Clemons Company - Risky Benefits Podcast S5E6

Welcome to another episode of Risky Benefits! This week, we sit down with Scott Clemons and Michelle Matt, president and vice president of the Clemons Company, to discuss their recent partnership with FBMC and the unique approach they bring to employee benefits consulting. From Scott's switch from law to insurance and Michelle's 25-year journey with the company, learn about the personal services, innovative practices, and deep community involvement that set the Clemons Company apart. They share insights into the firm's history, their commitment to ethical practices, and what makes their services special for both small and large employers. Additionally, they reflect on the benefits of their partnership with FBMC, emphasizing shared values, cultural compatibility, and enhanced resources. Tune in for an enlightening conversation on delivering exceptional employee benefits solutions with a personal touch. Visit fbmc.com/podcast for more episodes.

To listen in and subscribe to more episodes, visit our website: fbmc.com/podcast.

Transcript

0:03

Hey, thank you for listening in to risky benefits, a podcast that informs you on all things benefits. We've got a saying around here. Benefits isn't your main business. It's ours.

fbmc-marketing_2_02-07-2025_094008: 0:16

Hey, everyone. Thank you for listening to Risky Benefits and welcome to this week's episode. Our guests this episode are Scott Clemons and Michelle Matt. Scott and Michelle are president and vice president of the Clemons Company. And the Clemons Company and FBMC partnered together last year. we're both thrilled for the opportunity to expand and continue, to provide innovation and excellence to our clients. And today we're going to be chatting essentially with the Clemens company about what that means. let's just start by thanking you guys for coming on. Super happy to have you today. and maybe if we, if you don't mind, let's just start by introducing the two of you and learning a little bit more about you guys personally. Sure, I'm, I'm Scott Clements and, I'm married to Pat. I have two daughters, one who's now a psychologist, another one is an artist, and I have two grandkids now. And one of the greatest, opportunities for my life has been to be able to work with my dad. My dad started the Clemens Company in 1957, before I was born, and it wasn't until much later after I'd tried to step into one other career that I got into the insurance business and I had never looked back since then. It's been wonderful. That's pretty cool. And Scott, you have a background in, you're an attorney as well.

Clemons: 1:39

I am. I practiced law, for about five years. And as I tell people, I, practiced for about three years and realized I didn't want to do that for the rest of my life. It took me another couple of years to figure out where do I want to be, where can I contribute the most, and really to be happiest. And I've loved this.

fbmc-marketing_2_02-07-2025_094008: 1:56

And a history buff. Yeah. And a history buff. I, so I got to travel a little bit with Scott, and Scott and I got to talking about like history books and different, authors and some things that we had gotten into. And it was actually, like if you're ever looking to, To learn some things about the country and he's the guy

Clemons: 2:14

who we had some great conversations Yeah, so that was fun so now, you know if you didn't know now, you know And Michelle, how about you? Hey, good morning. I'm, Michelle Matt. I, uh, So we're going to give personal details. Okay. Let's see. I don't have any children, or any children at FSU. I do have a fur child who's at daycare, much to all of our chagrins. I have worked. No, she comes in the office. She does. She? Yes. Oh, what kind? Uh, a lab retriever mix. Aww, okay. So what's her name? Rena. Aw. The queen means the queen. The queen. I don't mean to interrupt Michelle too long, but she instituted a new traditional, the Clemens company dog Friday. I like it. I like it. I like it. She should have brought her! She's not that social. She's great. And it's too much peopling for her. I get that. She has a very busy social life. She has a doggie daycare two days a week. Comes to the office. So yeah, she has a very busy social life. But I went a little bit different path than Scott. I actually started at the Clemens Company in 19 I don't want to tell you guys. 1999. Okay. And I started as a bookkeeper. And worked on the pension side. Doing a pension administration. And then in 2008, I came and joined Scott. And, we've been working together ever since. So we celebrated, Michelle's 25th year with the Clemens Company. We had a great selection. 24. Yeah. It's been wonderful. That is really cool. So, when I go to enrollment meetings and I say, Well, what is your date of birth? And they say, Or, my mom's your age. I'm like, That's a really long time.

fbmc-marketing_2_02-07-2025_094008: 4:03

I mean, notice when you Fill out something online, and you have to like scroll for the year. Mine is like a log, man. You're like, man, I don't remember having to scroll this long. Yep. Yeah, I know. I saw this thing that was like, these hockey players, and it was a college team, and they were some, I don't know, they were young. And they were getting, they were getting pulled out, and they were interviewing them, and they were like, What year do you think people are old? And they were like, 1997, 1995. I was like, what? What? What are you doing? Yeah, okay, guess I'm old. Spin the wheel, spin the wheel. Thank you guys for coming in and looking forward to the conversation. Yeah So FBMC and the Clemens company were thrilled to announce our partnership in October last year Can you explain a little bit about what that means to our listeners?

Clemons: 4:57

You know for us We have loved the fact that we're a homegrown company I think that has allowed us to provide a certain level of personal service. Over the years have given some time to consider expanding to create new opportunities for us, new geographic, additional geographic reach, other resources. But I resisted because I, wanted to make sure that if we did do something like that with somebody with a similar culture, who valued the relationships with their clients the way do, we do, and it was wonderful to be introduced to FBMC and see that we do share that culture. So that's a big part of the reason that we wanted to join together.

fbmc-marketing_2_02-07-2025_094008: 5:39

That's awesome. And maybe as I think about it, Scott and Michelle, for the listeners out there, they may not be completely in tune with all of what you guys even provide. As an employee benefits consulting firm, I mean, what is the kind of the depth of what you guys offer to the market?

Clemons: 5:55

Sure. So for us, of course, it's all things employee benefits. Whether it's a two person group or an 800 person group, it's medical, dental, vision, life, disability. All of the, online enrollment tools, but I think for us, our, one of our biggest strengths is advocacy. You know, we want to be able to help that small group, get the services that maybe a larger group would get as well.

fbmc-marketing_2_02-07-2025_094008: 6:22

Yeah. That's perfect. If you're listening, there you have it. I mean, if you're an employer that's out there, you're looking for help, Whether it be small, medium, or large, you need an advocate, right? We were talking earlier, you hear the stories about people who feel like their voice isn't heard with a large carrier. Possibly, a claim's, denied or a surgery is, is denied. It's people like Scott and Michele who step in and interface in between the carrier and you to make sure that you're taken care of, amongst many other things, but that is conceptually one of the big things. And so As I'm saying that I'm like you guys do this now, but how long have you been doing this? What's kind of the history on the company? When did you guys what was the year you guys started?

Clemons: 7:06

So As I mentioned before dad started the company in 1957 Short career in the Marine Corps didn't know a soul in Panama City and created a very successful business. His focus was on, life insurance, individual life insurance and disability and later transitioned a little bit into adding a retirement plan, administration as well. So when I left my law practice in 1991, I came over with dad and I, followed him and his footsteps, providing life insurance. For, three or four years and then after a while, I began to dabble in benefits. And got a, you know, sometimes you just can't really explain it. You just get something where you get a feel for it. At a comfort level with it. It was very satisfying to be able to do something where you knew you were providing security for people. And Dad resisted it for a while. We pulled and Dad kind of moved over after a while and learned to love. Benefits, like me kind of realized that the things that we were doing for people on the employee benefits side were very similar to what I had been to in life insurance. Yeah. And you get that sense that when something happens in somebody's life and you see that you've been able to provide them the protection they need, that's a very, very rewarding, experience and feeling.

fbmc-marketing_2_02-07-2025_094008: 8:34

That's interesting. Scott. You know, I've spoken to a lot of different people. About how they entered into the insurance industry and while on the servicing side. It's always kind of All over the place right how they got there But a lot of times when you talk to owners of the firms a lot of people started with the life insurance And I don't know if that was just kind of similar to what you're saying. It was like I know I want to help people This is a very tangible thing that I know helps people. And then you get into that, and then you realize it's like, wow, I'm helping this person, but this employer helps 50 people or 5 people, and if I can help them, I can help all these people. It seems like that desire to serve and to help, it's like almost like it becomes the logical next step within, within kind of how a company evolves within our industry.

Clemons: 9:27

It fits. And I think at the time Dad didn't see it and after a while he did. That's interesting. And began to love it. That's cool. And love the potential for, you know, have it affecting more people.

fbmc-marketing_2_02-07-2025_094008: 9:40

Okay. I love it. I love it. So, between FBMC and Clemens, we have a combined experience of 115 years. That's something. What are you, what have you guys learned over the years?

Clemons: 9:52

I think the biggest one for, and I'll speak for Scott, is, at the end of the day, do the right thing. It's always, you know, help your clients, help your community, you know, that helps yourself. Always making sure at the end of the day, it may not always be right, you know, you're never going to always do the, as far as, hey, everybody's going to make mistakes, but at the end of the day, do the right thing and go that extra mile for someone if you can. Be it in the community, or for your client, I think. What do you think, Scott? We, we do things, and uh, we were talking before we got, we turned the microphones on about, there have been some things that we've done for clients that do not make financial sense for the Clemens company. But once you're engaged with them, you just, you can't let go. And I have to give a lot of credit to Michelle. She will, if something comes up and we feel like, she feels like one of our, clients or their employees has not been treated well in the summer long, she just will not let go because it becomes personal. We know them, we know their families, and so, I think that's one thing that sets us apart a little bit. We're fortunate that we represent a number of not for profits, and so sometimes it's hard to separate yourself from providing that consultation for them, those benefits. And their own mission. And so we begin to, very often we adopt their mission. I've been on the board of directors of Goodwill Industries. Very active in a lot of their initiatives. Life Management, which is our community mental health center. I've been on the foundation there. Actually, that was my mom who started that relationship. I was following her footsteps and dad's footsteps. She was the chairman of the board of that organization. So that Part of our company, that's a, that's a, that's an essential part of our company. That we can have an impact on the community in other ways.

fbmc-marketing_2_02-07-2025_094008: 11:51

I love it. I think it's interesting because if you're listening to this podcast, you're most likely somebody who has to, who has a broker today, a consultant who helps you with your benefits. I don't know what kind of relationship you do or don't have with that individual, but if you're kind of listening between the lines, just with what Scott and Michelle just said, it's almost as if to say, if I were trying to decide what are the reasons I should hire somebody, there's the tangible things that, do they know insurance? Are they licensed? Like, how many years have they been doing this? It's the checklist that we all have, right? That pretty much everybody's going to be able to check. Right, and then you kind of set that aside, and you're like, well, what are some other meaningful factors? And it's almost like what I hear you saying is they're local, they live within the community that they serve, they are embedded to the degree that they're part of local leadership, they're part of, local not for profits, they're on board, they're trying to help make the community better. Like, there's all these other criteria, that make Somebody a more intimate connection and make them vested in the community to make your business want to thrive that you could throw in as additional factors right That I find highly valuable you guys clearly find highly valuable and in those concepts kind of lead into I guess our next question which I would say is Can you elaborate more on what makes the Clemens company unique within the space that you're in?

Clemons: 13:26

What about you, Michelle? You want to tackle that? No, right, go ahead. Well, we've touched on that. We feel strongly that we want to provide very personal service. Because sometimes in this industry it can be a little impersonal. Yeah. We try to be ahead. We try to look out and find out what are the practices that are successful. That have been done in another state, in another community, and we take time to understand that and determine whether that's applicable in Panama City. in our region and whether it would work for our clients. So, we try to spend a lot of time educating ourselves. We were one of the first, agencies, this is many years ago, one of the first agencies that adopted, online enrollment systems. Mm, hm. And began to deploy them in a way that not only made life easier for the employees, but for their staff, for the, the HR staff. But again, you weave that together with the, just kind of a, we, you know, our personal presence and commitment to what we view as our neighbors.

fbmc-marketing_2_02-07-2025_094008: 14:26

That's cool. That's really cool. I think, probably if more people had access to that, what's happening in the market, the reason I even asked the question, and you can kind of hear it in the vein of the conversation, there's companies that are acquiring our space. That are massive companies, right? And they are gobbling up small firms, and I use the term gobbling intentionally. That's really what's happening. They just become a part of the morb. And then once that takes place, the, what makes the Clemens Company unique ends up just dissipating. Because they then just become like this big machine, right? And so if you're the consumer and that's now what you're getting. All the things they're gonna tell you is is yeah, well, we've got the power of this big machine and But you lose a lot of that intimate level connectivity I'm kind of back to like the neat thing that's happened between FBMC and the Clemens company coming together is nothing has changed from that perspective as far as that intimacy With your clients who your clients are, some big firms out there like well if they don't generate a certain amount and like we're not interested and that is not what you're getting from the Clemens company. It's certainly not what you're getting from FBMC. I think I personally love the fact that that's staying the same. I think I told Scott. A few times like I just am happy to learn what you know, and Michelle knows I mean the truth is like you you know There's a lot for people to learn at FBMC from the knowledge that's at the Clemmons company and at that shared collective knowledge Is that 115 years becomes powerful for our clients?

Clemons: 16:12

The beauty of being able to work with FBMC is we do learn a lot from, from, uh, the company. We learn a lot about, strategies and technologies, there's resources that we can bring to our clients that we couldn't bring before. But I do feel like we can, provide to FBMC, the rest of the company some things that we've done that are unique about the Clemens Company. But What Michelle and I have tried to do is always take time to really understand what's unique about that client. Everybody's different. Some of my friends in the consulting business think it's, uh, it's sacrilege to do this but like sometimes we find that there's a small company might have 15 employees. They're not in a position to put the So sometimes we recommend going with a PEO. We try to really understand and vet and who are the real PEOs who, who share some of those same qualities that we think we have that, commitment to serving the, uh, our clients. And sometimes that works. So that's just an example where we try to look a little bit outside of the box of what works. For that particular client,

fbmc-marketing_2_02-07-2025_094008: 17:27

right less and I'm glad you said that less about you more about them. Yeah, right Mike the founder of our company always used to tell me needs it always starts with needs right like not my needs What are the needs of the customer? What are the what are the needs identify the needs and then help them resolve them? And it's it's funny. It's like it's like your dad tells you or your mom whoever helped you when you were in sports as a child right, it's like Blocking and tackling, like those basic fundamentals are kind of what built the business, but people have a tendency to forget those fundamentals, I've noticed.

Clemons: 18:06

There was a, somebody I heard a quote that said some people in business, and unfortunately there's a lot of people in the benefits business who like to, posture themselves and they say remember when they're coming in to see a client. And this person stressed that, wait a minute, you don't want to be interesting. You want them to remember that you were interested.

fbmc-marketing_2_02-07-2025_094008: 18:28

That's a great That is good. I like that. That's really good. We're going to make a video with that on it. Yeah. Put Scott's face, for sure. No, that's awesome. Yes, talking head. So I think we kind of covered the next couple, but I guess is there anything else that you would say to someone who might be interested in an agency that wants to join with FBMC? Is there any advice or anything that drew you to us? I know we talked about our values and things like that.

Clemons: 18:56

Absolutely. Absolutely. So. Scott and I have been approached by, obviously, the big houses in the past couple years because that absorption is what they're, they're really looking to do. And we, we actually had dinner with a couple, couple people and, and when you dig into, so you know, the money's great and, but when you dig into the core of it, you're just being absorbed. And then six months after they absorb you, what you had no longer exists. Well, we're four months in and what we have. exists and is probably stronger because of our relationship. So, our door still says the Clemmons Company, we still answer the Clemmons Company, but now we have the added benefit of partnering with FBMC and I'm gonna, I hope this isn't too off script, this past week we've spent the week with Region 1 I've met the most interesting Region 1 FBMC team Yeah, Region 1 for FBMC team and it was like we've known each other for years. And they are amazing, competent, funny, fun, warm people that I'd feel like if we went with someone else, we would not have gotten. They're our new family. They, I mean, we know them by name. We go out for, you know, when I see them, I've known them three days. They hugged me last night. I'm like, aww. I mean, I don't think you would have that connection and that relationship with, with one of these bigger companies. So, going with someone. I mean, you guys are only two hours from us and you're in Northwest Florida, this is where you started, this is where you're going to be. I mean, having that for us was, I mean, that really did drive our decision of a company more like us, bigger scale, but more like us that we can relate to and we're comfortable with and we can provide good services but not be just a metric. Yeah. I mean, that I think for us was the biggest decision factor. Culture matters. It does. It starts really good with these soundbites. Do you guys know that? Yeah, I like it. It's like, clip, clip. And you know, FBMC does have some tools that we've not had before. Absolutely. But we don't have anybody coming from FBMC breathing down our necks saying, you need to do this this way. It's, could this work? How can we work together to make this A real benefit for our employ, for our clients. Mm-hmm And I, I detect sincere interest on the part of FBMC and learning from us. Mm-hmm And I love that. Give and take that we, that we now share.

fbmc-marketing_2_02-07-2025_094008: 21:30

You know, when I was in the consulting world for management consulting, one of my projects was an oil and gas project. And I actually, you know, I'd. The deal that made us unique is I put on steel toed boots, fire retardant clothing, hard hat. Do you have pictures? I have tons of pictures. Although, on location I wasn't allowed to take pictures because it could, because, it could create an explosion unintentionally, depending on where you were in which environment. So I didn't have my phone, I promise, but, uh, but what was, what I learned in that process was like, I'd go out on a rig, right? And I'd be out on the rig while we're doing drilling, there's, you know, There's gas pockets. There's all these things that you're planning for in your safety protocol, right? And there's gentlemen that are out on that rig that have been doing this for over 50 years. They probably started as a roustabout on the rig with a mop, right? And they've worked their way up to driller, or they've worked their way up to company person. And the moral of the story is Those people have been doing it for so long that what the world perceives dangerous, they don't even see anymore. And we always used to have this saying. It was like, who's, who's the person who's going to see the danger first? Well, within the context of the day to day life, it's probably the person who's been there for 50 years. In that they know what they're supposed to be looking for, and they deal with it every day. But the truth is, is when something new happens that creates a new safety concern, they're probably not the first one who's always going to see it. Nine times out of ten, it's the new hire who comes on because everything looks dangerous. Right? And so we always had this saying, it was like, fresh eyes have the best eyes. Right? So when somebody new comes on location, if they see something You're saying something, because you're going to see something that I step over unintentionally every day, just because it's always there, and I just got used to stepping over it. They're going to be like, that doesn't look safe, and somebody needs to hear that and fix it. And so, I think if you take that same mentality, from a, Hey, we're speaking to us to this firm and we're bringing them into the family. If you have that new eyes, fresh eyes, or the best eyes mentality, you're going to learn a lot. Right? And I think that's the cool thing is at FBMC. You know, we do things the way we've been doing things and we're always trying to evolve and grow and how we're doing things But we're bringing in fresh eyes So you guys may look at what we're doing and be like, why are you doing that? And i'm gonna be like that's a really good question. I probably should think about that. What are you thinking? You know, and I think like that's That is a culture thing. I think that is, deciding to see the world the way, a different way. Because I think what happens is, is in a lot of these bigger firms, they just decide that clearly we're big, and so we know what we're doing. Right? Like, I have all the Stanford grads, I have all the people from Yale, or I have all the people from wherever, Cornell, or, whomever. I think that's great, and, nothing but respect and appreciation for those people. We need those people, and they're phenomenal, but I also know that I have some people on staff who don't have a college degree that I would put up against any of those people in the field that we're in. For the purpose that they, that, that, that they're serving in. And so I think, like I've learned, I think we've learned as a part of our culture, it's, it's, somebody can be as great as they choose to be. But the people that have a tendency to be great are the ones who don't necessarily look at themselves that way, but look at everyone else like, I've got something to learn from them, and I hope. I really, truly hope that our culture stays that way. Because I think if we lose that, I think we're, you know, we've lost something big.

Clemons: 25:40

People bring value in different ways. That's right. Think about it. Benjamin Franklin didn't have a college degree. That's right. Neither does Bill Gates.

fbmc-marketing_2_02-07-2025_094008: 25:47

That's right. Some insanely smart people. We just, it's funny you say that, like my wife and I, we just had a conversation with this, with the kids. The kids are sitting at the counter and we were sitting there having a conversation around college and this and that and I think, we were talking about the GPAs that it takes to get into colleges these days. So hard. Right? The kids are freaking out a little bit about that and I just, I looked at them and I was like, look, it's gonna be what it's gonna be. But what matters is that you find something that you're passionate about, that you like to learn about, and just do your best. If you go to a community college for the first two years, who cares? Get it out of your head that there's something wrong with that, because you're going to save a lot of money, and, oh by the way, you're going to get the same education, and, oh by the way, you're going to be allowed into the same four year universities after the fact that, people, that other people are. So just get that out of your head. And it's so interesting, just, That mentality gets taken into the business world. It gets taken into the M& A world. It gets taken into, the cultures of companies. And I think, the opportunity for all of us, especially those of us with kids, is to, is to, like, think about what we're teaching them and what we're ingraining in their minds because then as adults we end up dealing with it in the working world and it is nice when you find people who deal with it in a healthy way. Well just to round out the conversation, love the time with you guys. We always reserve a question kind of for the end of these and it's really just open ended. I was always taught sometimes the best thing to do is just ask this question, what else?

Clemons: 27:30

So for me, like I said, this past week has been super enlightening. I would like to give such kudos to Vicky Whaley. First off, I'm certain she needs an assistant. I don't know how one person can do everything that she does and still excel at everything she does. She made us truffles. Did you guys know that? Have you ever had them? She's a great baker. I told you.

fbmc-marketing_2_02-07-2025_094008: 27:56

If you're listening, Vicki Whaley is the managing principal for the Southeast. And she's a phenomenal human being. She's out of Crawfordville, Florida. And what Michelle's talking about is, Vicki always likes to do something special for her people. And the truffles is like a labor of love for her. Because I know, to your point, she's super busy. And I don't know how long it takes to make truffles. I've never made them. You've probably never eaten one. Well, that's true. That's true. But that it is really kind that you say that.'cause I know she'll appreciate that. Yeah, absolutely.

Clemons: 28:27

But for, we've appreciated that. Like you said, nothing much has changed, but meeting the, a lot of the region one people just solidifies, I think for both of us. What an incredible decision this was. I think it's gonna be amazing the things that we can learn and. for us being, we're very thinly staffed. So knowing that I can pick up my phone and call anyone I met this past week and ask for help is incredible. I mean, it puts both of us so at ease knowing that, you know, if, if there was an emergency and we, anybody would help us. Yeah. And we didn't have, you know, that before and knowing that they would treat our clients like their own and just what a great decision it was to, to partner with a company that's so like ours. And so close. And then the people are, like I said, the people we've met just this past week have been phenomenal. And we're really looking forward to kind of growing and all the things that we can learn from you guys. And maybe we can teach some things on the way. Well, I love it. Scott, anything else that No, I think Michelle summed it up very well. Thinking about Vicki and the rest of the team. They work really hard to teach us the things that are unique to the benefits world, but that relationship we developed where, you know, they could be gently, critical, say, hey, you can do something better, but to be encouraging along the way, has been, wonderful. And we look forward to strengthening that relationship over time.

fbmc-marketing_2_02-07-2025_094008: 29:59

That's cool. Well, I'll, I'll throw a plug out, so you guys have Brittany, who's, on staff and she's out there as a producer and consultant trying to, bring in more, employers into the, the Clemens Company kind of family, if you will. And she's out there in North Florida. So if you're listening to this and you're looking for, employee benefits, consultant, brokers,, advocate to help you with your benefits. You know, you can go to the Clemens Company, look him up on, you can Google that, you can find him online. You can find him via FBMC's website online. If you look up on LinkedIn, you can find Scott, you can find Michelle, you can find Brittany. but reach out if you're, if you're in the Florida area and you're looking for assistance. You got to meet him personally.

Clemons: 30:50

I'm so glad you said that because I hope people will do that because whether we get to work together or not, if you invite Brittany into your office, it will be the best part of your day.

fbmc-marketing_2_02-07-2025_094008: 30:59

Yep. That was a great hire. That was a great hire. Awesome. Well, thank you so much for coming on. Thank you to the listeners that are out there. If any of you have any questions, please contact or look for information on our homepage at www. fbnc. com. Thanks. Have a great day.