Business has been full speed ahead for Benefits Selling's 2014 Broker of the Year Ed Oravetz. In the last year, he's sold his agency to Marsh & McLennan, added a couple million in new revenue and basically had his best year ever.

It would be difficult to accuse Ed Oravetz of resting on his laurels after being named Benefits Selling's 2014 Broker of the Year.

Marsh & McLennan Agency, Southwest, in Houston acquired his business just six weeks after the award was presented. Since then, he has helped oversee a smooth merger of the two corporate cultures and added $2 million in new revenue.

“The Broker of the Year recognition was important to me,” says Oravetz, now president, employee benefits, for Marsh & McLennan. “As I said on stage when I accepted the award, it was a validation that our approach has value in the marketplace.”

He had a distinct approach in mind when he founded Visicor in Friendswood, Texas, in 2007.

“I wanted to create something different,” he says. “I really took a hard look at the industry and where it was going, with health care reform projected at that time. I wanted a different approach with clients, so we sat down and really mapped out where we would like an agency to be.

“We have to partner with our clients and understand where they want to be—what's worked, what hasn't worked, the long-term vision for their employee benefits package—and then we have to dig deep and find long-term solutions.”

Acquisition overtures

The success and loyal customer base made Visicor an attractive acquisition target.

“We previously had been approached by a couple of other firms,” Oravetz says. “We did our due diligence with one but declined at the last minute, because we didn't see a cultural fit moving forward with that organization. Some private-equity owners focus on acquisitions to increase margins or drive revenue growth. Others look to acquire firms with the same culture and provide more resources for their clients.”

Giving up partial control of a company that has been built from scratch was not an easy decision.

“For us, it was a matter of looking at where the market is going, what resources clients are going to need and how we are going to be able to deliver that,” Oravetz says. “There are some advantages to being independent, such as having close relationships with our clients. What drove this deal is that we still could be who we are, yet deliver the tools and services of a large firm. In the new market of employee resources, from underwriting compliance to private exchanges, it's becoming difficult for a firm with $1 million to $5 million in revenues to compete.”

Although Marsh & McLennan already had approached Oravetz, the Broker of the Year award helped clinch the deal.

“I received nationwide recognition from vendors and carriers,” he says. “I already had been in discussions with Marsh & McLennan, and the award helped solidify those plans. The acquisition was effective May 15. The combined firm has become the foundation for benefits in Houston. There have been a tremendous number of changes, but it gives our clients a phenomenal access to resources and tools they otherwise never would have had.”

It turned out to be a winning venture for both parties.

“I'm delighted to welcome Visicor's talented and experienced employee benefit specialists,” Anthony Gruppo, CEO of the Houston office, said in a news release at the time.

“The addition enables us to offer greater resources and a broader platform to serve the employee benefit needs of our clients throughout Texas and the Southwest.”

A year later, Oravetz has no seller's remorse.

“I sometimes wake up in the morning and look for a 'gotcha' moment when it was not quite what you were promised, but we never had that,” he says. “We didn't lose a single team member or client. It's been win-win.”

Changing industry

One reason for the transaction is the fast-changing nature of the brokerage business and the resources required.

“The Affordable Care Act was a driver from 2012 to 2014, but for the past 18 months, it's been broader than that,” Oravetz says. “The ACA is still the core of the conversation, but we now focus more on how to manage exposure, eliminate risk and position the client's company to move forward.”

Compliance is now in the driver's seat.

“Before 2012, consulting was the base of our business,” he says. “Over the past few years, compliance has become the foundation. We spend more effort on protecting our clients than on employee benefits. The total amount of time we spend on internal counsel over compliance coordination is a night-and-day difference from five years ago.”

Marsh & McLennan adds extensive firepower in this area, with a complete compliance office and an ERISA attorney on staff. The company uses webinars, seminars, newsletters and client communications to keep its customers up to speed.

There also have been profound changes in how brokers conduct their business during Oravetz's 22 years in the industry. “Since 2007-08, there has been a major shift from being transaction-driven to relationship-driven,” he says. “We have to be a partner with our clients.”

What advice would Oravetz offer young brokers who would like to be in his shoes in 20 years?

“First, the only way to create value is to exceed expectations,” he says. “If you don't do that, you won't have a long-term relationship.

“Second, be conversational, not presentational. Don't try to sell, but simply have a conversation to find out their goals and objectives, and then see how you can meet them. Don't try to “wow' them. Know who you are and what you believe.”

Throughout the year of rapid change, Oravetz finds time to savor his 2014 Broker of the Year award and what it means.

“In talking to my wife and colleagues,” he says, “the past 12 months have been the greatest time of my career.”

Instant Insights /

No seller's remorse for 2014 Broker of the Year

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