Where the "Real Mon$y" Is....

[DivineFoodie]

TonyC - Thanks for the words of encouragement (I'm a 'she' by the way ).
Yes, that's what sucks about so MANY jobs/careers out there, because there are some of us who actually just wanted to do our jobs, and do it well.

Oh well, on to another chapter of life for me!

 

[TonyC]

(I'm a 'she' by the way ).

Whoops...lol.

You're a good Wo-"man!"

How's that...(i wanna be politically correct).

 

[DivineFoodie]

Hahaa! No worries, I'm sure I've been called worse! LOL

 

[Herkster]

@TonyC, there can be a lot of $ in adjusting. I was in it for awhile and got burnt out. Not so much from my actual job (which, oddly enough once you get the bigger claims/specialty accounts, it's actual interesting work); insurance, like any other industry is very bureaucratic.

I work hard, and was good at what I did, but there was always too much bureaucracy going on. People stepping on others to get a paltry raise, etc. I could go on, but suffice to say, the part of my job I enjoyed was my interaction with the insured's and attending mediations/settlement conferences, and representing their best interest; hence the reason I (hope) think that I should likely be a good fit as a broker. But, only time will tell. Regardless, I'll try my best and work like a dog.

I completely understand where you are coming from with your thoughts on working in the "corporate" world and having people backstab and step on toes to get that extra 1% raise at the end of the year. I was a farm underwriter for a large insurance carrier, actually worked for them for five years before going to the agency side.

It was a great experience, I did everything from the call center for home and auto, working uninsured motorist subrogation (interesting job to say the least), and then a farm underwriter. I loved the underwriter job but the favoritism towards certain agents is just unfathomable.

 

[DivineFoodie]

Hi Herkster! Yea, all of that backstabbing stuff I can do without, but like I said, it's in every industry.

How did you find the transition from underwriting to an agency? I agree, there was/is a lot of interesting stuff in the insurance industry; regardless which area you are in.

 

[Herkster]

Hi Herkster! Yea, all of that backstabbing stuff I can do without, but like I said, it's in every industry.

How did you find the transition from underwriting to an agency? I agree, there was/is a lot of interesting stuff in the insurance industry; regardless which area you are in.

The transition wasn't a difficult one but there are some different things on the agency side which take a bit of getting used to. I also think the underwriting experience I gained has helped myself and the agency when it comes to our large farm book because of the understanding I possess from my time as an underwriter.

The hardest part that I have found is the struggle to write new business. From the corporate side, I simply dealt with insurance agents, which was easy. Writing new business has been and continues to be a challenge. Given, I'm in an office that we've never had an agent in before and we had a terrible, terrible spring, which didn't make the farmers too happy. Their insurance was the last thing on their minds, unless we change the conversation to crop insurance!

 

[TonyC]

@herkster
So what is your company niche? Are you in arural area?

 

[Herkster]

@herkster
So what is your company niche? Are you in arural area?

Rural might be an understatement
The town where our "home office" is located has a population of about 550 and the new agency office that I work out of is probably in a town of 450-500. We are bank agency, seperate entities, but we work in the same locations. It gives us a great in at times and makes us a "one stop shop" for a lot of our local customers.

We do write everything, life, health, p & c, crop, etc.
I would say our "niche" is farm and crop insurance, which I really do love. I get to "play" farmer every fall, so I know the lingo and can have the conversations with other farmers with ease. However, getting a bunch of 50+ year old farmers to switch carriers has proven to be a challenge to say the least!

 

[DivineFoodie]

Hey Herkster - I am in a large city, so it's not rural; although, there are farms and such about an hour or so away from the city, so that's nice. Plus being Colorado, there are the mountains too.

I think I mentioned my niche markets in another thread, but it will be primarily (at the start): restaurants, bars/taverns, small boutique hotels and commercial auto. I have a couple other interests too, that I want to learn a bit more about and add them in the mix eventually too. I like the specialization, because it helps with marketing!

Thanks for answering my question about the transition. I completely concur, that it's one thing to 'work' for a company and do whatever your job is, ie, underwriting, claims, etc. It's a completely different beast to try and drum up your OWN business. That's the challenge.

 

[Herkster]

Hey Herkster - I a in a large city, so it's not rural; although, there are farms and such about an hour or so away from the city, so that's nice. Plus being Colorado, there are the mountains too.

I think I mentioned my niche markets in another thread, but it will be primarily (at the start): restaurants, bars/taverns, small boutique hotels and commercial auto. I have a couple other interests too, that I want to learn a bit more about and add them in the mix eventually too. I like the specialization, because it helps with marketing!

Thanks for answering my question about the transition. I completely concur, that it's one thing to 'work' for a company and do whatever your job is, ie, underwriting, claims, etc. It's a completely different beast to try and drum up your OWN business. That's the challenge.

Mountains are always a nice change of scenery when you come from Iowa! Northern Iowa at that, flat land, corn and beans as far as the eye can see! I wouldn't change it for a thing though!