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BENEFITS, PERSONAL & COMMERCIAL INSURANCE SERVICES

Conner Insurance provides comprehensive commercial, personal, and benefits insurance solutions coverage for people and businesses in all 50 U.S. states. In addition, we understand a company’s most valuable asset is its people, which is why we become your partner, advisor, and supporter. Insurance is complicated, and our team makes the process simple and effective. Schedule a consultation with one of our trusted insurance advisors to learn how our full-service agency can meet your business needs, reduce risk, and maximize your company culture.

Benefits Programs

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Valuable benefit plans that protect your employees and their families.

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Our robust insurance solutions cover the entire spectrum of commercial risk management.

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In the News

  • An airline won’t enter the sky without being prepared and fully inspected first. You can be sure the pilot has been trained and the plane has been equipped with all necessary life-saving devices. Because no one wants to be responsible for sending an unprepared plane in the air should an emergency happen. Always be ready. Your benefits program should be no different. You can’t wait until the plane is going down to find a way to save everyone, the seatbelts, oxygen masks, life jackets, and rafts should already be in place. With inflation persisting and the possibility of the next recession on your doorstep, you may need to be prepared to take your benefits program in a new direction.Self-funded employers have options and opportunities to make adjustments to their benefit programs, allowing them to control costs without negatively impacting employee experience. There is flexibility and transparency in a self-funded plan.If you are fully insured, you may not have that flexibility, preventing you from customizing your health plan completely. You need to evaluate your plan carefully. Establish where you need to start first, and develop a strategy based on what choices make sense. In other words, make sure the plane is prepared before the emergency happens, don’t wait. Begin to strategize your benefits program now. There are answers in the data.Medical trend is a critical number for businesses to be aware of, a projected percentage increase in costs from one year to the next. Ultimately if the healthcare trend has been 12% in the past, and now that inflation is 8% or more, we can imagine we are going to face higher increases in the future. There are many challenges driving against our growth goals, we need to plan ahead and prepare for possible cost increases. The reality of a recession can further impact deliverables, growth plans, and supply chains. Some points to consider for this renewal are:You need to have reliable guidance in order to strategize, prepare solutions, and plan. An advisor that knows your business and truly understands your culture is better able to evaluate what options are best for you and your people.Look at your workforce and be deliberate and intentional with what you want to accomplish with your benefit program.Make choices that deliver your people’s voice, instead of guessing what they care about and risking getting that voice wrong.Use a mission-based approach. If you have better alignment with your benefits program, you can gain necessary data and transparency that can set your program up for success.Discover what is most important for a successful program and drive those points to create an approach with a solid foundation. Weigh your risk points and know how to adjust to them. Your benefits program needs to be built appropriately.Start preparing now. The urgency of setting expectations and knowing what an unmanaged renewal increase will look like is important. You don’t want to miss an essential element in your benefit program after the fact. Identify where your spend makes the most sense this renewal. Know that the plane is flying safely, with all systems checked.If you stay nimble, make effective decisions and control the message you want to send to your employees, you can control your outcome. You can deliver a cost-effective benefits program that is designed with your people in mind. The urgency is going up this renewal season, and employers should be prepared. Your strategy needs to include the potential for a recession, cost increases, and the continued challenges in recruitment and retention. If your renewal doesn’t include solutions for challenges like these, you could quickly find yourself in a difficult position and not be equipped to address them.There is a critical call for employers to be prepared for this renewal. Your workforce needs to be insulated from cost extremes. There is a need for a contingency plan. This year’s renewal could come with multiple unexpected hurdles that must be considered.You need to be confident there are enough seatbelts, oxygen masks, or life vests ready for each employee before the plane goes down. Don’t wait until the emergency happens to make an emergency plan. 

  • NextGen strategies has become a buzzword in benefits. There are a lot of advisors talking about these strategies and a lot of employers are eager to hear about them. Yet, while these strategies do bring lower costs and better, higher quality care to plan members, we aren’t seeing these strategies come to fruition a lot of the time.These strategies, like aggressive medical management, reference-based pricing, specialty prescription sourcing programs and dialysis carve out, are fantastic strategies. They can dramatically lower the cost of healthcare for not only employers but for plan members as well.This all sounds great, and the end game is. But the reality is that it takes hard work and dedication to successfully implement and operate these programs.Your advisor needs to take the time to dive into every single detail of their implementation process with you. How the programs are designed, how they’re written into the plan documents, and how they’re communicated with HR, executives, and other members of your benefits team.This takes time.When you talk to an advisor or potential partner you need to properly understand their process to make the change smooth and meaningful. These amazing strategies can fail due to lack of support and understanding. Be honest about your concerns and get the answers you need.Are your CEO, CFO, and HR department incorporated into the process?Has there been enough education given to employees on how to use new NextGen tools?Does your advisor have a Member Experience Coordinator to help address problems and friction that may develop?Has there been enough time and thought put into choosing the right partner for reference-based pricing or pharmacy vendor?Asking questions and working with your advisor is important, not only for your benefits team but for your plan members as well. NextGen benefits strategies completely change the idea of how we implement and manage employee benefits packages. The message goes from “here’s your deductible or premium increase” to “here’s access to the highest quality, lowest cost healthcare available”. This is the best outcome, but changing our way of thinking can be difficult.These complex strategies take a lot of work and a lot of time to carry out. They are very impactful, but they aren’t plug-and-play. These are customized solutions tailored to the business, and since they require change, you need to think in terms of change management and implementation to really see the strategies succeed.When done correctly the outcome is amazing, but work has to be put in.At Conner Insurance, we don’t use NextGen strategies as a buzzword. We have spent, and continue to spend, the time and effort needed to understand every detail of these strategies. We know the challenges that can come with them and how to address them. We don’t just talk about NextGen strategies, we have successfully implemented them for years. We have a Member Experience Coordinator to help HR and plan members get the best experience from their health plan. We know the importance of communicating information to plan members and having an advocate to help them through the process. If you have had a bad experience with NextGen strategies, the strategies may not be to blame. The problem could have been caused by a lack of planning, and the inability to implement these complex strategies successfully. You need employee training and ongoing support.Big changes are not mindless, they are thoughtful, well-planned, and well-managed. We know that these strategies take work, but that work is well worth it, for your business and your people.

  • Heartland Growers is a full-service wholesale greenhouse, a family owned and operated business that is considered one of the most modern greenhouse facilities in Indiana. Their efficient and automated growing facility stretches over thirty acres, offers a wide variety of plants and supports a large workforce. A workforce they consider to be one of their greatest assets. “We’re not just a business, we’re family” – Heartland GrowersWe have been their partner for over fifteen years and counting and know how important establishing productive and valuable partnerships is to them. We have seen this mindset being extended across the business by developing strong relationships with their employees.Renewals were a headache.With 40-50 people on their plan and plenty of seasonal workers every year, the yearly insurance process was very painful. We knew that we could make things better for them if they were willing to do things differently.Some would say this business is too small or not the right kind of industry for the type of change we suggested, but they were courageous and dedicated to the process. They felt that a change in their plan was the kindest thing they could do for their employees.We discussed strategy, established a road map, and because we have built trust over the years, our team was trusted to execute the plan. They decided to make a considerable change in their health plan with their strategies and their deliverables, because the pain of renewals over the years was not sustainable. They moved from fully insured to self-funded. Even with 40 to 50 employees.The strategy included moving to a reference-based pricing approach and as a result, they communicate with their employees differently. With ongoing support and communication, this change has allowed employees to be comfortable with navigating the health insurance and healthcare world differently. And because the business has saved money, they looked for opportunities to improve their plan even more. They address medication in their plan in a different way and they are one of the early adopters of focusing on advocacy and sourcing programs.They haven’t had any premium increases since 2015. They’ve actually had a few premium decreases. And they’ve received two dividend checks back when they’ve had positive performance in their health plan.The changes in their plan have paid off.Their expenses are now predictable, they are no longer getting more expensive while also becoming worse every year as traditional plans do. They unlocked more capital, by avoiding rising costs and receiving refunds. On top of that, by removing the pain of the renewal, they have gained more freedom and time to focus on the rest of their business. The Gapinski’s run a true family business and their dedication and pride shows in every aspect of Heartland Growers. We are thrilled to work with this family business. “The relationship between Heartland Growers and Conner Insurance has been of great value, and over many years has had a positive impact on Heartland’s bottom line.  When companies our size were seeing percentage increases in the double digits Conner’s team was able to keep our rates at almost flat for the past TWO years.  In addition, with their industry knowledge and guidance we set up plans that allowed for Heartland the chance to be refunded based upon plan usage.  Over our time with Conner Insurance we have had a large check written back to us twice and just last year our returned amount was $89,000!  In this challenging employment climate we could not ask for a better team.” – Heartland GrowersThey were early adopters.They did the work.They continue to see the results.If you have questions about your benefits plan, don’t hesitate to contact us.

  • There are many different leadership styles in business today, but a quality that is becoming fundamental to the workplace is empathy. This has been especially true since Covid-19. When employees feel heard, understood, and appreciated by their employers they are eager to work, are happier, and genuinely enjoy being at their workplace. This helps to lower employee turnover and improves employee retainment.The Town of Plainfield, a local town on the west side of Indianapolis has done just that. They methodically implemented NextGen benefits into their business. Their goal — to increase savings and improve the quality of life for their people.The Town’s total plan spend has an average trend over the last 6 years of 1.9%, and they are self-funded. They have been able to keep their average trend basically flat over the last 6 years, and this trend would probably be negative, but all of the savings they receive from any of the programs they put in place they reinvest back in their workplace.They keep giving back.This client has always had a really attractive benefits program. Low premiums, low deductibles, low out of pockets. They have been self-funded for over 15 years but it was 6 years ago when they decided to begin adding NextGen strategies to their healthcare plan, using the management side of their self-funding approach, and that’s when they were able to achieve some really exciting savings!Their strategic plan included implementing the following protocols:They created a relationship with a local hospital that has resulted in a strong partnership between the town, the hospital, and their employees. This has also provided savings and benefits to their employees. By making this hospital the In-Network provider, they have a direct contract where they receive lower rates.This hospital also provides an employer-sponsored clinic in multiple locations to provide free wellcare, sick care, and generic medications to their employees and their employees dependents. These clinics are also directly contracted at a negotiated lower rate of care than traditional national provider networks (who take their cut), saving the town money.They have a transparent pharmacy benefit manager that offers pass-through pricing and returns any manufacturer rebates back to clients.The town also implemented a specialty RX sourcing program that sources expensive specialty drugs for the member and the plan for free.These strategies have provided significant savings to the Town and its employees. By using NextGen strategies, they are improving the quality of care for their people and reducing costs. But what is most satisfying is what they have done with those savings.With the savings they gained, they have given their employees:$1250 for single coverage and $2250 for family coverage in HSA contributions.A robust wellness program, focused on health, well-being, and culture. The program includes many different options that are offered to improve employee’s overall well-being. And by participating in those programs, employees can earn an additional $750 for themselves and their spouses in HSA contributions. Between this program and the general HSA contributions, the Town almost completely funds the HDHP deductible.They hired a well-being Manager whose job is to focus solely on the well-being and mental health of the Town’s employees.They were able to reduce employee and dependent premiums by 50%, which were very low to begin with.All of these benefits are on top of the free care that the Town is providing members through the NextGen strategies with the Employer-Sponsored Clinic and Specialty RX sourcing programs.Use cost savings where you need them most.The benefits of using NextGen strategies don’t have to be used in this way. Each business is unique, these savings could be used to keep the doors open, control costs because the long-term forecast is sustainable and later used to unlock big returns from reinvestment like we just described.All of the strategic moves made by the Town have had a positive effect on employee retention, employee wellbeing, and their culture.We can help you take your healthcare plan to the next level. Learn strategies that will help you through the Great Resignation, and set yourself apart in the delivery of healthcare to your employees. Let’s chat!

  • COVID brought a lot of changes to the workforce during its lengthy stay, from remote working to E-learning and even casual attire. But perhaps the most significant change is the sudden emphasis on the importance of mental health in employee benefits.Since the pandemic, we have had many clients come to us requesting that mental health become a larger part of their plans or to help employees navigate current plans to access those resources. As an issue that is close to home, we know the importance of not only getting good quality care but getting that care promptly.Some employees are having to wait six months for a first visit while experiencing a crisis. This is unacceptable.And while the stigma for seeking mental health support is finally declining in the workplace, some employees are still hesitant to further request that help comes promptly. Asking for help is just the first step, finding help after can be challenging, especially when the need for help is urgent. Many employees have access to Employee Assistance Programs that offer free mental health counseling sessions for six to twelve visits along with the coverage through their medical. These are great benefits, but they are often underutilized due to a lack of awareness about them and if they are used, reaching a provider can take too long.There are alternatives to waiting.Virtual care mental health options are timely care options that can get your people the care they need, quickly. Virtual care options have been around for a long time, however they have recently become a more popular and versatile option since COVID began.This care option can give your people access to more providers, with national potential. Employees can get an appointment within a few days, rather than a few months, allowing them to get the care they need when they need it most. Not only are virtual care mental health options quicker, but they can also be more convenient, less intimidating, and undoubtedly more private, with no physical waiting room.Reaching a provider faster and avoiding long waitlists is pivotal to recovery and can help your people get back to feeling like themselves sooner. Mental health support can be an important element in an employee’s consideration for retention or when looking for a new job.There are actionable steps that you can take as an employer to help protect and promote the mental health of your people:Pick the right mental health benefits for your population. These plans are relatively easy to implement and can provide significant returns for the business.Make mental health an important part of your benefits package by educating employees and bringing awareness to the options available. The more employees utilize these options, the happier and healthier your workforce can be. Personally and professionally.Work with a benefits advisor who sees the value of these plans and can help you decide which plans are affordable and beneficial for your unique workforce. A strategic plan should be formulated to achieve positive results, with a focus on how the business cares for its people.Benefits advisors should also have education and training options available during the rollout of the benefits plan, ensuring employees not only know about mental health benefit options available but also how to use them.Mental health is a significant issue that shouldn’t be overlooked or postponed. Securing care in a timely fashion is not only important for your employees, but also for your business. The pandemic has taken a toll on our mental health, one that may take years to recover from. By implementing a benefits plan that includes mental health options, and education about those options, you can give your people the ability to take care of themselves, and others, easier.

  • Family premiums have now reached around $2,000 a month. That’s 24k a year. On top of that families typically need to pay $6,000 to $10,000 deductibles. A tremendous amount of money that can leave many households struggling. We have reached a point where employers, advisors, and many others in the healthcare system need to recognize that this is a problem. We have to say enough is enough.High costs start with how employers buy health insurance, an expected, mandatory process that, for most, takes place yearly. The renewal process has been created by the insurance companies and has been a forced acceptance that advisors and employers have gone along with, which is the root of what has gotten us into this mess.We can easily blame hospital facilities for high costs in healthcare, but when we dig a little deeper we can see that insurers agree to pay unwarranted, high prices and continue to raise premiums for their own gain. Using their size or purchasing power to achieve extra profit instead of using that leverage to manage costs, protect health care dollars and produce fair prices.You can help stop the madness by reconstructing your benefits. Here are some points to consider:US healthcare quality is not the highest compared to the rest of the modernized world, despite the fact far more dollars are being spent on healthcare in our country. Nonprofit hospitals are actually more profitable than many American companies. These health systems should be lowering their costs and using profits for the people, instead of their gain.Insurance companies need to make their quality scores and pricing transparent. Which will introduce market forces into the healthcare system. We need brokers to be excellent at their craft. Instead of focusing on their golf game and commissions, we need them to be experts in managing the healthcare supply chain. And pharmacy. Together, drug manufacturers, pharmacy benefit managers, and insurers are driving drug prices upward. This complex system has virtually no regulations preventing manufacturers from setting high prices and pharmacy benefit managers from keeping profits from negotiated discounts.These challenges contribute to the high costs of healthcare today and with continually rising premium rates and some brokers making poor choices for your business, navigating the healthcare system can feel like an uphill battle. But, if you rethink your plan’s design and work with the right people, you can achieve a fair, cost-effective benefit plan.This can be challenging for some employers because of empty promises from brokers saying they can save money, yet nothing changes. Employers receive the same excuses every year and a strategy to address the issues is never materialized. Many times short-term rate reductions are offered and seem satisfactory at the time, but those reductions aren’t combined with a long-term strategy to keep the savings. A strategic plan can help you consistently reduce costs, year-after-year, creating positive outcomes without risking employee experience.You have to have a strategic plan, you can’t just hope for a good renewal rate. First, demand a strategic plan from your broker.Second, establish a timeline using the strategic plan.Third, execute and measure the results.Premiums reaching 24k a year and deductibles over 6k are hitting families too hard. As employers and advisors, we need to address this problem. We need to deliver functional, affordable health care for our people. This can be done with a strategic plan, but you need to start today.Let’s do this!!

  • Our client faced a staggering 30% increase in renewals this year due to a high claimant on their plan — one that was no longer an employee during the renewal process. Their employee left the company in July, yet the previous high claims were included in the cost of the renewal.Price hikes like these are unfair and should be reversed.After careful analysis and digging into plan data we were able to move this client to a different insurance environment that recognized the difference in reality and were able to secure a 15% decrease. This allowed the company to cultivate their culture and achieve their goals — to give back to their employees. They are now able to provide enhanced benefits that take better care of their people. Another client had a 25% increase. After an appropriate risk evaluation and pursuing alternatives that work for them, we achieved a 19% decrease. The money gained by that change was then used to lower employee contributions (that came out of their paychecks), essentially giving their people a pay raise.Many companies face the same dilemma.You need to consistently evaluate your plan, dig in, and appropriately assess your risk in order to pay a more reasonable rate. If not, you could end up paying these unfair prices that can negatively affect your entire business.From the CEO to the employees, a sharp increase in expenses can impact your people, on an individual level. For example:CEO’s who are responsible for the culture of a business, keeping the people happy, and maintaining positive numbers each quarter are heavily impacted by increases so large.A CFO wants to provide a generous and competitive plan to employees that doesn’t break the bank. Steep increases in renewal costs can alter this plan and force CFO’s to face an erosion of bottom-line performance and possible destruction of budget forecasts causing undue stress. From an HR perspective, that increase erodes employee compensation, affecting overall employee morale, happiness and satisfaction negatively impacting retention and recruitment.Employees dealing with increasing premiums, deductibles, and copays can leave them feeling frustrated and disappointed creating an unhappy workforce. This can lead to increased employee turnover or a policy that is underutilized.If you have a fully insured plan, you may be used to seeing outrageous price increases of 30 to 40%, but there is a way to reduce these costs, alleviating stress and strain across the entire workforce.We need to reduce the costs and give back.Working with a professional, like us, to conduct an appropriate risk assessment and negotiate on your behalf can help you reduce high percentage increases, saving you money that you can use to give back to your people. Keeping track of group changes including claim history, group size, and demographics throughout the year is an ongoing responsibility to ensure you achieve the best price and plan. Insurance companies use these details to estimate your rates, which is fair, as long as those rates aren’t well above current claims, which can happen quite easily.For our clients, their renewal was $473,000, with a thorough assessment a new price of $309,000 was secured. We were able to achieve a reduction of $70,000 from what they were currently spending, significant savings that can be used for company culture, structural or process improvements, and giving back to employees.By using your health plan to effectively solve these problems and manage the risks involved, key stakeholders within your business can take home a win. We have saved our clients hundreds of thousands by assessing plan data and making the necessary changes, don’t hesitate to reach out with any questions.

  • Imagine being in the hospital awaiting surgery. Your team of doctors presents you with two options. The surgeon explains each option with precise medical terminology, procedural protocol and possible outcomes. But what if you still don’t understand what the options are and what they mean?How do you actually make that decision?That’s often how healthcare insurance can feel. You may be presented with ways to improve your plan, but when there isn’t enough context, you may not be able to weigh the evidence efficiently. This creates confusion and the reasons behind those changes and options can become lost.Yet, this is what brokers often do in renewals and what HR departments do when they give employees options for their plan. Healthcare policies are presented with terms, conditions, strategy and objectives that can be confusing, even for a well-versed broker or HR manager. We need to keep it simple.To make decisions we generally gather information, identify alternatives, and weigh the evidence. If the needs of the decision are met or resolved, we can safely choose an appropriate action. But, when the alternatives become unclear and we can’t weigh the evidence appropriately, the decision becomes less of a choice and more of a defeated guess.We take these same steps when we make decisions for our business. And sometimes there is no room for guessing.These decisions can impact not only your bottom line, but your people. To help give you a real choice for your health insurance plan and avoid the illusion, consider these points:An in-depth approach to your benefits may not be an effective way to have your options presented to you. Your broker and HR Manager should be explaining options in a way that is easily understood.Pros, cons, and outcomes of each option should be highlighted only after a complete understanding of the proposed policy has been reached.Unlike a doctor, knowing what your broker is most comfortable with is valuable, but shouldn’t be the base of your health insurance decisions.Review your options carefully, ask questions and utilize any resources your provider has available.Getting technical is important, but going technical isn’t helpful without first establishing an understanding of the strategy. As experts, we need to make sure the information you receive is digestible. We need to make sure we ask the right questions, get the right insights and work with partners who take a consultative approach to make sure we are making wise recommendations. So you can truly understand what your options are.In-depth details won’t matter to someone who doesn’t comprehend the explanation. For most experts, no matter the profession, the desire to be transparent and run down all of the potential outcomes is strong, but if the scenarios don’t make sense, the depth just creates fear.We need to break things into pieces. We don’t need to know how to build a custom watch. Start by telling time. Then go deeper. We need to keep it simple.As one of the biggest expenses for your company, understanding your healthcare insurance is important because only then will you know you are providing the best benefits for your people while staying within budget.If you need help to truly understand your healthcare insurance policy, don’t hesitate to reach out. We can explain your options in a way that makes sense. Getting all the information you need is important, getting all the information the right way is imperative.

  • Now is not the time to take your foot off the gas. When it comes to your employee benefits strategy, maintaining a constant speed throughout the year is the best way to ensure your plan will meet its required objectives.By taking an in-depth look of what happened in 2021, you can create a strategic plan for 2022 to focus on your 2023 year, protecting your investment by producing a well thought out, efficient benefits plan that works for your people and your business.The workforce is constantly changing — new hires, company structure, political and economic landscapes can all affect your benefits strategy. Which is why reviewing your benefits plan frequently throughout the year is important. Don’t set your plan on the shelf.If you take your foot off the pedal, you could lose momentum and deviate from your goals. Seizing opportunities and adapting your plan to account for these changes can be hard to accomplish after slowing down and waiting six months following renewals. By assessing your benefits plan consistently you can determine if your plan is meeting your employee’s needs and your company’s targets and if it isn’t, you have time to strategize ways to modify it.There are several other common missteps when employers are considering their employee benefits plan which are:Delaying. Don’t wait too long to begin your benefits strategy, creating an effective benefits plan that supports your people while keeping costs low takes time.Not weighing the pros and cons fully. Cost-savings, tax advantages, legal compliance, and affordability are just a few aspects of your plan that need to be examined closely.Being afraid of change. Executing changes can feel overwhelming, but could be crucial in unlocking an efficient benefits program. Shortcutting the education process. Your people need to know how to navigate their benefits. Implementing benefits training and education sessions throughout the year will work towards a fully utilized plan. Evaluating benefits decisions in a silo. Your benefits should reflect your holistic business mission. They should adapt with the changing needs of your workforce. If you care about your employees, your benefits program can represent that. Not involving the whole leadership team in your benefits strategy. Just like other areas of business, team leaders need to be involved in company and project strategy for success, your benefits should be no different.Your advisor should be able to help you avoid these mistakes. They are there to analyze your benefits plan, show you what the high value points of your plan to consider and provide options.If they aren’t, we can help.Our process involves the Healthcare spectrum. We establish your goals and begin the education process for what comes next — those high value items that will make your plan efficient, cost effective and more importantly what your people need.The education process occurs during the first two quarters and helps determine and prepare for the decisions that come for Q3 and Q4.We bring in the right partners, we talk about the pros and cons, we explain concepts and are transparent with our clients. We take an in-depth look at how your employees are navigating the healthcare system, how they are selecting high quality providers and if they are getting their prescription needs met.Ask the right questionsWe also take a look at how your plan is being rolled out and maintained. Is there enough information and support available for questions they may have? Also, is your administrator moving forward with new efficiencies? Are they looking to streamline processes and engage your employees?These are all important questions and areas to address when looking at your employee benefits plan, afterall they are an essential part of your competitive compensation packages. To get the most out for your employee benefits plan, you need to develop a strategy that will evaluate its effectiveness throughout the year. You need to maintain your momentum to reach your goals.Now is not the time to take your foot off the gas for your employee benefits strategy. If you need help with this, don’t hesitate to reach out.

  • Leaders that are confident in their communication and people skills, have strong management strategy, exhibit innovation and demonstrate empathy are better able to guide their organizations and meet their goals.A focus on self-improvement can help c-suite leaders strengthen these abilities. Afterall, personal growth can be considered professional growth, especially at this level of career success. However, the workforce is always changing, making the challenging job of a c-suite leader that much harder. To be successful, you must constantly adapt and evolve as your people and business evolve.To do this, many c-suite leaders turn to reading. You can gain valuable knowledge from others perspectives and experiences — creating empathy, developing confidence and reducing stress. All are valuable abilities that can help you better relate to your team and achieve success.Books to excel your leadership skillsTo help you on this c-suite journey, I have generated a list of the top five books every company leader should read. They are:  The Way of the Shepherd: Seven Secrets to Managing Productive People by Dr. Kevin Leman and Bill PentakAbout the book: Meet your people’s needs to be able to draw out their best potential. Leman and Pentak show us the importance of leading our people as individuals, not a crowd.Why you should read it: The Way of the Shepherd will teach you how to lead the people around you so they will view their work as a calling rather than merely a job, a place to belong, rather than a place to work. It shows you how to infuse work with meaning and how to engage and energize your workforce.  The Infinite Game by Simon Sinek About the book: Take an infinite view of your work. Players may get traded and the stadium may change, but the game is always on. Have a long term perspective on strategy and decision making versus short term wins and loses, which are mile markers, in an infinite game.Why you should read it: Simon Sinek shows us a different perspective on the thrills of promotion — there are no winners and there is no time limit. The goal is to stay in the game. An insightful book that encourages a mindshift change. Don’t just live by quarters and annual budgets.  Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones by James ClearAbout the book: Learn how to lead your people with habits instead of outcomes. Coach and develop strategies that create good habits and eliminate the bad ones. Why you should read it: You know what you have to do, but do you know how to do it? Clear shows us how to consistently and successfully develop habits that we can implement into our lives and business. We can use this knowledge and strategy when leading our people.  A CEO Only Does Three Things: Finding Your Focus in the C-Suite by Trey TaylorAbout the book: Keep your focus as a CEO and stick to high value activities. Stay attached to the things that matter most.Why you should read it: Taylor shares inspiring insights and practical applications that help leaders avoid burnout. Learn how to manage your attention and cut the clutter from a challenging c-suite position.  Love Does: Discover a Secretly Incredible Life in an Ordinary World by Bob GoffAbout the book: Lighthearted and inspiring, Goff shares thought-provoking stories that show us ways to care for people in a radical way. Care by being available. Care with your actions. Why you should read it: A lot of times we care for people within our own convenience, but we should look at what it looks like to do that differently and apply that practice to our business and in our lives. *bonus* book recommendation for c-suite leaders: Ben’s Bonus Book by BenAbout the book: Life & Death Decisions in the C-Suite reveals the truth behind the private healthcare and health insurance industry that has plagued businesses and organizations across the US. Why you should read it:Reading has a number of personal and professional benefits that can help you to create value and achieve success. Reading can help us generate new ideas, gain insight, perspective and develop empathy. We can also be reassured by learning from others’ experiences, which can reduce stress, a common side effect of a c-suite position.While a c-suite position can be challenging, it can also be extremely rewarding. By learning and focusing on our self-development we can begin to influence and inspire our team, helping them and our company succeed.

Personal and Commercial Insurance Company

Who We Are

  • Family-owned for over 70 years
  • Awarded "Best Places to Work in Indiana" six times
  • Finalist for Healthiest Employer of Indiana nine times
  • CEO Ben Conner recognized in Indiana Business Journal 2021’s Forty Under 40.
  • Highly qualified trusted insurance advisors with specific areas of expertise.
  • Mission-driven, relationship-minded, culture-centered, health-conscious business.
    • About Us

What People Say

Conner Insurance has set the standard for superior guidance and exceptional service for more than 70 years.

Casiana Warfield

My husband and I are first-time home buyers and Ashley took the time to walk us through the home insurance process. She is timely and personable. I can rest easy knowing our policy is comprehensive but also affordable.

Ellie Orzeske

Brooke was great! She answered quickly and was extremely helpful throughout the process. She was able to save us over $500 a year on our policies. Would highly recommend her!

Erik Cooper

We finally found a health insurance partner that we trust and that goes to bat for our company.

  • Benefits Programs. Fully-Insured, self-insured, and captive solutions for medical, dental, vision, and more.
  • Employee Benefits. Medical, dental, vision, and disability insurance options for companies big and small.
  • Benefits Strategy & Planning. Comprehensive data analytics, population management, and other tools to help your program operate efficiently and improve your bottom line.
  • Human Resources Consulting & Strategy. Attract, recruit, and retain talent while creating a world-class company culture.

Contact Us

At Conner Insurance, we want to be your insurance provider of choice. We offer full-service insurance and HR consulting to individuals and businesses in all 50 U.S. states. Contact us at (317) 808-7711 to speak to an advisor, get a quote, or schedule a consultation with one of our professionals.

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