Ed Ellsasser, President, Prime Group Insurance

July 2026 — Ed Ellsasser, president of Prime Group Insurance, spoke with Invest: about Florida’s shifting insurance landscape, how technology and process refinement are strengthening client service, and the cultural pillars driving long-term growth. “The more we grow, the more we can give back,” said Ellsasser.

What significant trends are you seeing in Florida’s insurance market, and how is Prime Group positioning itself to capitalize on them?

Over the last several years, Florida’s property insurance market has been difficult. Fewer carriers were willing to write policies here, and double-digit rate increases became common. Recent legislative reforms in Tallahassee helped stabilize the environment by limiting certain attorney involvement, closing loopholes and shortening the statute of limitations for claims. As those changes take effect, rates have started to level and, in many cases — particularly for newer construction — decline by 10% to 20%. We now have more carrier options returning to the market.

On the personal lines side, Citizens — our insurer of last resort — had around 1.2 million policies a year ago. That number has come down to roughly 560,000 as more clients are taken out into the private market. That reduces exposure for the state and for taxpayers. For us, it’s about staying ahead of these developments, staying close to carriers and clients, and making sure we are checking every viable market to secure the best coverage at the best price.

How are you leveraging technology and data to enhance underwriting, risk assessment, and client experience?

We’ve focused heavily on technology to remove repetitive tasks from our team’s plates. A major piece of that has been offshoring certain standardized workflows to the Philippines. Today’s tools make it easy for offshore team members to work securely within our systems so they can handle tasks like applications and basic certificates of insurance. That reduces manual work and allows our client-facing team to concentrate on higher-level issues.

We also use technology that pre-fills applications across multiple carrier forms so we’re not typing the same information over and over again. And while I have people on the team who go much deeper into the data side, the principle is consistent: automate what’s repetitive, standardize what can be standardized and free our people to serve clients more directly.

As the company grows, what operational challenges do you face in balancing expansion with compliance and service quality?

Balancing growth with profitability and staffing is an ongoing challenge. The last few years included significant wage inflation, and we had to adjust compensation to retain the team. I’ve always believed in paying more for better talent — as long as they align with our culture — because it pays off long-term. If you try to save money by hiring less-experienced or less-aligned people, you end up with higher turnover and a lot of wasted time hiring and rehiring.

We’d rather invest time up front in making sure we have the right people. That stability helps us maintain compliance, consistency, and strong service even as we expand.

How would you describe Prime Group’s culture, and how do you intentionally reinforce it?

We introduce culture right away during the interview process. Clients are our top priority, and we emphasize “closing the loop.” Issues will always arise, but if you stay in contact with clients and run every issue through to resolution, you retain trust. When communication breaks down, that’s when you lose clients. That approach is one of the reasons we’ve been able to maintain such a high retention rate.

Community involvement is another pillar. We support a variety of nonprofits and enjoy volunteering as a team. We adopted an inner-city school about six years ago and recently completed a major beautification project there, bringing in more than 100 plants and 18 yards of shells. We also volunteer at organizations like Feeding Tampa Bay and Metropolitan Ministries. The more we grow, the more we can give back. That’s been especially rewarding — helping younger team members get exposure to different nonprofits so they can engage with causes they care about.

Taking care of our employees is the third component. Many have been with me 15 years or more; our very first hire from 28 years ago is still here. We offer competitive pay, great benefits and a collaborative, team-first approach. When you consistently organize the company around clients, community, and employees — in that order — culture becomes a real differentiator.

How do you approach building and managing carrier and partner relationships?

With carriers, the goal is always to find the best fit for our clients. Ease of doing business is important: Do they have efficient online quoting systems? Is there someone who will pick up the phone when we need help? We also spend time understanding what types of risks a carrier wants to write so we’re not sending them business that doesn’t match their appetite.

Price matters, but it’s not the only factor. We look closely at coverage forms, limits, and exclusions to make sure our clients aren’t unintentionally exposed to gaps in their policies. A strong carrier partner is one that combines competitive pricing, sound coverage, and responsive support.

Beyond traditional financial metrics, how do you measure success at Prime Group?

Personalized service is central to how we evaluate performance. An informal indicator for me is simple: when my phone isn’t ringing and my inbox isn’t full of problems, it means we’re taking care of clients.

Formally, we track retention very closely across our three lines of business — commercial property and casualty, personal lines, and employee benefits. We aim for retention rates in the 90% range or higher. Consolidation in certain industries is something we can’t control, but we pay close attention to any client who leaves for reasons we can influence, like service or communication. Retention and referrals are the clearest indicators of whether we’re delivering real value.

How does Prime Group respond to disruptive events, such as regulatory changes, macro shifts, or natural disasters?

The 2024 hurricane season is a good example. Two storms hit in close succession, and the first created major flooding across Tampa Bay and down the west coast. In those situations, it becomes all hands on deck. I tell the team that moments like that are our chance to shine. We move quickly to report claims, stay on carriers to ensure adjusters get out to clients, and push to get checks issued as fast as possible.

We had several homes flood and multiple businesses — like a beach-area pizza shop with eight feet of water — experience total losses. Our job is to be a resource and help clients get back on their feet as quickly as they can while navigating what can be an overwhelming process.

How do you balance process standardization with the need for personalized service?

Standardizing our processes has been essential for scaling. A few years ago, we brought together a cross-section of the team, from account managers in their mid-20s to team members in their 70s, to walk through every workflow. With that range of experience and perspectives, we were able to streamline many processes, reduce steps in some cases, and re-order steps in others.

Our offshoring model required us to create clear, documented workflows that could be executed consistently, which pushed us to refine our systems further. Over the last year, we reviewed everything again because technology evolves quickly, and some processes needed updates while others stayed the same. In some cases, we realized we were collecting information we didn’t actually use.

The goal is efficiency in the background so our front-line teams have the time and flexibility to personalize service.

In such a crowded and commoditized insurance landscape, how do you keep Prime Group’s value proposition distinct?

We focus on relationships. That means spending real time with clients, getting to know their businesses and families and building trust beyond transactions, whether that’s a hockey game, fishing trip, concert, or lunch. Over time, clients start coming to us not only for insurance questions but also for referrals in areas like banking or accounting. That’s how you become a trusted advisor.

Over the last 30 years, that relationship-driven model is how I’ve grown. I’d rather have fewer, deeper relationships than a thousand shallow ones. I don’t want us to be a mile wide and an inch deep. That’s not how I operate, and it’s not how I’m coaching the team.