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Do You Think Your Insurance Agent Is in a Noble Profession?

I can guess the answer for most of you. I think that most of you rank insurance somewhere near used car salesmen.

It is true that some agents never get beyond the point of just selling insurance, but we're supposed to do a lot more. It takes a turning-point event for most insurance people to learn what it really means to be an insurance professional.

For me, it happened in the fall of 2004. I had been in the business for twelve years, but it was just a job. I had been vice president of product development of a small auto insurance organization. I worked with agents and with other company people; I did not work directly with our policyholders. I was very good at my job, and I made good money at it, but it was just a job. To be honest, I was somewhat burned out on it, so after we sold our company, I went to work as a product manager for one of the big national companies.

Four hurricanes swept through Florida in my first two months with that company. My office was in a claims office in Tennessee, and half of adjusters left our office to help Floridians with their homes. They set up mobile units in RVs with satellite connections so that people would not have to wait until power was restored to get their claim checks. They drove trucks of bottled water and diapers and baby formula through the devastated neighborhoods, and they gave it to anybody who needed it, policyholders or not. They were still working claims from Hurricane Charley when Hurricane Frances came in, so the adjusters flew to Texas to get out of the storm, and then returned to continue working through Ivan and Jeanne.

They found people who were devastated by their losses, faced with despair and ruin, and they helped them begin the process of rebuilding their homes and their lives. That is what it was all about. Our contract didn't require them to pass out water or baby formula, or to provide shelter for people who weren't even our policyholders. But they did it because that's what people needed at that time. It was the right thing to do.

That Is why we saw pictures of people's ruined homes, where the homeowners had spray-painted on the sides that our insurance company was "#1." It was because we were there for them when they needed us.

That was my turning point. That's when I finally understood when our CEO talked about our noble purpose. I am not in the insurance business; I am in the business of helping people rebuild when they need it most. I am in the business of making sure that when something goes wrong, their families, homes, and dreams are protected. That is why my agency's slogan is, "Insure your dreams with us!"

I learned that lesson from the hurricanes of 2004, after I had already been in the business for twelve years. Other people learn that lesson when they have to deliver a life insurance death benefit to a widow. It is a terrible thing that the widow has gone through, but giving her the check that her late husband arranged, so she knows she will be able to make it financially even without her husband--that is what turns you from a mere insurance salesperson into a professional Insurance Agent. It changes you.

I hope that none of my policyholders ever go through the devastation of a hurricane or a tornado or a fire, and I hope they never have an auto accident. Most of all, I hope they never lose their life. In reality, I understand that some of these things will happen to some of my policyholders--I just do not know who or when--so it will be my job to be there when they need me most, to help them pick up the pieces, and begin to rebuild their lives.

All of my policyholders know that if they have a fire in the middle of the night, they should call me at home or on my cell phone, because I want to get out of bed to go make sure that they and their families are okay. The people come first. We will rebuild the house afterwards. We are really good at that.

I asked you at the beginning if you think your agent is in a noble profession. The real question is, does your agent think he is in a noble profession, and does he or she act accordingly?

If not, then I invite you to insure your dreams with us.