When Bert Alanko, the “A” of MBA Insurance, started the business with two others in 1978, Foremost Insurance was the only insurance company offering RV rental insurance.
“They insured, but they only ensured RVs singularly,” Alanko said. “We said, ‘What someone ought to do is write a fleet policy and cover all dealer rental units.”
With that idea and a lot of luck, MBA started offering dealers their RV rental insurance program. Though MBA Insurance employees sell insurance, Alanko said they function more like management consultants than insurance salespeople.
“Selling you the insurance, that is easy,” Alanko said. “The tough part is explaining to the customer what they should and should not do to help them be successful in the business.” When the “M” and “B” left MBA, Alanko was on the road selling sporting goods and working at his company on the side.
“After a while, with my new partner Sue Caldwell, we built up a real business,” Alanko said. “From there, it is a two-pack-of-beer story about all the stuff that happened.”
In addition to offering RV rental insurance, MBA started selling powersport and utility trailer insurance in the early 2000s. Over the last 20 years, MBA has offered an RV Rental School covering fleet investment, budgeting and insurance liabilities.
“One of the things that helped us is that we were open to change,” Alanko said. “If you are not open to changing the way you look at things and adapting, it is hard to make it in any business.”
Alanko said that, early on, the RV Dealers Association (RVDA) was instrumental in MBA Insurance’s success, supporting the company’s efforts in developing a rental business. The RVDA helped MBA to be the first non-dealer or supplier at the RVIA Louisville show. In 2015, Alanko sold MBA Insurance to Brown and Brown Insurance, staying on as prophet center leader. Today, RV rental insurance remains the company’s main focus.
