Legacy Insurance PartnersJonnie Anderson loves spending her days helping to protect people against the unknown. She brings her experience and insurance background together to help families get the coverage they need for their home and autos. She began her career as an independent insurance agent and has now started her own legacy as one of the owners of Legacy Insurance Partners. When Jonnie is not getting competitive rates for her clients, she is cooking, decorating, or being mommy to her two little boys.Olivia Hein Wouldn’t it be great if you understood the ins and outs of your home, auto, and life insurance coverage? As co-owner of Legacy Insurance Partners Olivia is passionate about helping her clients fully understand their insurance coverage. With the best policy for them and their families and adequate coverage, she provides peace of mind should anything happen. A Midwestern girl at heart, Olivia loves life here in the Rockies! When she’s not educating and helping her clients, you can find her spending time with friends, enjoying the Colorado outdoors, or planning her next destination trip!Natasha Pearl Hansen is a comedian as well as a tech and branding nerd. Her love of technology, partnerships and helping other business owners, led her to join the team at GloveBox a year ago where she works to help agents use new technology to fuel and grow their businesses. Focusing exclusively on risk management and insurance professional development, the Risk & Insurance Education Alliance provides a practical advantage at every career stage, positioning our participants and their clients for confidence and success. 

Kim BeachA relentless marketer, Kim has worked in various sales and marketing occupations for over 30 years. The large majority of her career was spent in the television industry and, more recently, the insurance industry. She started Village Insurance in 2018 (from scratch) and currently supports more than 300 clients. Village Insurance is where her passion for empowering women in the insurance buying process all began.Kim launched InsureWomen on March 8, 2021 (International Women’s Day) to fill a need for female insurance buyers who did not feel comfortable with the insurance buying process.  The mission of InsureWomen is to empower women in the insurance buying process to feel confident, educated, and treated with the respect and attention they deserve.  She is also creating a network of female agents across the country who have a passion for serving these female buyers.  She launched the InsureWomen “Founding Member” Campaign on March 8, 2022 and currently has 50 members.Locally, Kim provides leadership to several groups including the Mariemont Area Chamber of Commerce, Mariemont Preservation Foundation and Route 50 LINK.  She recently ran for and won the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Man/Woman of the Year for Greater Cincinnati (2020).As a competitive athlete, Kim has participated in three marathons and three triathlons.  She also enjoys teaching Spinning and riding outside.  As a major fan of rhyming, she is also a published poet in “Voices of Michigan”, Volumes II and III, with “The Maidens Voyage” and “The Mother Ship”.  Kim also captains a virtual sailboat, The Chit Chat, on a summer voyage to Mackinac Island each year with a crew of women. Focusing exclusively on risk management and insurance professional development, the Risk & Insurance Education Alliance provides a practical advantage at every career stage, positioning our participants and their clients for confidence and success. 

It's story time! In this episode host, Dustyne Bryant invites, fellow colleague Paula Price to extract tales of the good 'ole days from two figures without whom The National Alliance For Insurance Education & Research would not be where it is today. Enjoy industry folklore, tales from the past, and hopes for the future as Dr. William T. Hold, CIC, CPCU Co-Founder of The National Alliance for Insurance Education & Research, and Bob J. Rogers, Life & Health Academic Director reminisce over their insurance industry journeys.Focusing exclusively on risk management and insurance professional development, the Risk & Insurance Education Alliance provides a practical advantage at every career stage, positioning our participants and their clients for confidence and success.  

Join the Awkward Insurance Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/awkwardinsurancepodcastDo you or someone you know need mental health support? SAMHSA’s National Helpline is a free, confidential, 24/7, 365-day-a-year treatment referral and information service (in English and Spanish) for individuals and families facing mental and/or substance use disorders. Call 1-800-662-HELP (4357). Focusing exclusively on risk management and insurance professional development, the Risk & Insurance Education Alliance provides a practical advantage at every career stage, positioning our participants and their clients for confidence and success. 

Better protect the families you serve by learning the ins and outs of Personal Residential Insurance–CISR Insuring Personal Residential PropertyAmy MacDonald has worked for Nationwide Insurance almost 20 years and moved over to the pet team 6+ years ago. Being able to tie her personal passion of pets and professional career of insurance has been a dream. The peace of mind that insurance brings when things go wrong is why she loves her job. Nationwide Pet Insurancehttps://www.facebook.com/NationwidePet/https://www.linkedin.com/company/nationwidepethttps://www.youtube.com/NationwidePet Focusing exclusively on risk management and insurance professional development, the Risk & Insurance Education Alliance provides a practical advantage at every career stage, positioning our participants and their clients for confidence and success. 

TED A. KINNEY, CIC, CPCU, ARM, CPIA, AAI, AU, AINS, CRIS, AAMTed Kinney is the owner/President of Kinney Training and Consulting, LLC, which specializes in providing quality insurance training programs to agencies and companies throughout the United States. Ted also serves as the Director of Education and Technical Affairs for the Alabama Independent Insurance Agents in Birmingham, Alabama.  In this position, he is responsible for developing agent education programs and providing technical assistance to association members.Ted has been in the insurance business since his graduation from the Ohio State University in 1973.  During his career, he has worked as an underwriter, field sales manager, department supervisor, marketing specialist, trainer, and insurance agent.  From 1994 to 2003, Ted was the Director of Curriculum and Faculty Development for PIA of Ohio & Indiana.  He is a member of the national faculty of the Society of Certified Insurance Counselors, the American Insurance Marketing Society (CPIA), and the Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of America’s “ask the expert” service.  In addition, Ted is a member of the Society of Certified Insurance Counselors and the National Academy of Producer Insurance Studies. Focusing exclusively on risk management and insurance professional development, the Risk & Insurance Education Alliance provides a practical advantage at every career stage, positioning our participants and their clients for confidence and success. 

Katlyn EggarKatlyn is the Director of Education at Quantum Assurance, a national insurance agency with main hubs in Texas and Virginia. She has owned both captive and independent startup agencies and now gets to help other insurance professionals and agency owners launch their insurance careers.The Age of Independence PodcastQuantum Assurance Learn more about how The National Alliance for Insurance Education & Research is empowering the next generation of RMI professionals with the CISR High School Program! Focusing exclusively on risk management and insurance professional development, the Risk & Insurance Education Alliance provides a practical advantage at every career stage, positioning our participants and their clients for confidence and success. 

Looking to get into insurance? Check our newly revised Intro to Insurance and other introductory courses to help you decide to make the leap. Jeff Shi launched his insurance career as a top-performing captive agent at Allstate. Along the way, he found the grass really was greener on the independent side. He co-founded Quantum Assurance International and is the CEO of Quotehound - both companies envisioned as a new compass for guiding agencies to digital growth. As Chief Vision Officer and CEO, he helped pioneer features like immediate vesting and the digital entrepreneur model that helps agents build over the next 3 years what took agents of the past 20. In their spare time, Jeff and his Jiu-Jitsu-warrior wife Priscilla parent their toddler cuties Zoe & Cloe and pursue their foodie passions with all things noodles & dumplings. Focusing exclusively on risk management and insurance professional development, the Risk & Insurance Education Alliance provides a practical advantage at every career stage, positioning our participants and their clients for confidence and success. 

Sarah Muniz has been in the insurance industry for over twenty years working on the agency side as a Customer Service Representative, producer, and with an aggregator and insurtech. She currently lives in Texas with her husband and two children. In the face of lacking industry training, earning anyone of our designations demonstrates dedication to professional excellence. Promotability and advancement will follow.  Learn more about RMI Job Roles and Download a FREE Learning Path!  Focusing exclusively on risk management and insurance professional development, the Risk & Insurance Education Alliance provides a practical advantage at every career stage, positioning our participants and their clients for confidence and success. 

 Ryan and Andy Mathisen are the co-founders of GloveBox. Formerly agency owners of a large independent agency in Denver, CO and sold that agency to start an insurtech company.   Focusing exclusively on risk management and insurance professional development, the Risk & Insurance Education Alliance provides a practical advantage at every career stage, positioning our participants and their clients for confidence and success. 

The National Alliance is constantly evolving and adapting to the changing world around us. Learn more about recent efforts to change Insurance Education for a new generation. Monica Adwani, CPIA I was born and raised in Puerto Rico and moved to Massachusetts in 2007. I graduated with multiple degrees in Information Management, Medical Coding, and Business Management from the InterAmerican University of P.R. and then Fisher College, Boston. My education and curious mind were the catalysts that opened the doors to the Insurance Industry. By supporting a group of researchers, consultants, trainers, and experts in the areas of Commercial Transportation, Ergonomics, Innovation, and Human Factors; I fell in love with insurance and knew very early this was going to be my forever career. The opportunity to work with this group of Doctors, Researchers and Field Experts allowed me to learn, build confidence, polish my language skills, creating the environment and experience for me to find something I could be and feel passionate about. So, unlike most people, I didn't start in Sales, Service, or Management. I was just a medical nerd with a passion for Organizational Phycology.Now, fifteen years later I have experienced many realms of the Industry from Fortune 500 to Independently Own Agencies. I am passionate about Sales, Service, Claims, and especially Operational Excellence. I have a keen eye for behaviors, process, accountability, and efficiency. I hope that my skills and expertise can help many entrepreneurs out there reach new heights by learning new and more efficient ways of leading, learning, and operating their businesses.  TranscendwithM Podcast Focusing exclusively on risk management and insurance professional development, the Risk & Insurance Education Alliance provides a practical advantage at every career stage, positioning our participants and their clients for confidence and success. 

Want to learn more about Long Term Care Insurance? The CISR Life & Health Essentials and CIC Life & Health courses expand on the important topic. Kelly Augspurger, CLTC®Kelly is the Co-founder of Steadfast Insurance, alongside her husband, Adam. They’re an independent insurance agency in Westerville, OH. Kelly is a Certified Long-Term Care (LTC) Insurance Specialist working nationwide to help clients and financial advisors plan ahead for LTC. Her goal is to reduce the physical, mental, emotional, and financial consequences of a LTC situation. She’s able to do this by having “planning for care conversations” and through LTC insurance. Kelly is passionate about planning for care because life is unexpected and she’s personally experienced multiple situations in her family where loved ones needed care and no one had a plan or insurance ... it was devastating!  She LOVES helping families and businesses put meaningful protection in place to protect the people and possessions most important to them.Kelly was recently named a HOT 100 insurance professional by Insurance Business. She’s an instructor for the CLTC program teaching advisors how to talk to their clients about LTC. She’s on the board of the Central Ohio Elder Care Planning Council, founded the Senior Resource Group, and is on Westerville Chamber’s Women in Business Committee.Outside of work, Kelly and Adam have 2 active kids, ages 11 and 9, and a big doodle named Eddie. They enjoy playing tennis, renovating their historic home, participating in church and community activities, and enjoying the outdoors. Focusing exclusively on risk management and insurance professional development, the Risk & Insurance Education Alliance provides a practical advantage at every career stage, positioning our participants and their clients for confidence and success. 

Kieran J. O’Rourke, CPCU, CRM, CICKieran has over 30 years of commercial underwriting, product, and program development experience in the insurance industry. Kieran’s career experience spans P&C underwriting, MGA underwriting for alternative energy products and alternative market product development, oversight of research and product development, and directing regional commercial insurance sales for a Fortune 500 carrier. Kieran is a talented and respected leader. His disciplined underwriting approach and business fundamentals consistently yield sustainable growth and profits relative to proprietary program development. At Cannasure, Kieran manages the firm’s Program division and guides the company’s development of future cannabis and hemp programs. Kieran’s expertise keeps him busy and is well sought after by leading media outlets and speaks at insurance and cannabis industry events. Kieran has a unique perspective and thought-leadership of underwriting relative to the emerging trends and risk transfer solutions in the cannabis and hemp arena. A graduate of The University of Akron, Kieran holds the Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter (CPCU) designation, as well as the Certified Insurance Counselor (CIC) and Certified Risk Manager (CRM) designations. Now retired from his civic duties, Kieran held elected office for over 20 years as a Trustee on the Village of Seville’s (Ohio) utility board. Focusing exclusively on risk management and insurance professional development, the Risk & Insurance Education Alliance provides a practical advantage at every career stage, positioning our participants and their clients for confidence and success. 

Bradley Flowers- Bradley is a nationally recognized insurance agency owner and business enthusiast. He runs the day-to-day operations at Portal Insurance in Mobile, Alabama, a scratch independent agency he founded and is building on the back of social media, personal branding, content, and technology. In 2019, Portal Insurance was named the "Agency for the Future'' by Safeco Insurance for the Southeast United States. In 2020, Portal Insurance became the subject of the YouTube series "Making the Donuts'' which shows the everyday behind-the-scenes of the agency. Bradley is the co-host of the “Insurance Guys Podcast” one of the most listened to podcasts in the insurance industry which is featured on iTunes, Spotify, Soundcloud, and iHeart Radio. Through his podcast, Bradley has interviewed hundreds of influential individuals including Gary Vaynerchuk, Dave Meltzer, and Jesse Cole.https://onecityworldtour.com/https://instagram.com/bradleyflowers__?utm_medium=copy_linkhttps://www.theinsuranceguyspodcast.com/https://www.youtube.com/c/BradleyFlowers/videos Focusing exclusively on risk management and insurance professional development, the Risk & Insurance Education Alliance provides a practical advantage at every career stage, positioning our participants and their clients for confidence and success. 

David R. Carothers, CIC, CRM, is the Principal of Florida Risk Partners, LLC, Catalyst Funding Solutions, LLC, The Founder of Killing Commercial Insurance Training, Host of The Power Producers Podcast, and Creator/Producer of The Protégé. David is also the international best-selling author of The Extra 2 Minutes: How spending an extra 2 minutes on nearly anything in your sales career will take you from good to best in class!  He also has a new book, The Dirty 130 hitting shelves in January 2022.  David is also the managing member of Game Changers Marketing, LLC the entity that handles the distribution of advertising and marketing across all media channels in his portfolio.David has degrees in Management and Marketing from Birmingham Southern College. He has spent nearly two decades in the Insurance and Risk Management space. David started his career with a multi-million dollar commercial risk management firm, where he was repeatedly recognized for exemplary achievement. In 2016, David followed his entrepreneurial spirit and launched Florida Risk Partners, an insurance and risk management firm focusing on middle-market commercial accounts. Florida Risk Partners has multiple office locations in the five counties surrounding the Tampa Bay region.Because of his success at Florida Risk Partners, David often gets tapped to be a keynote speaker and breakout session presenter at industry conferences and associations, speaking on sales, prospecting, marketing, appointment setting, and closing accounts. While David is busy, it is important to note that his priority is his family. David and his wife Andrea live in Valrico, FL, with their children Grayson, Landon, Ethan, Caroline, and their faithful Golden Retrievers, Tanner, and Tucker. Focusing exclusively on risk management and insurance professional development, the Risk & Insurance Education Alliance provides a practical advantage at every career stage, positioning our participants and their clients for confidence and success. 

Download a Learning Path to Get Started On Your Own RMI Journey!Meg McKeen, CIC: A believer that there is a story within every story, Meg's career journey took a sharp left turn in 2017 when she exchanged her corporate j-o-b for a year of self-discovery. The following year, she launched Adjunct Advisors LLC with the simple belief that the people that buy, and those that sell, insurance deserve a better experience. Meg now leverages more than 20 years of industry experience and studies in the social sciences to change the way we interact with insurance. Her journey is not unique - but her ability to make insurance - and entrepreneurship - approachable and relatable, with humility, humor, and heart, is a gift.  Focusing exclusively on risk management and insurance professional development, the Risk & Insurance Education Alliance provides a practical advantage at every career stage, positioning our participants and their clients for confidence and success. 

Learn More about neon from b atomic!  and Listen to Olivia's Podcast: Liv Louder!Oliva Schmitt, CIC, CISR  brings her insurance agency experience and vast industry knowledge, strong leadership track record, and small business expertise to the b atomic team.  Olivia started her insurance career in 2004 when she joined TRICOR Insurance as a customer service representative.  In 2013 she was selected to lead the company’s development of a division geared towards small business growth.  The role allowed Olivia to hone her skills by creating a strategic development plan for the department, overseeing operations, and hiring a team— experiences she continually draws on today. Olivia also hosts the “Liv Louder” podcast where she highlights women in insurance and leadership with the goal of creating space for others to share their struggles and insight, seek advice, encouragement, and growth opportunities in their careers. Olivia Schmitt is a proud mom of three children who keep her busy!  Olivia enjoys downtime with her kids, quiet evenings with a good movie, cooking delicious food, and playing and singing along to great music way too loud (according to her kids)!  Focusing exclusively on risk management and insurance professional development, the Risk & Insurance Education Alliance provides a practical advantage at every career stage, positioning our participants and their clients for confidence and success. 

Start your own career path with a custom Account Manager, Producer, Risk Manager, or Underwriter Learning Path!Natalie Russel, CIC joined the Central Region Team as a Senior Territory Manager for Northwestern Arkansas.  Natalie is a familiar face to many of us as she had an 8-year tenure as a Senior Territory Manager before leaving to own and operate an independent agency in Hot Springs, AR. Natalie resides in Hot Springs with her husband, Andy, and are proud parents to twins, Cazzie and Josie, and son, Van, and the lovable Boxer, Moonpie. She has always been around the industry having started working as a teen in her family’s agency. Outside of work, Natalie loves traveling, working out, and attending kids’ sporting events.   Focusing exclusively on risk management and insurance professional development, the Risk & Insurance Education Alliance provides a practical advantage at every career stage, positioning our participants and their clients for confidence and success. 

Do you have an Awkward Insurance story?  Email us at [email protected] and you may be featured in an episode!Dustyne Bryant, CIC, CISR, MBA:Dustyne Bryant, is the Personal Lines Academic Director at The National Alliance for Insurance Education & Research, is a self-professed and colleague–backed wholehearted Personal Lines Insurance geek. Supported by multiple degrees and designations over the course of a decade and rising, her thirst for knowledge is never-ending and ever-growing. Her passion for educating others in Personal Insurance is even greater. She is an advocate of permanency for children in foster care and relishes all the joys of being a soccer mom, minus the minivan. Cat Ferris, CIC, CRM, CPCU, CLCS, AU:Cat Ferris, is the Commercial Lines Academic Director at the National Alliance for Insurance Education & Research. In her twenty years of experience within the industry, Cat has focused most of her career in commercial underwriting, and independent agency training. Based out of Gainesville, Florida her hobbies include bodybuilding, gardening, and spoiling her dogs more than her kids. Focusing exclusively on risk management and insurance professional development, the Risk & Insurance Education Alliance provides a practical advantage at every career stage, positioning our participants and their clients for confidence and success. 

Send us topics that you want to hear discussed in future episodes, and stay tuned for Season 2!Cat Ferris, CIC, CRM, CPCU, CLCS, AU  is the Commercial Lines Academic Director with the National Alliance. In her twenty years of experience within the industry, Cat has focused most of her career in commercial underwriting, and independent agency training. Based out of Gainesville, Florida her hobbies include bodybuilding, gardening, and spoiling her dogs more than her kids.Mac Leberman is the Podcast Producer for The National Alliance for Insurance Education & Research and oversees the conception, creation, and production of Awkward Insurance, Nat Alliance NOW, and Risk & Reward podcast series’.  Focusing exclusively on risk management and insurance professional development, the Risk & Insurance Education Alliance provides a practical advantage at every career stage, positioning our participants and their clients for confidence and success. 

Need more tips on how to handle tough convos with clients?  Check out episode #2, I’m Your Agent. Let’s Talk about Sex. Focusing exclusively on risk management and insurance professional development, the Risk & Insurance Education Alliance provides a practical advantage at every career stage, positioning our participants and their clients for confidence and success. 

Aaron Gordon, CAPI, CCIC, is a second-generation insurance professional working to merge his parent’s “boutique-style” insurance agency with modern insurance technology for the first time. He’s finding success everywhere he turns but has found recently that the hiring pool of available qualified insurance professionals is quite murky. Aaron discusses the difficulty he has had with hiring while Dustyne explores whether the CISR High School Program and University Associate Programs offered by The National Alliance for Insurance Education & Research, might be the solution to this growing industry struggle. Focusing exclusively on risk management and insurance professional development, the Risk & Insurance Education Alliance provides a practical advantage at every career stage, positioning our participants and their clients for confidence and success. 

We want to hear from you! Send us your questions, comments, and praises to [email protected]!About our guests:Cat Ferris, CIC, CRM, CPCU, CLCS, AU- is the Commercial Lines Academic Director with the National Alliance. In her twenty years of experience within the industry, Cat has focused most of her career in commercial underwriting, and independent agency training. Based out of Gainesville, Florida her hobbies include bodybuilding, gardening, and spoiling her dogs more than her kids.Paul Martin, CPCU- is the Director of Academic Content and Academic Director Team Lead for the National Alliance for Insurance Education &Research. Paul works with Alliance faculty, agents, and other industry professionals to deliver high-quality insurance content and education. During his career, Paul worked as an adjuster, underwriter, special agent, company manager, and independent agent. Paul has been an insurance educator in Texas for over twenty years.Sarah Warhaftig, CRM, JD- is the Academic Director of Risk Management programs for The National Alliance where she is responsible for the Certified Risk Manager, the Certified School Risk Manager, and the Certified Personal Risk Manager designation programs.Jay Williams, CIC, CRM, CRIS, MLIS, AIP, AAI, ACSR- started his insurance career in 1979. He spent 21 years in the agency business, 9 years at the Florida Association of Insurance Agents, and 7 years on the insurance company side of the industry.  Jay was the interim CEO for Applied Client Network and CEO of a construction risk wholesale operation.  Prior to coming to The National Alliance for Insurance Education & Research, he was an insurance educator, a consultant to agencies, companies, and industry partners, and an expert witness for both technical insurance and agent E&O cases. In addition to being an Educational Consultant, Jay is a member of the National Faculty, teaching CISR, CIC, Ruble Graduate Seminars, and PROFocus topics across the country. Focusing exclusively on risk management and insurance professional development, the Risk & Insurance Education Alliance provides a practical advantage at every career stage, positioning our participants and their clients for confidence and success. 

Tracy Cotton has been an underwriter, CSR, consultant, producer, marketer, and instructor in her 25+ year career in insurance. Now she is putting it all to work in a new role as Executive Client Manager for Starr-Mathews Agency in Chattanooga, Tennessee. She didn’t create this job but feels as if it were created just for her. She gets to work closely with middle market to large commercial clients to offer a more concierge level of service than either a typical CSR or producer can balance. Every day is different and she loves getting to help onboard new clients and grease the wheels for more value-added renewal reviews. She enjoys connecting with industry peers and is a founding member of the #5amclubins on Twitter. When she isn’t evaluating work comp audits and creating service plans, her passion is to get outdoors with her dog, Jasper. Although she still loves the mountains of Western North Carolina, where she lived for many years, she is currently digging finding places to hike, backpack, and paddle in southeastern Tennessee. Focusing exclusively on risk management and insurance professional development, the Risk & Insurance Education Alliance provides a practical advantage at every career stage, positioning our participants and their clients for confidence and success. 

Tune in to hear their discussion about confidence, embarrassment, the struggle to be taken seriously in the workplace, and how to take control of you own education.Need more inspiration? Find your own path to success with a National Alliance Learning Path! About Our Guest: Cat Ferris, CIC, CRM, CPCU, CLCS, AU is the Commercial Lines Academic Director with the National Alliance. In her twenty years of experience within the industry, Cat has focused most of her career in commercial underwriting, and independent agency training. Based out of Gainesville, Florida her hobbies include bodybuilding, gardening, and spoiling her dogs more than her kids. Focusing exclusively on risk management and insurance professional development, the Risk & Insurance Education Alliance provides a practical advantage at every career stage, positioning our participants and their clients for confidence and success. 

Nominate or Enter the Competition Here! Tracy Cotton, CIC, CISR has been an underwriter, CSR, consultant, producer, marketer, and instructor in her more than 25-year career in insurance. Now she is putting it all to work in a new role as Executive Client Manager for Starr-Mathews Agency in Chattanooga, Tennessee. While she didn’t create this job, she feels as if it were created just for her. She gets to work closely with middle-market to large commercial clients to offer a more concierge level of service than either a typical CSR or producer can balance. Every day is different and she loves getting to help onboard new clients and grease the wheels for more value-added renewal reviews. She enjoys connecting with industry peers and is a founding member of the #5amclubins on Twitter. When she isn’t evaluating work comp audits and creating service plans, her passion is to get outdoors with her dog, Jasper. Although she still loves the mountains of western North Carolina, where she lived for many years, she currently enjoys finding places to hike, backpack, and paddle in southeastern TN. Ashley Fitzsimmons, CISR, serves as the Director of Professional Development for the Ohio Insurance Agents Association, Inc., Ashley has grown up in insurance and has nearly a decade of real-life experience on the agency side. She has had to overcome the same daily struggles and has personally researched and implemented many tools and programs to help her family agency run more efficiently. Her nine years spent as the fourth generation in a family agency located near Scranton, Pennsylvania, obtaining her CISR designation, holding multiple speaking engagements across the country, and being nominated for the 2018 National CSR of the year have given her the knowledge and experience to help other agents thrive instead of just survive. Reuben Hall has been in the insurance industry for more than five years with experience on the agency side as well as on the carrier side. For the last three years, Reuben as worked at Oswald Companies in Cleveland, Ohio as an Associate Client Manager in the Specialty Risk industry. He is also a member of Oswald’s Young Professionals Leadership Council, which recruits young talent to the insurance industry and participates in various volunteer opportunities in the community. Reuben is the 2020 CSR of the year for Ohio. Focusing exclusively on risk management and insurance professional development, the Risk & Insurance Education Alliance provides a practical advantage at every career stage, positioning our participants and their clients for confidence and success. 

In this episode of Awkward Insurance host, Dustyne Bryant, speaks with 2020 Outstanding CSR of the Year, Judy Vaughn, about the misinformation that insurance professionals battle daily. Account managers and agents often receive emotionally charged calls or urgent messages from clients about something they read on social media, heard on the news, or talked with their neighbor about. Misinformation is as contagious as a cold. What should be done when misinformed clients rely on us for a cure for what ails them? Trust is hard to come by in the insurance industry. Maintaining client trust is an uphill battle made especially difficulty by the millions of unchecked online sources available for “researching” their insurance symptoms. How do we keep clients from getting sucked into diagnosing their insurance aliments? Tune in to learn how you can help them overcome their fears and reinforce their trust in you. Focusing exclusively on risk management and insurance professional development, the Risk & Insurance Education Alliance provides a practical advantage at every career stage, positioning our participants and their clients for confidence and success.  

Want to take a deeper dive?Build your selling and service skills with our Dynamics of Selling Course and see how your agency measures up with The Pulse of Customer Service publication! Focusing exclusively on risk management and insurance professional development, the Risk & Insurance Education Alliance provides a practical advantage at every career stage, positioning our participants and their clients for confidence and success. 

Dustyne’s Final Thoughts: Working with Wes has been one of the highlights of my career. I learned so much about the practice of communication while working with him. The honesty and openness between the two of us were always on point. I never feared letting him know if something was wrong with one of his accounts because I knew he’d jump in to help. Often, we are successful not because of what we have done for ourselves, but because of the ways others have supported us.  Together we rise when we support each other. Focusing exclusively on risk management and insurance professional development, the Risk & Insurance Education Alliance provides a practical advantage at every career stage, positioning our participants and their clients for confidence and success. 

In this Episode of Awkward Insurance, guest and Team Lead for Claims at Penn National Insurance, Nikki Wyatt, joins host Dustyne Bryant, MBA, CIC, CISR, to discuss one corner of the gig economy: Transportation Network Companies (TNC). Nikki shares with us her intimate knowledge of TNC coverage and exposures from a claims perspective. Listen in as they share both their personal and professional experiences with Transportation Networks and Rides Shares, such as Uber and Lyft. Customer Service Reps and Account Managers can learn a thing or two from podcast. Tune in!To learn more about TNC Exposures register for the CISR Insuring Personal Auto course or the CIC Personal Lines course!  Focusing exclusively on risk management and insurance professional development, the Risk & Insurance Education Alliance provides a practical advantage at every career stage, positioning our participants and their clients for confidence and success. 

For account managers, communicating their needs and expectations to carriers can be frustrating. Carriers have specific ideas on what preferred business looks like, but what comes across the desk may not always fit the mold. What clients are looking for, may not match what a carrier is offering. Carrier marketing representatives, territory managers, and the likes are there to bridge the gap between insurance companies and agency professionals.Listen closely to pick up golden nuggets about how both agency professionals and carrier marketing representatives can squeeze the most out of their meetings together. Cultivating these relationships will add value for the client and to the agency as these relationships help build profitable books of business. Heath ShearonInsurance Town Focusing exclusively on risk management and insurance professional development, the Risk & Insurance Education Alliance provides a practical advantage at every career stage, positioning our participants and their clients for confidence and success.