Insurance Is A Bitch; Then It Has Puppies
“The day you start accepting that life is a bitch and laughing over it is the day you won’t seem to mind how many puppies she gives.”
Good morning, a beautiful Monday; PVHT is to my right, killing a bone. My Queen is beginning her journey of getting out of our bed. The coffee is made, my water bottle is full of ice water, it’s time to get into my little soup kitchen and cook a little word soup.
I’m entering my 25th year in the insurance business. It’s been a great ride; the first few years were spent grinding, then as your book of business develops, you can slow and enjoy the fruits of your labor. These days I’m more in a sales management role in our company, but I still like to be involved in the sales process.
I now use my knowledge and experience to help our younger folks build their books of business. I’m a mentor, a teacher, a trainer for my company, and others. I’m given story problems daily, and I can usually solve them in a short time. Twenty-five years is a long time to do the same job; I’m lucky and blessed to have found my calling early in life.
I know my clients do not like paying for insurance, hell I’m not too fond of it either, but as a responsible person, I am well-insured if something happens. I do the same for my clients, assess their risk, create a program that won’t leave them hanging out to dry if something terrible happens.
I got a text from a friend last week. He needed me; I called him and found out he had been involved in a severe auto accident. We took the information, reported the claim, I drove up to see him, and talked through the process, he was not hurt, but there were injuries. He was shaken up. While he recounted his evening, I sat with him. It was a harrowing tale, and he was concerned.
But I reminded him that he was financially responsible. He had procured adequate limits of insurance to protect him from this event. He would not have any out of pocket expenses; we would take care of this event, he could call me at any time, and I would see the claim to it’s a conclusion.
I ask that when you pay your insurance, you understand it’s a bitch. Still, a necessary bitch, and sometimes with a bitch, there are puppies. The puppies eliminate the sleepless nights after a fire, a wreck, or an injury to another party. There is value in transferring your large risks to a third party to retain the assets you have gained over your lifetime of labor.
I had a claim earlier this year; this time, an auto ran off the road and drove through one of my client’s buildings. We got a remediation company out, they made temporary repairs, and the owner decided to cash out the property. Instead of rebuilding, he wanted to tear it down and use the insurance to demo the structure. Another puppy was born from the bitch of insurance. He was happy, and I was glad to take an adverse event and make him financially whole.
We had a large work comp claim this year; the payout is well over two million dollars. The company sans insurance would be out of business, but due to their financial responsibility, they will continue, and we will take care of the injured worker for the rest of his life.
I talked to a friend the other day and asked why I never wrote about my vocation. I said, “write about insurance?” I find the topic relatively dry and dull, but my job is essential. I am the protector of my client’s assets; when something goes badly wrong, I’m here to help them navigate one of the worst times of their life. We don’t know what life has in store for us; make sure you have financial instruments that will protect you on that day you pray will never come.
I like to write more about life, who I am, over what I do, but now and then, I’ll pen something about my experience as an insurance agency owner. The insurance industry has provided me with freedom and wealth. It has allowed me to meet friends from all over the globe, and if we connect, most of my clients stick around for life.
I don’t just manage my client’s risk; I become a trusted advisor serving as a resource for their life and business. I find many of my conversations don’t deal with insurance but how to run a successful business. I work exclusively with entrepreneurs; that is my focus; they give me fuel.
As we wind down the work week culminating in the celebration of Jesus’s birthday, I ask that you count insurance as one of your blessings. Yes, it’s a bitch, but that bitch has puppies. Puppies are cute, wonderful, and can provide love in a time of anguish and concern.
Enjoy this week, don’t overdo it, be glad for this year and all its silver linings. If you made it through 2020 unscathed, your 2021 is looking like a magical year. And if you didn’t make it, rest in peace. We lost some folks this year, some from the pandemic, but many died the old fashion way.
I’m heading to a Christmas party this evening, taking some gifts my son made to my friends. It will be a celebration of friendship and success: new faces to meet, new stories to hear, opportunities to connect with other like-minded folks.
We had dinner with Bill and Carla last night. We walked over to have some Mexican food at Mr. Tequilla’s. We saw some friends it was hopping with people celebrating the holidays. One of our friends is the lead doctor for a large pharmaceutical company; his being there reassures us that we live correctly. “Bob” has shared his medical views with us, don’t hide, live your life.
We got the virus, and our bodies fought it like Mike Tyson beating up a 3-year-old. We are not aware of any of our friends contracting the virus, and if they did, they quarantined and had very light symptoms. We will be hosting my 81-year-old parents for Christmas, along with some of our kids. Our son, wife, and daughter will take off a year, just stay home. I respect that, but I look forward to a future where we can hold that baby and hear her laugh and giggle.
We saw her yesterday, she just woke up from a nap, we talked to her through the glass door, she was a little perplexed by my description of her bunk bed, get’s first pick, she will always be our first grandchild. Oh enough, I’m done; I hope you smiled at the analogy; I stole it last night from a show we were watching. The original quote was, “Nashville is a bitch, and then it has puppies.” I thought it worthy of a steal and thus puppy soup.
“The day you start accepting that life is a bitch and laughing over it is the day you won’t seem to mind how many puppies she gives.”