The Crumdale Connection | EP 02 Brian McTear

[Jessica Willingham] Welcome to The Crumdale Connection. I’m your host, Jessica Willingham. I’m speaking with Crumdale Partners President, Brian McTear. Welcome, Brian.

[Brian McTear] Thank you, Jess. Happy to be here.

[Jessica Willingham] Thanks for joining us. Tell me about Crumdale Partners, what industry gaps are you addressing and what innovative solutions do you bring to market?

[Brian McTear] Well, you know, I think number one, Crumdale is focused on innovation. I think in this market, for a long time, innovation has not been a focus, and so one of the things that’s innovative at Crumdale is our approach. We don’t follow the status quo. We look for opportunities to do things differently and to take different approaches, all with an eye towards reducing costs in a transparent way, leveraging data. And so, you know, I think we do a lot of things that are innovative. We have a lot of innovative products, services, and solutions out in the marketplace. But I think from an innovation perspective, first and foremost, it starts with our people, our entrepreneurial spirit, and ultimately our approach in the marketplace.

[Jessica Willingham] And, in terms of your people, you’ve got a great team at Crumdale. Can you talk to some of the expertise that you’ve got on the team?

[Brian McTear] Yeah, we have been fortunate to recruit a lot of really talented people with significant experience and expertise. And I think one of the things that our approach has helped us do is actually recruit and retain these people. I think it’s refreshing for people who have industry expertise and experience to come to a place that’s taking a different approach. And so, from our pharmacy team, to our stop loss and underwriting and pricing teams, to our captive team, our actuarial and compliance teams, ultimately the people who are servicing our employer groups, our implementation, account management, really across the board, we have been fortunate to bring a lot of really talented people on board at Crumdale who understand the value of collaborating, working together, and ultimately the power of, you know, one plus one equals three. So, I think that is one of the major things that sets us apart from others in the industry.

[Jessica Willingham] Certainly you’re bringing all of these component parts of healthcare together under one roof with great partnerships and leaders internally, what about the partners you work with externally? You’ve got an interesting distribution model with your broker partners. Can you tell me about that?

[Brian McTear] Yeah. Great question. And not only is it our distribution partners, but I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention our trading partners. So, you know, to your point, we’ve got a lot of great people internally, and we have a lot of great partnerships in the marketplace. We’ve been fortunate to find a lot of like-minded organizations who understand that there’s different approaches that we can be taking, there’s different things that we can be doing. Again, all with an eye towards controlling costs and creating better experiences and outcomes. And so, we’ve been fortunate to find a lot of trading partners we can partner with to bring our services and solutions to the market. From a distribution perspective, we’ve got a lot of fabulous distribution partners we work with across the country. You know, typically we’re working with a smaller, regional broker. You know, a lot of times we’re working with some of the larger players in certain markets. But all in all, I think what sets our distribution partners apart is their philosophy aligns with ours. They understand that there’s a different way of doing things, that if they take different approaches, if they roll up their sleeves and dig in and partner with us, they can accomplish things for their clients that they wouldn’t otherwise be able to accomplish, and if they do that, they’re gonna retain and grow their business.

[Jessica Willingham] So, it’s all about those relationships and that alignment of interests. In closing, is there anything you want to add about the power of your partnerships in the marketplace?

[Brian McTear] You know, for us, it’s all about the people. It’s the people internally. It’s the people externally. You know, I think we’ve been, you know, we’ve been out in the market since 2017. You know, some of our offerings are newer vintage, you know in the last couple years. We’re introducing our captive offering, you know, as we speak, essentially. And so, I think there’s a lot we’ve been able to do in the market. I think there’s we’ve been able to do with our trading partners. I think there’s a lot we’ve been able to do working with our distribution partners. And we’re making a massively positive impact out in the market. And for us, that’s exciting. That’s what drives us. That’s what we’re looking to do every day. And that’s what motivates us. If we can find the right relationships internally, externally, and make a positive impact out in the market, then we’ll all be successful.

[Jessica Willingham] Well, I look forward to a bright future. I am sure the best is yet to come.

[Brian McTear] I certainly hope so. Thank you, Jess.

[Jessica Willingham] Thanks for joining us.

[Brian McTear] My pleasure.