As of the end of 2024, TPG’s commercial insurance division represented 29% of the firm’s 2024 revenue. And a big slice of that pie? Condo and homeowners’ associations (HOA) insurance. We spoke with two of our lead producers, Account Executive Ryan Stewart and Commercial Marketing Executive Jake Gosline, to hear more about their work and the 12-person team.
But first – a quick primer on HOA insurance: Imagine that a storm has swept through the Pacific Northwest, causing major damage to a condo community. The clubhouse roof has collapsed, fallen trees have crushed parts of the playground, and the fencing has come apart in several spots. But thanks to a comprehensive insurance policy, the community avoids a financial crisis. The policy covers repairs, debris removal, and restoration without additional fees to the homeowners.
A good policy also safeguards the HOA board, which makes decisions on behalf of the community, and provides directors and officers (D&O) liability insurance to protect board members from legal claims tied to their decisions.
Now, back to our TPG team. Ryan Stewart has been with the firm since 2001 and is considered one of the Pacific Northwest’s top producers, while Jake Gosline has worked for TPG since 2015. They are subject matter experts when it comes to HOAs – in 2024, the team has brought in nearly $1 million of new revenue, over one-third of our Commercial Insurance division’s total for 2024.
What brought you to insurance?
Ryan: Like most people, I fell into it. And after a few years, I realized it was super cool. Every day is different, and it’s never boring. I feel like I am helping people. And when you’re a small team like ours, you really get to know what’s going on in all areas.
Jake: After graduating college, I was toying with med school or physical therapy, but I got burned out on schooling and I was ready to do something else. A friend had an insurance agency, so I got an internship and found out I really liked it – especially the new business side and finding good deals for clients.
What challenges has your team faced in the past few years?
Ryan: We weren’t really affected by the COVID pandemic because people always need a place to live and still have mortgages, so insurance isn’t exactly an optional item. We are still in a hard market cycle, which means difficult underwriting, difficult placements, and increasing premiums, so that has been a tough pill to swallow for many buyers. The market condition also creates a lot of additional work on our TPG team, and extra challenges for us to maintain our existing business, but at the same time a huge opportunity for us to win new business. As we all know, the market is cyclical and ultimately based on supply and demand; the supply of insurance carriers is just slim pickings right now.
Jake: Property insurance for condo associations has been in a bad state for several years, with huge rate increases for most clients and unprofitable business for the insurance carriers, similar to what’s happening in personal lines insurance. The cost of construction has gone up significantly, buildings are underinsured, global catastrophes indirectly impact our market in terms of re-insurance rates that go way up, lots of aging buildings haven’t maintained their electrical, piping, etc. – many carriers don’t want to deal with this so they are either leaving the condo insurance business or significantly raising rates. With new business, it gives us the opportunity to really help potential clients. We can often find better deals than what the client had been paying, so we get to play the hero and save the day, earning their business.
What are your current goals for the team?
Jake: To be the #1 broker for condo associations in the Pacific Northwest, and we’re right there at the top. We are a well-oiled machine, very efficient, we all talk the same condo language. There’s a lot of opportunity in the marketplace right now, so we’re expecting even more revenue.
Ryan: It’s to increase revenue as much as possible and add more clients. We specialize within a segment of the industry, and TPG is well-known within this sector as an established presence. So, we’re shooting for $1.5 million of new business revenue in 2025. We also need to hire additional team members, so we have more time behind the scenes to work with our accounts and help people out. There’s no point in writing a bunch of new business if we are losing existing clients out the back door.
As you know, TPG has five core values – play well with others, own it, be curious, be a champion, and have fun and live well. Which of these resonates most strongly with you?
Jake: It’s to own it. We earn the business of roughly 90% of the clients asking for quotes from us. We find solutions nine times out of 10. If a client asks for assistance, we are going to solve the issue with the carriers, with clarity and expertise.
Ryan: I’m equal on all of them. The bottom line is that we love our clients.
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For enquiries about how our HOA team can assist your community, contact them directly at rstewart@tpgrp.com or jgosline@tpgrp.com.
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