Matt Miles, the chief administrative officer of the YMCA of the Black Hills, discusses his organization’s first year as a Brown & Brown Insurance client and why the partnership has proven worth the switch.
The relationship is just over a year old and has grown steadily since the start. The decision to move came down to a gap in service from the YMCA’s previous brokerage. Although that firm was geographically close, it wasn’t hands-on and didn’t look ahead on the Y’s behalf. Miles’ team wanted deeper expertise, faster responsiveness, and a genuinely proactive approach to risk management rather than a broker who only engaged after something went wrong. Brown & Brown offered a level of strategy and support that extended past simply renewing policies, including help with the operational challenges community centers and YMCAs face regularly.
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The benefits Miles cites fall into two categories. For the organization, Brown & Brown has improved insurance cost stability — no small thing in a hard market where, as he puts it, every penny counts for a nonprofit — while providing clear guidance on coverage decisions and strengthening the Y’s overall risk posture. For members, the payoff is a safer, better-protected environment. Brown & Brown’s guidance has reduced risk across programs, facilities, and childcare operations, which Matt singles out as especially difficult to manage. Keeping those programs safe also keeps them open, which matters for an organization serving a community need.
The biggest surprise was accessibility. Miles admits he was wary of leaving a local firm for a national one several states away, but Brown & Brown responds to emails within five to ten minutes and answers the phone when he calls — reassurance that the Y made the right call.
His advice to other rec professionals: Brown & Brown understands the unique risks and operational pressures of community facilities and brings an all-encompassing, strategic-partner mindset to insurance.
