Insurance is not an easy business; the devil is in the details.
Norma approached me an was thanking me profusely; it had been about two months since her husband Walter had died. He contacted me a few years earlier to purchase life insurance, we went through an underwriting process and they bought a $250,000 policy. Norma had received the proceeds and was able to pay Walter’s last expenses and provide for her modest life. Different names, true story.
To many people insurance is a necessary evil and, in many ways, I agree; until we are in a situation where a catastrophic claim is paid. Then we are thankful. I’m in the insurance business to protect people from tragedy due to an insurable loss.
Insurance is not an easy business; the devil is in the details. One time during a deluge our gutters were clogged and water found its way into my daughter’s bedroom in our tri-level home. This water flooding our home: not covered! There is all kinds of unfairness (or perceived unfairness, I should have cleaned my gutters) with financial loss and insurance. Nevertheless, I find satisfaction in protecting people with insurance; as much as that is possible.
Some say all the insurance companies are getting rich; the field is open make yourself rich! The Obamacare CO-OP’s are a good example; 23 were started, only 3 remain and they had billions in government subsidies. Or do what Benjamin Franklin did in 1752 and start your own insurance company owned by the policyholders.
As an independent agency I represent a wide variety of insurance companies and try to find you the best coverage and premiums. These companies issue policies in two general categories: Admitted and Non-Admitted. The Admitted companies are the household names we are all familiar with and they issue policies for standard risks, like a new home in a suburb. The Non-Admitted companies insure other kinds of risks. Say you have a business manufacturing fireworks, if I could find any company to offer you coverage it would be a Non-Admitted company. There are numerous differences in these two general types of companies, and I can access many of them (several hundred) through a number of networks to find you the best coverage with competitive premiums.
So, the devil is in the details and I do my best to understand and help you understand what coverage you have and what you don’t. These conversations are not always easy and I’ll try to address them with you before the fact rather than after the fact. My goal is no surprises. That being said, I am not infallible and have made mistakes; although not easy, I’ll bring them to your attention. I encourage you to call me out if you find otherwise.
I was born in Chicago at Saint Ann’s hospital; I have one sister and three brothers. My family moved to Tucson when I was 14 years old where I finished high school and started college. Moved to Phoenix, got married and finished my business degree at Arizona State. I have two great kids Ryan and Lauren. After over 20 years without my high school sweetheart Cindy, we got back together and married in 2008. We needed to escape the heat in Phoenix which we did in a 2013 move to the mountains of Colorado in Coal Creek Canyon. The volunteer fire department in Coal Creek was gracious enough to “hire” me and start training . First was wildland training, the canyon is heavily wooded and they recruited a class every spring to be ready for summer fires. Next was structure fire training at the Boulder County Training Center and eventually an Emergency Medical Responder (a step below EMT).
Cindy was recruited back to the hospital she worked at previously in Missoula, so we made the move in 2017 and have a home between Florence and Stevensville near the Sapphire Mountains. She is a neonatal nurse practitioner at Community Medical Center and is the CEO of Sapphire Farms where we grow sunflowers. My office is in the town of Stevensville and I’m a member of the Stevensville Fire department. I respond to 911 calls for wildland fires, structure fires, motor vehicle accidents and medical issues (plus a wide variety of other things). I’m an EMT, engineer, and qualified to fight interior and exterior fires. I’m also a Station Officer and am training to be a crew leader.