About Us

Employee Security Planning, LLC (ESP, LLC) has specialized in consulting on employee benefits for over 50 years with groups ranging from 17 to 5,000 employees.  Our subsidiary company, Risk Assurance Inspections (RAI), consults on property & casualty insurance, including workers compensation and on the job injury (OJI) programs and manages insurable Replacement Costs for roughly 15 billion dollars in real property across Tennessee.

ESP, LLC is unique in that since 1988, we have not sold insurance products nor received commissions from insurance companies. This has placed us in a position to offer pure, unbiased advice and guidance.  We subcontract for legal and actuarial services.  This allows us to only use the best in the business for the particular needs of a client, and we only charge as appropriate.  Other “larger” firms often have these services on staff, which creates a more expensive overhead while providing more generalized services instead of meeting specific needs.  Although ESP, LLC is “smaller” compared to national and international firms, none can outperform our service and ability to adapt to a specific client’s needs, and due to our size, our response time cannot be matched.

Company History

ESPinc, was founded in 1969 by the late Mr. Robert Sanderson. Mr. Sanderson gave over forty years to the insurance business. He was one of the original managers who started the Hartford Offices in Nashville. ESPinc was purchased from Mr. Sanderson in 1988 by Mr. Bob Shupe. Previously, Mr. Shupe worked for the Nationwide Insurance Group for eleven years serving in several capacities including commercial group health, P&C trainer, District Manager, and independent agent.

In 2014, ESPinc became ESP, LLC to accommodate the growth of our firm.

ESP, LLC holds our business to the highest of expectations in education, communication, efficiency, and innovation.  We believe these to be paramount in providing excellent customer service.

Leadership

Bob Shupe has been in the insurance business since 1978. He has worked for insurance companies, both selling and teaching about insurance. He has been in the consulting world since 1988. He is the final set of eyes to see the work ESP, LLC produces.

Brittany Spradling was hired in May 2014 to head up the analytics division and to assimilate wellness programs and education for our firm. Brittany has over eight years’ experience as a manager within the data division of one of the leading international drug trial corporations in the world. The addition of her healthcare and drug knowledge, combined with her vision, has proven to be an irreplaceable asset to our clients.  She has introduced new reporting capabilities for our clients, as well as been an irreplaceable asset to our clients through the constantly evolving federal reporting requirements.

Jeremy Shupe, who oversees RAI’s property & casualty work, has been surveying buildings since he was old enough to drive. He has specialized in public entities since joining ESP, LLC in 2004, becoming a licensed insurance producer for both Property & Casualty and Employee Benefits.

ESP, LLC holds our business to the highest of expectations in education, communication, efficiency, and innovation. We believe these to be paramount in providing excellent customer service. To ensure our clients receive quality service, each client is assigned a designated service representative who is responsible for returning all correspondence quickly.

ESP, LLC prides ourselves in maintaining a professional, client-centered firm. We are committed to our clients, not insurance companies or other products, which is why ESP, LLC is the largest independent, public entity, “pure” consulting firm in Tennessee. These factors are why we have very long relationships with our existing clients.

Keeping Ahead

ESP, LLC believes education to be paramount for a plan to remain healthy and successful. The education applies to our firm as well. All staff hold an Insurance Producer License from the State of Tennessee. We continue to educate ourselves beyond the legally required continuing education credits to keep our insurance licenses. Mr. Bob Shupe has obtained a Registered Employee Benefit Consultant® designation. As part of his study for the REBC designation, Mr. Shupe has completed a comprehensive study of all aspects of Human Resource activities, regulations and duties.

Bob Shupe, Jeremy Shupe, and Brittany Spradling are all members of the Self-Insured Institute of America (SIIA). Mr. Shupe has served on the SIIA benefits committee and the Associations Government Relations Committee. He has also worked with the legislative team reviewing and speaking to federal officials about self-funded matters. Mr. Shupe has also been a member of the formerly known National Association of Health Underwriters (NAHU), now National Association of Benefits and Insurance Professionals (NABIP), for thirty years, serving as regional legislative director for the seven southeastern states and establishing a Tennessee chapter. NABIP is the premier consultant/agent, broker/carrier organization in America and has over thousands of members. Both NABIP and SIIA send daily communications to ESP, LLC for review and input. These communications range in topic from legislation to employee health and engagement.

As an added benefit for our clients, ESP, LLC creates and sends out a monthly newsletter focused on hot topics, clarifications, and reminders of important upcoming dates. It is important for us to ensure our clients are constantly learning along with us and not missing important deadlines.

ESP, LLC has a labor attorney on retainer for ACA situational compliance matters encountered by our clients. Regarding legal opinions, ESP, LLC is not an attorney and does not give legal advice or counsel. We can refer you to an attorney to which we have no financial connection. In addition, your insurer has access to an attorney with employee benefit and labor expertise. ESP, LLC’s advice and counsel will only be regarding regulatory matters within the insurance industry. Some large broker/consulting firms may have an attorney on staff. These attorneys are usually generalists. We prefer to identify the need, and then refer to an attorney that specializes in the specific area charged at no mark-up.