By Ainsley Walters, Staff Reporter 
Dena Davis (right), managing director, Solid Life & General Insurance Brokers Limited, accepts the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica's Job Creation Award from Rakesh Goswami, senior vice president, corporate finance at Cable and Wireless Jamaica Limited during yesterday's awards ceremony at the Terra Nova Hotel in Kingston. - Ian Allen/Staff Photographer
SINCE ENTERING the insurance broking field four years ago, Solid Life and General Insurance Brokers Limited has become a force to reckon with - a small but potent outfit offering a range of products and services tailored to fit client needs.
The brainchild of managing director Dena Davis and chairman Dr. Warren Blake, Solid Life sprang roots during a dicey period for the local insurance and financial sectors.
Just about when the insurance sector took a nose-dive in the financial burnouts of the mid-1990s, Davis, who had worked her way up from sales representative to branch manager at two major firms, was busy planning her entry as a broker.
"My idea was to have a broking house. That's where I saw the industry going and it is still going that way," said the managing director who guided Solid Life to premium generation of $19 million at the 1998 year-end, four months after receiving a licence.
Insurance sector intermediaries, brokerage houses act as agents for insurance companies, marketing and writing business for a commission.
Solid Life, Davis pointed out, is now writing more than $160 million worth of business annually, positioning itself among the top ten income earners in the field.
Yesterday the company, located at 61 Half-Way Tree Road in Kingston, was presented with a Job Creation Award by the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica, an accolade recognising companies or entrepreneurs, whose investments have led to new and stable jobs.
Blake, a medical practitioner who ventured into representational politics in 1997, said he took his life savings and bought into Davis' business plan to create a broking house which would satisfy all insurance needs under one roof.
"At the time, we intended to join-up with an existing broker, who said he liked the idea, but he didn't act on it," he explained. "We figured it was time for action so I took my savings and invested.
"There was a lot of room for growth despite what was happening in the industry. We felt it couldn't have gotten any worse plus the government was on the right path. With Ms. Davis wealth of knowledge we figured we could have started from the bottom and develop."
Beginning with three employees, Davis, an office attendant and receptionist/typist, Solid Life went about setting up office in March before enduring what Davis described as a "quick", by industry standards, wait for a licence.
Now with 52 employees spread between its head office and Ocho Rios branch, Solid Life hopes to soon move out of rented space to 61b Half-Way Tree Road, a newly acquired building next door, which presently houses HOT 102 FM.
"We were out there positioning ourselves so we started off with a bang," she pointed out. "What gives us the edge is that we offer Individual Life coverage. We're one of three broking houses in that field and have 20 account executives responsible for the marketing, sale and servicing of the products we provide."
A renewed interest in life insurance and equity linked products, Davis said, has been a windfall for Solid Life, which also writes general insurance business as well as employee benefits and individual health for major firms.
"With the consolidation of the life insurance sector, magnets have become more aggressive in selling and people are becoming more confident as opposed to the late '90s," she explained.
Summarising the insurance industry, Davis said there has been a downturn in property business, which is still feeling the after-effects of last year's September 11 terrorist attacks in the United States. Motor insurance is on a high and employee benefits is a budding market being targeted by Solid Life.
Explaining the effects of what has become known worldwide as '911', Blake said re-insurers cost sky-rocketed after the tragic events when terrorists used aeroplanes to slam into the World Trade Centre buildings and the Pentagon, claiming approximately 2800 lives.
"Domestic companies worldwide re-insure with these giants to protect themselves. After 911, these costs rose significantly plus we're located in a hurricane-prone area of the world."
But ultimately their destiny lies in their own hands, Blake said. Government can only create the framework for them to succeed.
