s desk at W.G. Peppler Agency after receiving my insurance license and immediately was gifted a 50% ownership in the agency. I realized that along with this gift came the responsibility and accountability for the agency to grow and flourish. This demonstrated the level of confidence the second generation placed in my ability, which affirmed my predisposition to live up to the expectations of performing at my very best, doing everything it takes to stay abreast of the P&C marketplace dynamic forces that continue to evolve each day.

Given this leadership responsibility, my primary objective was to enthusiastically pursue advanced technical property and casualty insurance-specific knowledge needed to develop the agency to its fullest potential. In 1978, after meeting the industry experience mandate (5yrs) required to enroll as a candidate for the most advanced and prestigious P&C distinction, I started my journey to become a Chartered Property and Casualty Underwriter (CPCU). I began my studies by registering for 2 of the national exams necessary to earn this coveted designation. The Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter is a professional designation in the property-casualty insurance and risk management field administered by The Institutes (aka American Institute for Chartered Property Casualty Underwriters). Achieving the designation requires the completion of eight courses (10-course exams in 1982) covering topics such as risk management, insurance company operations, business law, finance and accounting, property insurance, and liability insurance. Today, held by fewer than 65,000 people (less than 4% of the insurance industry), the CPCU designation is widely considered the most distinguished designation in our industry. Formal education and continuing growth through advanced education continued to be my decree, so promoting the use of structured knowledge into our new and pro-active office procedures and client interactions through the use of cross-selling and account development became our updated operating policy from this point forward.

In 1979, at age 28, after operating and increasing our client base for six years, to continue to meet our future opportunities, we had to undertake an action plan to continue moving forward. We had outgrown our basement headquarters and would benefit from a more professional image that a permanent office building would provide. The vision I had that would meet this objective took form because I was sure the agency could achieve a high rate of return by purchasing a commercial office building. The more difficult connection to my vision was finding this building, and then, of course, there was the financial aspect. In addition, I was troubled that due to lack of funding, I had missed out on several opportunities to purchase several smaller agencies. The solution was obvious; we needed to change our business structure from a partnership to a C-corporation. Doing so would allow the agency to accumulate retained earnings, bolstered with a substantial tax benefit not available to partnerships. After explaining my growth plan to my mother, an unqualified response followed, “this is all up to you, Ron. That’s why we sent you to college”. Hence, we proceeded and accomplished the incorporation effective 4/01/1979. I was elected President and Mildred filled the role of Secretary/Treasurer. Thus, The Peppler Agency Inc. evolved with $23,834 in stockholder’s equity; despite that, factually, this money belonged entirely to the original sole-proprietor, W.G. Peppler, my father. Mildred insisted we assign stockholders’ interest equally between us (50/50) in our Corporate Minute book, ignoring that I had not contributed one dollar of my own money. To this day, the agency’s stock equity contribution remains entirely funded by my parent’s original donation. Again, this fact reflects my parents’ generosity to the 3rd generation without hesitancy. The Peppler Agency’s dictum remained in line with our forefathers promoting and demonstrating Fairness and Integrity in every action we touched or triggered; our generational loyalty has been and remained an absolute virtue and threshold never to be violated or compromised. The Agencies’ bloodline of Card-Peppler faithfully adhered to this covenant.

Location - Location - Location

The next portion of my plans relates to our agency expansion by purchasing a commercial office building to house a more extensive operating staff that not only impresses but radiates a superior professional image.

Accordingly, a building and location that, at first glance, generates an immediate impression of competency, stability, and success. And then reveals upon closer examination, the inside characteristics reflecting what the agency staff exemplifies: a foundation of trust, integrity, longevity, and proficiency with perpetuity assurance outside to match and visually broadcast what our office staff produces from within. My dream was to purchase a building that would enhance our public image and display a proficient, professional image with a robust atmosphere to convey strength, prestige, and success. Ideally, with high visibility, but in reality, after checking the market, I knew I’d have to build on the east side, as most of the commercial buildings around here are older, likely built in the 50s. I knew the west side of town was out as it would dispel our client base. Facing this reality, I believed an interim step of leasing would likely be required for several years until our retained earnings were sufficient to purchase. My father knew of my plans, so we discussed buying vs. leasing. Wilbur responded: “Well, let’s start looking.” During the following spring, summer, and fall, we searched. But after pricing out the market, I realized I would have to settle for much, much less than my vision and dream had been. When I found two different buildings with a reasonable asking price, they were a far distance from my dream headquarters. I did not want to buy only to end up compromised; my father expressed his opinion this way: “Let’s keep looking,” which indicated he too wanted something more. As winter approached, I expected to see fewer options on the market, so I nearly fainted when I came across a new listing in the Grosse Pointe News for a perfect location built in the mid-’60’s, and with a bit of work, had excellent potential to reach my vision! I was so excited and couldn’t wait to approach the owner, as I knew this location would sell extremely fast. A real-estate agency hadn’t even listed this building. But the reason was apparent, b/c it was Pat Burton Realty on Harper near Verner. Then, after calling and finding out the asking price, $200K, I choked, b/c this was a massive sum of money back then. But my father remained calm, then said to me, “Let me go to Comerica Bank and get you a cashier’s check to use when you “Set up an appointment and see what you can do.” Well, he wanted me to go it alone, but at age 28, I didn’t foresee Pat Burton taking me seriously, but I put on my business hat, laced with good energy, and the meeting couldn’t have gone better. I negotiated the selling price down over 20% (stunning me) using the power and influence of a $25,000 cash-in-hand offer. Our meeting concluded with a handshake, and after debriefing with my father, the purchase agreement was drawn up that day.

I felt incredibly blessed that this one-of-a-kind location office building hit the market. Had it sold, I simply can’t imagine where I would have ended up; after gripping this location and modern construction, even if I built, I’d be down on Mack among a block of stores; nowhere else has this exposure to thousands of cars passing each day! After we closed on this building, I had to stop and praise the “powers that be” for the confidence and power of believing that whatever you set your mind to can happen! This business and this building put me up to a level I never dreamed possible. The location has been instrumental in bolstering profound awareness of our agency’s public image, achieving name awareness of Peppler Insurance as a supreme advantage. A one-month study of the traffic pattern led to my determination (+/-10% error margin) of circa 10,000 cars passing by each day, with half of them having to stop directly in front of the office.

The purchase of this prime location proved to provide the benefits of billboard advertising {ranking traffic & locale} and is responsible for a vast increase in name-brand awareness during the ensuing years. My father’s generosity to follow his heart led me to acknowledge, once again, his significant contribution in advancing my generation with this opportunity to realize this fulfilled his dream too. So W.G. Peppler did possess the same entrepreneur attributes as my Grandfather; he realized that he himself might not have the leading business skills necessary to take the agency to this level, but he invested heavily in the perpetuation of his livelihood’s by-product by way of his son’s education and demonstrating leadership skills through encouragement and perseverance. W.G. Peppler then devoted his hard-earned and conserved resources, knowing the ability that his financial strength could indeed secure the well-being and forward-thinking opportunities for my generation.

Fortunately, my father lived for an entire year after purchasing the Harper office building. He spent the majority of his time very involved with remodeling our new location doing the work he loved most, working with his hands, and customizing the office for our equipment, business machines, security, and decor. A good example involves Wilbur tackling a backbreaking effort to re-condition our 18-year-old cement parking lot, which had developed wide cracks in many areas from the foundation settling. Wilbur spent the entire summer filling these 1”- 1½ inch cracks with 1/gal. containers while sitting on a milk crate. I’d estimate it took 50/gal. to do this work at age 75. Before this work, he was installing a new kitchen faucet, body halfway inside the cabinet, huffing away, all I could think of was a heart attack. W.G. Peppler died on November 15, 1980, at the age of 75yrs. He passed away suddenly after suffering a stroke at home. In the end, Wilbur lived to witness the benefits and successes that his life’s work product passed down to the next generation and lived to see it “blossom into full bloom.” Unfortunately, Wilbur did not live to witness the conferment ceremony for my CPCU designation, which occurred at the Fontainebleau Miami Beach on October 11, 1982.

Recession Triggers Opportunity

Due to an economic downturn in 1990, and other factors specific to the insurance industry, most agencies experienced a severe reduction in revenue. As a result, The Peppler Agency Inc. experienced its first corporate loss in history. This is not a time for reflection but a time demanding action. After digesting and spending many hours with a “problem-solving mindset,” it became clear that our agency needed to initiate a plan to incentivize and motivate our inside sales staff. I decided that the best, most direct method would be for each employee to earn a financial benefit for each new policy they write, which has always been part of their job duties in the past. The new incentive plan would add a monthly payout tied to the efficiency level of their workflow production of new business written each month that is quantifiable along with time-sensitive. In keeping my fairness posture in line with my business success objective, my loyalty pledge was brought to the table regarding family and agency member’s compensation bonuses. The employee compensation plan I instituted factored in efficiency and workflow, so in fairness, it recognized that key employees who excel in productivity and efficiency should receive more significant monthly bonus compensation in addition to their bi-weekly salary. The traditional employee bonus checks have always been done at year-end but haven’t included a spreadsheet or analytical breakdown of individual performance; therefore, the yr-end bonus was somewhat random and vague about employee contributions to agency profitability. A significant benefit of this compensation plan is that it is both earned and paid each month, so it provides each member a timely report on their earnings which are now under their direct control. In the past, year-end bonuses lacked a clear correlation, which the new incentive plan addresses. My monthly add-in compensation enhancement to inside sales CSRs was a new concept to independent agencies and a factor other agencies either didn’t offer or refused to consider!

It’s uncontested that money is a prime motivator for employees. Human nature lends credence to the benefit of immediate gratification by instituting a monthly bonus payout based on a formula that tracks new policies written. The procedure was designed with incentive-based components, line of business, lead origination, account development, profitability, etc., so the amount paid out is structured with various incentive-based features. This method of additional compensation, properly structured, would meet the criteria that will positively affect the agency's bottom line.

When my business plan was close to being finalized, Janet had advanced to the office manager position and interacted with each employee daily; thus, she pretty much ran the outside office (open area). The hierarchy and reporting directives involved employees reporting to Jan, who in turn reported to me. As such, I felt her input was valuable; but to my dismay (and awe), she was dead-set against it, responding: “Ron, they don’t need it, they’re happy just the way it is, and their salary is good as compared to others.” Due to Jan’s instant hostile defiance coupled with her tone and body language, my excitement dissipated, as I thought to myself: “…well, she knows these ladies better than I do”, she works alongside them daily. So, I back-shelved this incentive-venture-endeavor for about two months. Then the idea and concept remained alive in my mind keeping me awake at night. Still, Jan’s reaction kept resurfacing until I finally concluded, “Jan simply cannot see the big-picture“…and doesn’t get the part about “It takes money to make money.” My business sense kept my judgment wheels churning, then finally they screamed out to me, “well, sure Jan, you see them as happy, BUT you’re missing the point! This time, I began with a simple directive to Jan “the decisions been made – I’m moving forward, and the monthly bonus plan is now in place! From here onwards, Jan assisted me by providing specific data relevant to the elements we needed to construct, then blend, and integrate an attractive formula of the criteria and derivatives, producing our very first Terms & Conditions Fee Schedule. Within several months it became clear: I can stand behind this plan’s effectiveness One-Hundred Percent. Over a short experience period of one year, then two years, our premium growth rate went from 3% annual average to 10%. Rather than every employee walking out by 5:15 pm, some sales reps stayed significantly longer. In fact, up to 1 to 2 hours of mutually beneficial over time. I’ve witnessed Roxanne’s car there at 7:15 pm on a Friday! No question that employees’ efficiency increased even during our usual 9-5 pm office hours. It turned out Jan took to this bonus plan by adding special random monthly contests, thus creating a quasi-game field by adding $50 or more as a cash add-in to the employee with the highest policy count in one of the several categories.

With crystal-ball clarity, the inclusion of this incentive undertaking is directly responsible for tripling the agency’s growth in new policy count and premium, examined and adjusted for rate increases, but with a manageable edge over profitability. And while I acknowledge Jan’s initial response, “they're happy now," however I wasn't b/c I knew the agency team could do better. They just needed some added incentive, just as in life, "we all do"! More importantly, this allows each member of our team the ability to control their income. During the following decade, I can easily attribute this well-structured incentive plan to represent the single most significant contribution directly responsible for leading the Peppler Agency to many company awards.

The Principals and Their Mark

Mildred came to work every day of her life, demonstrating her values to everyone that met her. She emulated and owned the character attributes we would all hope to achieve at some point in our life. Mildred lived by and often shared her living and breathing covenant that she exemplified, "Be True to Yourself," and don't give in to human defects by way of "excuses and blinders". The following is how I express and “own” the principles she lived by: "Once you know the truth, you have a responsibility to accept it and act on it – you can no longer ignore it, nor hide from its existence." Janet and I, having worked with Mildred for over 20 years, had a special relationship with her and tremendously high exposure to the attributes that had become part of her living truths, which her actions affirmed. But as respects my personal life and my lifetime of obstacles – I found the only way to begin accomplishing this was through rigorous self-examination, aka introspection, which requires a nightly routine of concentrated practice until you know that you've reached this higher pathway. Because of its name: "illumination," it becomes ingrained into your actions and soul, it replaces ego-driven auto-response and closed-mindedness that allows your ego to block truth and justify twisting reality to rationalize the acceptability of deceit and half-truths, some falsely claimed as truths, but in disguise, because of the blinders and trance humans relent into to block genuine truth. Therefore, these hypocrites must avoid any genuine self-exam to be "happy" and "self-righteous," which feeds and inflate your ego. Once this mindset is locked, it circulates into your subconscious where predisposed prejudices dominate and become your self-dealing mechanics, through twisted white lies without boundaries and with extreme vacillating to fair-dealings all slanted and rationalized to benefit them alone. It becomes your way of thinking and "living a lie." People living in this bubble dare not enter the true-self practice of self-exam as they can't live in the world I just paraphrased. And hold little hope ever to lead a genuine life of honor, integrity, and living truth as their livelihoods are fully compromised chasing false gods. So whether they renounce self-exam or decide to live in self-centered contempt, Socrates was known as the first moral philosopher of the ethical tradition of thought, and is known for two proverbs that seem to apply to these shortfalls: 1. "The unexamined life is not worth living" & 2."There is only one good, knowledge, and one evil, ignorance."

The Torch is Passed

Mildred died of a massive heart attack on January 17, 1994. As the autopsy verified, she blew out the inner endocardium wall of her heart. She became aware she had an enlarged heart due to an extended period of extremely high blood pressure, discovered by an eye doctor she consulted about blurred vision and cataracts. The doctor found Mildred to have a life-threatening diastolic blood pressure level so high she was told to go to the E.R. immediately. I'm afraid this emerged when my mother felt duty called her to hold down the agency while I finished College. So, I add here and expound upon sacrifice, as this event represents my ultimate hardship. Having great difficulty processing my grief, it took many, many, months for me to accept the likely circumstances leading to her untimely death. Fortunately, Janet, who was very close to Mildred, moved through her grief as she still had her mother to care for and spent most of her free time with her for several years after that.

To fill the two corporate offices Mildred held in our family agency corporation, I moved to Chairman and Treasurer, while Jan filled the offices of Vice President and Secretary. During her estate planning done years before, Mildred, once again, demonstrated her loyalty and fairness by willing a full and equal split of her agency stock to her daughter-in-law Janet, which matched the amount of stock she left to me.

Mildred's gift of stock to Jan amounted to 20.3% of the outstanding common stock ownership. Along with the 18.7% of stock I gifted Jan during the mid-'80s, Jan, without investing a dollar, owned a total of 39% of the agency, which now involved the life-long work product of three generations. What's significant here (common sense) is that you don't acquire stock ownership by simply working at the agency for 20 or 30 years! All agency members, meaning employees and Officers, perform work for the corporation and are compensated for their work. Employee compensation is set by Corporate Officers, while the Board of Directors sets officer's salary. When Peppler Agency was incorporated in 1979, the original investment that funded the newly formed corporation ($23,834) originated with after-tax dollars generated by the original sole-proprietor. This figure remained the same year after year, as neither myself nor Jan invested one dollar of our own money. The gifting of Mildred’s stock ownership in the agency in equal proportions to each of us originated from my mother's commitment to fairness and generosity. The mechanics of corporate accounting (balance sheet, R/E, etc.) are far above basic math, but this issue was never addressed, and in Mildred's memory, I let this stand as yet another gift. But I will bring out this distinction here to raise, acknowledge, and clarify that The Peppler Agency would not exist today without my mother's steadfast fairness and enormously generous contributions.

So, to be clear on the gift of stock to family-member employees, in fairness to my siblings, the dollar value of Mildred's agency stock had to be determined to include it in the total estate asset calculation. My mother was extraordinarily fair and clear in her will, directing that all three of her children share equally in the division of her estate assets. To comply with Mildred’s wishes, my brother and sister received cash or its equivalent equal to the Fair Market Value of Mildred’s Peppler Agency Stock. Thus, I had to absorb the entire dollar offset of the monetary value of Mildred's stock, despite Jan receiving one-half. During our subsequent divorce and legal proceedings, I never raised the impact of the $350K offset. Therefore, my entire inheritance amounted to Mildred’s agency stock in Peppler Agency. Accordingly, I was very generous in allowing Jan a significant financial windfall, never before discussed or even raised.

My mother's passing left the agency with an open desk and position to fill at the agency. Of course, employee selection has a tremendous influence on the success of every business. After incorporating, employee selection was delegated to me. I remain incredibly proud that each employee I selected became a long-term, high-performing dedicated part of our family. And over my 29-year leadership, not once did I ever have to "let go" or fire a single employee I brought in. I should add that I asked Jan to spend about 10 minutes chatting to each candidate during the hiring process before each interview. After my official interview, we’d meet and discuss the pros and cons of each to see if we had common denominators to each candidate's qualifications and personality traits. I kept interviewing candidates until we had a good mix to assess. It is not only noteworthy but most appropriate that I hired Roxanne in 1994 to occupy Mildred's desk… as within a year, Roxanne had become our top-performing inside-sales producer and has remained there to this day. Call my selection fortuitous if you like, but to me, this validates that Devine Intervention exists because Roxanne's work ethic, fortitude, and perseverance match and illustrate the 43-year record Mildred built and sustained as a dedicated leader of the second generation.

The Third Generation Thrives

My business plan adding monthly incentives and account development rewards created an annual growth rate averaging or exceeding 10%, which continued to improve and drove the agency to become remarkably successful. In addition, the new, high-visibility professional headquarters substantially increased awareness of the name Peppler Insurance from the thousands of cars passing the agency each day. In the end, as a result of successful planning, The Peppler Agency became the proud recipient of our lead company's highest year-end award, beating out our competitors in the Tri-county area, a major feat, as this represents Citizens' largest marketing area within the State. And this success continued.

The Peppler Agency had won this award, one time in the mid-'80s, but because the annual award is based upon 1.) increase in premium growth 2.) overall annual profitability (loss ratio) and 3.) highly respected by management, The Peppler Agency won this award during the calendar years, 1997, 1998, and 1999. Of record-breaking significance, The Peppler Agency was the FIRST single agency to win Citizens Highest Award 3-years in a row! This phenomenal achievement reveals the agency was not only performing at an optimum level, but the consistency of three years in a row demonstrates solid reliability that the agency will continue to operate proficiently, as documented by this strong indicator. Through responsible delegation and our discipline link to employee morale, the office had reached the point where it was essentially running itself. To the best of my knowledge, this 3-year record stands valid today. And while I expected the large commercial agencies to recapture many future awards, there’s every reason to believe The Peppler Agency will again reach the top spot.

According to the Principle of Universal Balance, my business success - acting in pairs, often produces an opposite and opposing reaction. Unfortunately, the opposite/opposing reaction emerged in my private life, reaching such disarray that I felt my presence at home was detrimental to our relationship. In 1999 my 25-year marriage reached its end, primarily driven by the absence of children, bringing me a misguided sense of emptiness and guilt, pushing my private life into chaos. While my business-professional life was rewarding, I had been neglecting my friendships and relenting on personal relationships to the extent they had dissolved into shambles. When I analyzed my business success to the state of desperation my personal life had become, my private failures generated an extremely conflicted equilibrium barrier between my career and the chaos in my personal life. This phenomenon is painful to concede and extremely difficult to put into words. Shortly after the agency awards, I found myself isolating and doing whatever I could to escape the conflicted disease generated by the letdown of having accomplished a three-year reward at work, then going home to the misery I’d feel imploding in my head. Eventually, this agony brought me to despair. Unable to cope, I fell into a deep, unrelenting depression that twisted my sense of self to the point of futility. I sought help from several therapists and psychiatrists trying to relieve and focus on learning coping skills to deal with the emotional pain that dominated my mental well-being. Some background follows.

Janet and I had been married for 25 years, and during this period, we treated our agency as our child, which helped each of us satisfy the human desire to procreate. Unable to have children after going through miscarriage after miscarriage (circa 6), beginning in 1978, then again in 1979. In the ‘80s and ’81s, we started the Clomid ordeal, with pills, more pills then injections. At the M.D.’s advice, we started the In-Vitro for at least 3-times, which seemed awkward after the second round but then exasperating. This ordeal proved to be all-consuming, so after about 10yrs, we realized that children simply were not in the stars. My mother's input was, “Well, the office can be your child,” and as it turned out, that’s pretty much how it progressed! In ’79 we bought the office building, then in 1980 a new home. These moves kept us together and busy. We had mutual objectives, projects, good compatibility, couples’ friends, excitement, vacations...etc. But I drifted away from many of my friends during the next ten years as they had kids to raise and family agendas filling their free time. Different coping mechanisms created a strain on our marriage. And because we worked together, we each went our own way after work, down different paths, with Jan having three different sets of friends: tennis, her mother, and girlfriends outside of sports. Jan also did volunteer work at the Grosse Pointe Children's Home on Cook Road. My brother and I met some new friends that had many issues from being raised in an alcoholic dysfunctional household, and they had just relocated here from the U.P in Michigan. Having had experience with addiction and treatment centers, I knew I could be of some benefit or usefulness in these surroundings. Most of my interaction though involved crisis management.

I was experiencing a high level of guilt from what I consider holding Jan back from a healthy, nurturing relationship that I could not provide in my state of mind. I decided to separate from Jan, freeing her up from the toxic depression I struggled with and had brought into our home and personal life. The depression had become noticeable with the few friends that remained and noticeable to some at the office. After seeking help with several therapists and treatment alternatives that seemed to bring me pseudo-temporary relief in the past, I was looking to find a way to cope and hopefully improve upon my dilemma. Perhaps my biggest issue was isolating myself spending so much time alone, so in that regard, a leave of absence (I’ll discuss next) fueled this imbalance and, in effect, bred chronic depression. I found myself, among other1depravities, isolating, depressed, 1medicating, and pushing people away. This obsessive guilt-fueled self-talk led to a destructive and harmful self-image. I was essentially unable to penetrate this contaminated mindset. In hindsight, I should have forced myself to enroll in a university for productive study, which took me years to finally initiate, as this stimulus provided me with a challenging focus to keep my mind absorbed, alive, and advancing.

With the agency practically running itself, I felt a "leave of absence" would be in the best interest of the office at large as the symptoms of my depression and withdrawal from normalcy were still winning the battle. Accordingly, I officially resigned from my long-standing 29-year leadership in February 2002. Since my mother passed away, I appointed Jan President as the majority shareholder. Still, I continued to check in with Jan regularly for the agency's well-being.

Understand, I did not make this decision lightly. It took a significant amount of self-examination, considering all facets of the impact my decision would influence. But my confidence in the office staff, and Janet Peppler in particular, I felt that together the team of champions I hired have the ability to carry on in my absence. By this, I'm speaking about four of the six female employees I hired initially. They gave me peace of mind in 2002 and remain with the Peppler Agency today as high achievers. The four veterans are: Janet (Peppler) Gadette, Joyce Loman, Marge Drumm and Roxanne Charles. These four high-achievers have over 160 combined years of service with Peppler Agency today and represent two-thirds of the current office staff.

In my opening paragraph, I speak of my people skills and delegation proficiency, likely my most perceptive business traits. During my leadership, I emphasized that every agency member must think and perform as a team, dependent on team outreach, which ultimately mends a member’s skill that may need some polish. Each year as members continue to grow, the process takes place with self-directed discipline. During my hiring interviews, I prioritized a blending of temperament, intellect, and fortitude into assessing each candidate's ability to be team players and self-starters to assist one another and fill in when and where needed. These factors were top-tier considerations definitively outweighing prior experience, which can be detrimental at times for many reasons. And the results proved to merge the best unique qualities of each member of the agency’s success team. Specifically, unique, individual, personal traits that blend/advance/propel and dictate: responsibility, proficiency, integrity, and dedicated respect for the team and client benefit. These attributes are of paramount importance and predominate the Peppler Agency's platform. Accordingly, Peppler agency prospers through reliable, continuous self-motivated acceptance of newly delegated client work products, policies & procedures. They ensure the Peppler Agency continues to flourish with outstanding performance, leading the competition as they have for decades, with a creative outlook, outreach, and vision for emerging trends. This is an ongoing representation that I embrace as one of my strongest, most significant achievements.

Dependable Service

Within the Peppler Group, perhaps our most significant forté is working side by side with clients to ensure they receive fair and efficient payment of claims and that all coverage extensions and enhancement clauses are examined for increased benefits and inclusion in the loss computation. Linked with our select group of in-house property/casualty resources, Peppler Insurance Group continuously strives to provide the broadest resources. We will not hesitate to utilize outside consultants who are topic-specific experts in particular fields such as coverage interpretation, unusual loss scenarios, etc., to obtain positive results and solutions. In today’s global, complex business platforms, it’s not uncommon to uncover never before seen technology that requires thorough examination from various industry experts in fields outside of our scope of expertise. In addition, throughout our many years of experience, we have established relationships with a broad range of experts outside of the insurance industry, such as Law, Accountancy, Medical Doctors, and accredited Investigators. In the context of insurance particulars, we've discussed experience, credentials, and established relationships. We invite your call to discuss how our business can help yours.

Access to a Broad Range of Insurance Knowledge in One Place

Everyone needs insurance protection. Yet coverage needs can vary significantly regarding personal and business-specific circumstances. As a result, no single insurance contract can adequately provide an entirely comprehensive range of coverage and endorsement options to suit every individual's exposure. This represents the history and evolution within traditional P&C markets in the U.S., now using teams of experts in arriving at today's insurance mechanisms which flowed from the original undertaking of ship-owners and investors gathered in a London coffeehouse owned by Edward Lloyd. Here each investor indicated how much of the total value of the risk (ship & cargo) they were willing to "insure" by writing his name and the percentage under the description (vessel, captain, type of cargo, destination) — thus, the creation of term "underwriters." (Ref., Lloyds.com & other sources.) So, speaking of continuity, tradition, and family business generations as unique long shots, the London underwriting syndicate at Lloyd's witnessed the first days of what was to become the world's first known insurance underwriting society now in its 5th generation.

Auspiciously, Peppler Insurance Group has the background experience you can count on to look out for your best interest. Finding a consultant with a strong background in all facets beneficial to running a successful business leads to utilizing the services of a well-rounded, veteran businessman with years of proven success. And with an extensive network of Best's A-rated carriers and their qualified agents in providing unique insurance plans and financial services that we may recommend when warranted. Contacting one of our experienced advisers will give you answers to many insurance considerations and provide an advanced perspective to examine your personal and business protection. Let Peppler Insurance Group do the research to investigate how your existing agent and carrier meet your specific objectives. In today's market, you want an insurance adviser who efficiently wades through all the paperwork, clarifies existing or beneficial coverage options, designs a finely tuned superior plan, and ultimately looks out for your best interests as though it was our own. In doing so, we will find and recommend the insurance solutions you need and, most importantly, rely upon. Just as I have related and expounded upon both my father and Grandfather's extremely acute business acumen, the foundation they've built relied on the building blocks of ethics, integrity, and TRUST as an absolute. I was raised and blended using the same genes, DNA, or as some call it, cut from the same cloth of loyalty, commitment, bloodline, and dedication. I pledge to utilize all the covenants I have brought to light throughout this fact-based profile.

Call to find out what we can offer you!

Whether your interest today involves home, auto, or business owners, call the insurance experts at Peppler Insurance Group for the protection advice and questions answered that will enhance, satisfy and provide a good night's sleep; after all, this is the peace of mind confidence and assurance you deserve. We will work tirelessly to get you the complete satisfaction that brings you security and priceless insight. Making sure that you, your business, and your family are protected is what we do!

Ronald D. Peppler CPCU, ARM