CLM Voices: Getting to Know Lorianne Feltz

This Erie Insurance lifer and CPCU designee is anything but risk averse. Find out how she climbed to the top while never being afraid to look down.

Ladder Climbing

Feltz says that although the insurance industry found her—she took her first position as a part-time policy processor while working her way through college—she feels like along the way, she found the industry, too. She has held 11 different positions over her 29 years with Erie Insurance, spanning sales, marketing, service, and management roles.

Insurer Challenges

“For carriers, I think that our biggest risk is complacency. As technology and the pace of change gets faster, how are we preparing our people to do today’s work three, four, or five years down the road?”

Disaster Up Close

Early in her career while working as a sales manager for Erie Insurance, Feltz was called upon to use her catastrophe claims training to respond to significant tornado-related losses in her district, despite having never handled a claim personally. She said spending a week in the field helping customers showed her that the industry is about more than just writing a check.

High Value, Low Tech

“We were among the first insurance companies to use drones, but I love the simplicity of pole cameras—they are basically a huge ‘selfie’ stick with a camera on the end. They’re not replacing drones, but they are much less expensive and easier to deploy.”

A (Not So) Little TLC   

Erie’s Technical Learning Center (TLC) is a three-year-old 52,000 square foot facility where those who touch the claims process can go through hands-on training. It includes a home with attic and basement, and a state-of-the-art body shop, so claims professionals can learn about damage from an end-to-end perspective in courses that can last from two weeks to six months, depending on experience.

Excitement Outside Work

“I’m passionate about volunteering for animal causes and nonprofits in Erie, and I love adventure. I’ve been zip lining in Mexico, paragliding in Switzerland, glacier climbing in British Columbia, and I’ve even bungee jumped.”