RBEHINID THE WITH RICHARD RANKIN [Central Penn Business Journal (PA)]

chairman, president and CEO, Murray Insurance Associates, doing business as Murray Securus

Q: What does your company offer?

A: We are an independent insurance broker and risk-management consultant. We focus on property and casualty insurance for businesses and individuals; employee benefits - including health insurance; safety and risk management; claims consulting; human resources consulting; wealth management; and third-party administration of employee benefit programs.

How has your business changed over the years?

When our agency was born in 1930 with Mr. Murray, it was primarily a property and casualty insurance brokerage representing several different insurance companies. We have evolved from only traditional insurance products into other riskmanagement programs. I think it's a trend in the industry for larger brokers.

We have also expanded geographically. Although our business is based in Lancaster County and concentrated in Central PA, we have offices in the Harrisburg area and Herndon, Va.

What are some of the challenges your industry has been facing recently?

The Affordable Care Act is probably the biggest thing right now. We're in more of a consultant role rather than the traditional role of an agent selling a product. We're helping our clients plan and look forward not only for the onset of this, but so they can prepare multiyear from a standpoint of coverage and cost.

The last couple of years, we have also had some pretty catastrophic weather events, so the industry has seen an increase in dollars paid in terms of catastrophic losses. That is causing some changes as far as how we look at property. There will be some increased cost to clients.

How are you preparing clients to meet the changes coming with the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act?

A lot of education. We held four recent seminars and invited clients and prospects - and anyone in the community - to listen to staffpresent the changes and how it will impact them. We talked about the initial costs and how to plan. We had a larger response to those seminars than anything we have ever done before.

It is a big issue for businesses. When the law was passed initially, they weren't paying a lot of attention, but now it is getting closer, and more rules and regulations are coming out.

What are some of your plans for the future?

To continue the growth mode we have been in. Last year, we did a fairly major acquisition when we acquired Securus. We spent a lot of time trying to assimilate that and get it running smoothly. Our focus really is to increase our presence in the current market and continue to spread out a bit.

What are you most proud of?

We have a great team here. Our 180 associates work very hard and very well together. Last year, during the acquisition, it was a tremendous amount of work, and everyone pulled together.

-Jennifer Vogelsong

Lancaster County native Richard Rankin is chairman, president and CEO of Lancaster-based insurance broker Murray Securus.

About Richard Rankin

chairman, president and CEO, Murray Insurance Associates, doing business as Murray Securus

Time with the company: 34 years

Education: Attended Millersville University, certified insurance counselor

Professional involvement: The brokerage is a member of the Council of Insurance Agents and Brokers and Independent Agents & Brokers Association. It also supports trade associations such as Associated Builders & Contractors because many of its clients are in the construction industry. Last year, the brokerage financially supported 60 nonprofit organizations in Central Pennsylvania. Personally, Rankin is on the board of the Lancaster County Conservatory, the Lancaster Family YMCA Foundation and the Lancaster Alliance.

Family: Wife, Vanessa; daughters Mary, Lisa and Amy

Hobbies: Exercise. He runs and weight trains, participates in local road races, plays a little golf and hunts.

Little-known fact: He owns a 65-acre farm in southern Lancaster County with corn, hay, horses and meat cattle. "My weekend hobby is to play farmer."