Timber Creek innovative standard leading state reform
By KEVIN CHIRI
Slidell news bureau
SLIDELL – At a time when many insurance companies are fleeing Louisiana due to overwhelming losses and increasing litigation, two local entrepreneurs have taken a different path—building a company based on faith, family, and a fiercely focused strategy.
Chris Workman and Dennis Neyland are the founders of Timber Creek Casualty Insurance Company, Inc., an Alabama-domiciled risk retention group that writes commercial auto and truckers’ general liability insurance in Louisiana and 12 other states for lumber, logging and construction related companies. Their approach to building true partnerships between the insurance agent, the insured, the insurance company and the claims company is already making waves in the industry.
Timber Creek Casualty Insurance Company Inc., A Risk Retention Group obtained their (A) Demotech rating at the inception of their company and has strived to bridge the gap of not being an adversary to their insureds but a partner.
Dennis said that too many companies have lost focus on what their purpose really is, it is to provide a stable, affordable product that helps their insureds protect their assets through risk transfer and good claims management to keep their premiums down. This environment is a failure when the attitude is just to continually raise the rates but the public needs to understand that the out-of-control legal environment is a big part of the blame.
Chris added, “we are not a billion-dollar company and most of these large companies don’t want to be here because of the rising costs of health care, legal expenses, out of control nuclear judgments and natural disasters that plague Louisiana. It seems like our economy is built on lawsuits. It’s got to stop. We’ve conditioned people to think they’ve won the lottery if someone bumps them in an accident.”
The pair met while working in the insurance business. Dennis, a longtime veteran of workers’ compensation programs, helped grow several workers’ compensation programs in Louisiana, building one company’s Louisiana presence from $500,000 to $55 million in just three years.
Chris, who started in pharmaceutical sales, transitioned to insurance in 2004 and opened his own agency in Bogalusa in 2016 and built a very successful insurance agency that has recently opened an office in Slidell and plans for future expansion for four other locations in three different states.
“We became friends first and then business partners,” said Dennis. “Chris is always calm and professional, and I knew we’d make a great team since I’m a little more outspoken and controversial.”
Chris added, “Dennis is the most positive person I know. We balance each other well. Sometimes I feel like we’re the bad cop, good cop. When Dennis gets frustrated he looks at me and asks me to handle it.”
Their partnership was born out of a shared vision—and a mutual frustration with the high cost and inefficiencies in Louisiana’s insurance landscape. According to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC), Louisiana’s commercial auto insurance industry saw a ten-year underwriting return of -30.9%, far worse than the national average of -6.6%.
Chris said, “If the insurance industry was so profitable in Louisiana, I assure you more insurance companies would be writing here. The only thing that will lower rates in Louisiana is more competition. We have got to develop a business-friendly environment for business and insurance companies to thrive.”
“Wouldn’t it be great if Louisiana had 20 or 30 companies offering insurance here rather than two or three?” added Dennis. “All the legislative changes are great but it will take time for the impact of these law changes to take affect and lower rates. Competition is what lowers them more quickly.”
“Louisiana needs to follow what we did in the early 90’s with workers comp. We added a medical fee schedule, utilized the second injury fund, limited attorney compensation, strengthened the fraud statute and gave companies several affirmative defenses. Over time Louisiana has become one of the most profitable states to write worker’s comp and there are numerous insurance companies providing this coverage at a great rate but still maintaining a profit and protecting the injured worker.”
In response, the duo created Timber Creek Casualty and launched a number of innovative strategies, including a signature In-Cab Camera and Telematics Program, distracted driving programs, safety meetings and more, all provided through their sponsoring association, the National Independent Business Alliance (NIBA-USA.com).
“We hope to build the NIBA to be a nationally known small business alliance that assists small businesses with more than insurance, risk management and loss control,” Dennis said.
The NIBA recently signed a deal to provide its members with discounted fuel at over 10,000 locations in the US and Chris was in Washington, DC to meet with several members of the Louisiana Delegation to discuss how the NIBA can become a lobbying arm for their members in DC and Louisiana. Chris and Dennis want the NIBA to become a leader in protecting small businesses from over-reaching legislation and new legislation that can help in lowering the cost of insurance.
The NIBA’s signature program of providing each insured with In-Cab cameras and telematics has proven very effective. Timber Creek offers premium credits, improves claims resolution, and incentivizes safe driving.
“When we first pitched the idea of cameras and telematics to other companies similar to Timber Creek in 2022, they laughed at us,” Dennis recalled. “But two years later, those same folks were asking how we made it work.”
Their program has become so effective that Chris believes federal regulations will soon require similar systems in all commercial vehicles. He gave several examples of how these cameras and telematics helped Timber Creek in resolving several claims.
The road to launching Timber Creek wasn’t easy. It took two-and-a-half years to receive their certificate of authority, with many setbacks during the COVID-19 pandemic. “We were told we’d get approval ‘next Tuesday’ for over two years,” Chris said with a laugh. “But we never gave up. We believed it was God’s will.”
Their wives—Felicia Workman and Kelli Neyland—left their jobs to join the effort, bringing critical skills in accounting and operations. Chris said “we didn’t have the money to hire anyone and our wives worked way below minimum wage at the time. Today, Timber Creek is a family-built enterprise, with a 16-person staff that includes many of their own children.”
“We decided to train our own people from the ground up,” said Dennis. “We don’t have time to re-train someone stuck in the old insurance mindset.”
Dennis’ son, Mac, who left a major insurance carrier to join the firm, emphasized the importance of shared commitment. “Our program isn’t for everyone,” he said. “We need total buy-in from insureds and agents to promote a safety culture and reduce losses. We work with our insureds; most are shocked when we show up with our fish fry trailer and put on safety meetings and provide their employees with safety incentives. We invite their wives and children to participate. We want the employees to buy in to our program of providing a safe workplace and it has worked.”
The company has grown rapidly and is now ranked among the top three commercial auto insurance providers in Louisiana. Timber Creek is reinsured by Lloyd’s of London and operates under a unique model, a federal law known as The Liability Risk Retention Act of 1986 that allows businesses and organizations to form risk retention groups (RRGs) to provide liability insurance for their members, helping them manage liability risks more effectively. This act was created in response to a liability insurance crisis, enabling members to pool their risks and gain greater control over their insurance needs. Most all medical malpractice insurance is provided through RRG’s with transportation being the second largest industry in RRG’s.
Timber Creek’s success story is being closely watched in Baton Rouge, where legislators like La. Sen. Beth Mizell and Rep. Brian Glorioso are leaders pushing for insurance reform. House Bill 549, for example, would offer premium discounts for commercial vehicles equipped with camera and telematics systems, something Timber Creek has already been doing.
Chris is very involved at the legislative level and has built the respect of several state representatives, state senators and US representatives that often contact him about pending legislation. Chris believes that Louisiana is on the right track if some of the current bills become law and the governor signs them. He says that it will take time to see companies come back to Louisiana since insurance companies are highly regulated and all of their rates are based on actuarial studies.
Chris and Dennis credit their achievements to persistence, innovation, and above all, faith. “There were times when we had nothing left but prayer,” Chris said. “But we knew we were doing something special. We knew it was going to happen, we just didn’t know when.
“We all felt God’s timing is perfect, we just didn’t know when we would be approved,” he added.
The timing turned out to be perfect as they were approved, then within weeks a major carrier pulled out of Louisiana, presenting their new company with several opportunities to write business immediately.
Chris and Dennis are developing other programs for non-emergency transportation, long haul trucking, small to medium size churches and Louisiana workers’ compensation. They recently engaged a specialty financial firm that is raising the capital to start a Louisiana property company that will offer small commercial property, coastal homeowners and flood. They discussed how they will take the same approach as Timber Creek.
“We will build a unique policy form by thinking out of the box and making the homeowner a true partner with the insurance company and we will do it right so there will be limited involvement of public adjustors, attorneys and out of control contractors,” Chris said. “The homeowners insurance system is broken, and it won’t be fixed by doing the same thing over and over again. Legislation can only do so much. It’s time to think outside of the box and find long-term solutions that will stabilize the market and bring more companies back into Louisiana.”
For more information or to request a quote, visit workmanins.com, or tcci-rrg.com. You can also call 985-732-4101 or 985-888-8801. The company’s Slidell office is located on the third floor of the Hancock Whitney Bank at 2250 Gause Blvd.