Jack Fries developed his insurance agency management tools throughout his entire career working for both insurance companies and agencies. His background includes time spent as a personal and commercial lines underwriter, and as the administrative head of a branch office property/casualty operation. Jack also created a multi-agency cluster of agents in N. California to combine market access and profits. He was CEO of a multi-location agency as well.
With a goal of creating a way to use that knowledge to help independent agencies flourish and grow, in 1986 he established an automation training firm in southern California. In 1988 he established Fries & Fries Consulting, an automation, sales and management consulting firm, aimed at improving agency profitability, work flows and customer service. Since that time, Jack has been a key speaker, panelist and trainer at over 1,000 insurance conferences, both in the US and Canada. With his wealth of knowledge and his humorous speaking style, Jack kept them laughing and learning all at the same time. He retired in 2014.
Jack spent most of his career as a trainer and consultant to independent insurance agencies in North America. He traveled the continent teaching insurance agents and owners to just implement a tiny fraction of what he brought to them, and to keep doing it, repeat the process, and the profits followed. Whether presenting a sales training session to young new producers, an errors and omissions seminar to prevent losses, or an in-house profitability consultation, he taught the small techniques that can dramatically increase productivity, protection and profits.
Dawn Fries began her insurance industry experience working for Roger Sitkins, noted insurance agency consultant and industry leader, in Ft. Myers Florida; well, let’s just say “a long time ago.” While at Roger’s winter client meeting on Captiva Island, Dawn and Jack Fries met and forged a long time partnership. They also married and Dawn joined Jack’s consulting firm as marketing director. In that capacity she was responsible for marketing Jack’s speaking and consulting services. Since Jack spoke or consulted in all 50 states, and some Canadian provinces, she was busy keeping him booked. Dawn managed the practice for 15 years.
At that time Jack was presenting quarterly “Agency Management Training Camps” around the Bay Area. Dawn handled all meeting planning for these events from beginning to end, including site inspections, budgeting, planning, marketing, and accounting.
In 2002 Dawn joined an independent insurance agency in Cincinnati Ohio, where she learned the technical side of working in a busy personal lines agency. For 12 years she was responsible for servicing 850 personal lines accounts as well as being the in-house IT liaison for the agency’s automation system. Combining Dawn’s past independent agency consulting background and her in-house agency experience, she currently is a professional liability underwriter for retail insurance agents’ errors & omissions policies.