13 insurance industry heroes you need to know

LHP: What excites you most about the industry today? 
CG: I get excited when others are excited. There are so many opportunities out there to expand and grow our business, and certainly so many people who need our help. Yes, agents — myself included — are concerned about the continuing government intrusion into what WAS a very successful distribution system, but we have to stop the ranting and do our jobs. In the agent community, we used to say, "There's enough business to go around," and there still is. Some are just so paralyzed by the stress of learning everything and communicating everything that they forget to look at the forest.

CHRISTOPHER P. HILL
President & Founder, Funeral Resources.com and MemorialTechnology.com

LHP: Why insurance? How did you get your start in the industry?
CPH: My father was a stockbroker, and for three summers I interned with him at what used to be Paine Webber, which is now UBS. I was a finance major at University of Florida, and I ended up taking a job at my father's friend's firm, who was one of the top money managers in the world. I was his protégé and learned a lot about the market — the technical, the fundamental, I wrote their monthly stock market updates. It was a great, rapid entry into the financial services business. It was a pure blessing, on top of having my father, of course.

I learned a lot. But I was the Vice President of Marketing and Sales, traveling 3-4 weeks of every month. It was very draining. A friend invited me to a workshop on the LEAP system, and I agreed to attend. I didn't know term from whole life when I entered the workshop, but what I really liked about the system was that it took a comprehensive look at a financial plan rather than focusing just on investments. It emphasized that protecting your money was equally important to growing it. So I decided to leave my current firm and set up my own practice with Guardian. Out of the gate, I was New Agent of the Year, and then Agent of the Year for seven consecutive years. I really took to the insurance side and I believed in the value there.

Ultimately, I started to learn about other products and opportunities, and I realized I wasn't doing right by my clients by selling products from only one carrier. So I left and went independent and since then I've had my own retirement and financial planning practice. I've changed from focusing mostly on financial planning to focusing mostly on retirement.

LHP: Describe what you do.
CPH: I lost my mother to cancer. When my mother got sick, I soon realized that it was the perfectly wrong time to ask about funerals, to wonder who we should notify. I remember after she passed sitting in a room with a funeral director going through burial choices. I was trying to act like I knew what I was doing, but I had no idea.

Once I got through the difficult process, I wanted to find a way to help people that were facing the death of a loved one. I had already begun building FuneralResources.com, because I had had six clients pass in a short period of time. I had delivered on claims, but I realized that I was no value to my clients when they died. So I started to build a website that was designed to have people go to one place and get everything that they were searching for. When my mother passed I put it on hold for a year because it seemed too creepy and weird to continue.

I write for IARFC's magazine, "The Register," and I was on the phone with their editor one day and he asked me about the website. I told him why I put the project on hold. And he said,  "It's funny, Chris, we can barely use the word guaranteed in our industry, but death is a guarantee. It's the one thing that we can really prepare people for." The whole room lightened after I hung up the phone. I felt like my mother's loss became a story that would help others make a difficult situation easier. So then I took FuneralResources.com and just went crazy.

If you look at life insurance, if you look at estate planning, sandwiched right in between those should be an end of life plan. It's the missing piece of the financial planning process, something that needs to be standard and routine.

LHP:  Describe your target market. What needs do you look to address in your practice?
CPH: My target market is boomers and seniors, and the No. 1 way I reach them is through seminars. The largest church in my county has gone through the fourth round now of my seminars, which have three parts: In Part 1, an estate attorney covers wills vs. trust; in Part 2, we talk about life insurance; in Part 3, we talk about end of life planning. Over 75 percent of the people that attend these seminars ultimately come visit us as a prospective client. When I worked with the senior market, the response was infinitely better: 100 percent signed up for appointments. Every single one of them is now a client.

LHP: Share an achievement you are especially proud of.
CPH: The proudest accomplishment I have is being what seems to be a lone ranger in encouraging and educating the financial services industry to have a conversation about end of life planning. I believe that five years from now this is going to be something that we standardly talk about. I'm proud that my mother's loss has inspired me not just to help families but also to enter into a niche market that has explosive upside. With the baby boomers, the evolution of the industry and the Internet, there's going to be an exponentially growing opportunity to add this type of planning to your financial practice for revenue. The cost of dying has risen at an average of nine percent, and that's only going to go higher. Not being prepared is selfish, and it can be avoided.

LHP: Share a story about a client you have helped.
CPH: One recent story is about the estate-planning attorney that I host workshops with. His parents are 90 and 89, and six months ago we went out to do their advanced planning. They didn't do anything after the first appointment. But then my friend's father became very ill, so I went out and met with them again. His dad could pass any day now. But if either of his parents pass tomorrow, I have every single detail and I can help them through the loss, and I know it brings tremendous peace of mind. My colleague has become so passionate after seeing the value face-to-face that he now has every one of his clients work with me on an end of life plan. Before the fact, this type of planning is eye opening; after the fact, it's overwhelming.

MICHAEL J. MARKEY
Owner, Legacy Financial Network

LHP: Why insurance? How did you get your start in the industry?
MM: I was a senior in college, an entrepreneurship major, and I had to present an idea to a group of venture capital firms. One of the VCs was an executive with Northwestern Mutual, and she spoke to me afterward and tried to convince me to enter the industry. I really didn't want to do it. In fact, I went home and was joking about it at a barbeque — and my dad said, "You know, you should really try it. You have an NW Mutual policy, your sister does." I listened to him and ultimately decided to pursue the opportunity.

LHP: Describe what you do.
MM: What we do is run a four-step retirement education process. When I was new to the industry and in training, one statistic I heard is that a successful practice has at least 500 clients, at about a ten percent conversion rate from prospect to client. And I heard this and thought: I don't want to say we made a difference because we helped 500 people. My mind works backward and I think, "What about those other 4,500?"Because really, if you talk to 4,500 people who ultimately walk away, you may have done more harm than good. They may at one point have realized that they have a need for life insurance, but they may not ever buy it. If someone else approaches them in three months, they'll say, no, I've already talked about it with Mike and made a decision. So I want a much higher conversion rate than 10 percent, not only for the success of my business but to ensure I am helping the greatest number of people.

Step No. 1 is conversation. I tell my clients, I'm here to serve you. I believe that all of us want our work to have meaning. We talk about baseball, grandkids, whatever it may be. This step is about getting to know the client and establishing a connection.

Step No. 2 is gathering data, running tests, analyzing whether there are ways to increase your income without increasing risk. We teach people about standard deviation, and I like to use a driving analogy to do this. If you drive for 10 miles on a highway going 90 miles per hour are you going to get in trouble? Maybe not. If you go 20 miles, you have a higher likelihood of getting pulled over. If you drive for 50 miles, you have a much higher likelihood. It's the same with standard deviation. The longer you take the same risk, the higher the likelihood that you'll get hurt.

In this step, we teach our clients how to use Morningstar, how to double-check your advisor's work. We go over your statement. We teach them to find the DNA of their mutual funds, to look at that ticker symbol. We help them understand whether they are in a fee-based relationship or a commission-based relationship.

Step No. 3 is reviewing the results of our tests. We go over standard deviation again, but now we have the figures from their account(s) using Morningstar. We go over fees versus commissions again and examine where they're at. We review taxable income in relationship to tax brackets and Roth planning. This step also shows them retirement asset balances yearly based on the assumptions we made together in Step Two.  

Step No. 4 is making recommendations. Here, we look closely at our client's goals — the X, Y, Z that they want to accomplish — and make recommendations for a tailored financial plan. 

The time frame from Step One to Step Four is around seven weeks. By the time we do any real financial planning, there's been nine hours of face time completely spent on teaching them.  

LHP:  Describe your target market. What needs do you look to address in your practice?
MM: Eighty-five percent of the people we work with are between the ages of 63–75, with $150,000–$250,000 in investable assets. One of the things that I think has made us successful is that we are not interested in doing business with everyone. What we believe is that as you get older, you should decrease risk. On average, we are only doing business with people who are in retirement or near retirement and have a conservative to mid-conservative risk profile.

I'm never going to set a minimum asset amount for the clients we work with. We'll meet clients with, say, $60,000 to their name. It takes a lot of courage to go that direction, and I understand why other advisors don't take this approach. When you get a 1 percent commission check for $30, it makes sense that not everyone does this. But this is the way that works for us. These are the people we want to help.

LHP: Share an achievement you are especially proud of.
MM: No. 1 is the atmosphere at our organization. It's very centered around caring for our clients. If we find out that a client is having surgery or is ill, we send flowers or a cake. We spend thousands of dollars on these gestures every year, and I think it's worth every cent. I believe that the money is returned to us in referrals — but more importantly, it lets our clients know that we truly care about them.

The other thing I'm proud of is that, for clients who choose not to work with us, we often hear later that they are still using the plan we put together for them. Often two or three years down the road they'll come back to us and they're timid to tell us that they used our advice with a different advisor. Of course we'd rather that they did business with us, but more than anything we're just happy that they used our plan, that they were educated. 

LHP: What excites you most about the industry today?
MM: I think what excites me most is how it is changing. Over the next several years, you're going to have advisors going through the life and health classes, or getting their securities license, and asking "How on earth did people advise on annuities and not take into account Social Security benefits?"The industry is becoming much more holistic in that way. Advisors are starting to say, "How can we accurately suggest a particular annuity and say this is something you should look at if we don't evaluate the biggest annuity, the one you already own, and that's Social Security."  

JOHN NICHOLS
President, NAIFA
President, Disability Resource Group, Inc.

LHP: Why insurance? How did you get your start in the industry?
JN: My start in the industry came in 1984 when Norb Winter Jr. invited me into his Minnesota Life general agency located in my home town St. Paul, Minn. He saw something in me that I hadn't realized. My previous job was selling advertising for a small market radio station. Norb persuaded me that if I could sell radio ads, I could sell life insurance. My "why" today is much different and has way more conviction than when I started. It has gone from surviving/making a paycheck to making a difference. 

LHP: Describe what you do.
JN: Three inter-related activities:  I'm currently president of a retail and brokerage disability insurance firm. I'm also a public speaker on the topic of disability insurance and the Six Steps to Daily Victories, which highlights my personal story of overcoming the adversity of a disability. Lastly, I volunteer within our industry associations (current president of NAIFA) and charitable causes that are close to my heart.

LHP: Describe your target market. What needs do you look to address in your practice?
JN: Our business model is built around serving advisors with their clients in providing disability insurance solutions. Additionally, we provide education and service directly to consumers, from single person CEOs to farmers, from small businesses to Fortune 1000 companies. Generally, a person with a paycheck is a person that needs to protect their ability to earn that paycheck.

LHP: Share an achievement you are especially proud of.
JN: It is hard to identify just one, as many if not all of the achievements intertwine with one another. This has been a real lesson for me. I've come to understand that positive effort and results in one area will positively affect other areas of your life. I believe that is part of what the MDRT whole person concept is all about.

Personally: going from 174 pounds to 144 pounds and consistently staying physically and mentally fit for the past six years.

Professionally: Growing a firm around an area of insurance that we are passionate about and knowing we make a difference.

Publically: Giving back and serving our industry through a number of volunteer leadership positions, one of which is NAIFA.

LHP: Share a story about a client you have helped.
JN: Just this past week, I had a small business owner who was diagnosed with an illness a month ago call and say that he can't continue working. The illness caught up to him; he just does not have the physical capability and mental energy to run his business. His first question was, "Is my family going to be ok?" Imagine if the disability coverage wasn't in place or the life insurance. How do you answer his question?

Imagine walking with your friend, just 36, and she says, "I have brain cancer. My life is changed forever, yet I have maybe five years; maybe not. However, whatever time I have left, knowing that I have disability benefits and my life insurance gives me the space, the choice and control to live fully and peacefully until that day. Thank you."

This business is humbling. This business is a calling and I'm honored to play a small part in it.

LHP: What excites you most about the industry today?
JN: The opportunity to make a difference exists more today than ever before. There are more potential clients, the need for our products and services has probably never been greater, the quality of our products and services are better than ever before, the education and training is readily available, the media, the legislators and organizations like LIFE Happens support our work — we just need to go to work, make the calls, see the people and share our story.

LHP: In 1993, you suffered a broken neck during a water skiing accident and you were paralyzed from your chin down. You were eventually able to reach a level of recovery achieved by less than 1 percent of people with spinal cord injuries. Describe how your injury and rehab changed your perspective, work/life philosophy and your view of the importance of disability insurance.
JN: The injury and rehab solidified my perspective on daily victories, having a grateful heart and living with faith in action.

My view of the importance of disability insurance was greatly affected by the accident and recovery. I learned firsthand that medical insurance tries to put you back together; however, it does not guarantee that it is back together just like you were before the incident.

Additionally, I learned the value of empowering yourself with choice and control by owning an individual disability contract.

LHP: Talk about your marathon training and the charity work you've done with it.
JN: My marathon training and charity fundraising have been a great combination to help myself while helping others. It was January 2009 that I made a  commitment to train for the Chicago Marathon and raise $26,000 for Danielle, age 11, who suffered a broken neck (spinal cord injury) at a gymnastics meet. Over the last five years, I have improved as a shuffler (runner), rebuilding my body and losing weight from 174 to 144 and going from a marathon finishing time of 6 hours 9 minutes to 4 hours, 22 minutes. I have raised over $100,000 for IL Spinal Cord Injuries Association and was the top fundraiser in the Bank of America Chicago marathon in 2012, winning the Daly Golden Shoe award.

In the words of a friend of mine, I'm a completer. Our industry, carriers, associations, the training and most importantly the people and experiences have contributed greatly to who I am and the results I have achieved.

BILL ROSS
CEO, Insurance Industry Charitable Foundation

LHP: Why insurance? How did you get your start in the industry?

BR: I began my career with the Insurance Industry Charitable Foundation ten years ago after spending 32 years with the Walt Disney Company. I have enjoyed being a student of the insurance industry and working with many companies and industry executives.

LHP: Describe what you do.
BR: I am the CEO of the Insurance Industry Charitable Foundation. I have the pleasure of working with the industry and leading a unique charitable foundation funded and directed by the insurance industry.

LHP: Describe your target market. What needs do you look to address in your practice?
BR: We work and collaborate with all segments and regions of the insurance industry, including its many associations, advisors, consultants and vendors. We work to provide a united charitable voice for the industry while providing and guiding a nation — with grants, volunteer, and leadership programs.

LHP: Share an achievement you are especially proud of.
BR: In 2014, as part of our leadership initiatives and charitable fundraising, we conducted the "Women in Insurance Conference Series" comprised of four regional one-day conferences. Nationally, we involved over 1,300 women and men in a national forum/discussion on gender diversity in the insurance industry. More than 200 companies and 33 individual states were represented.

LHP: Share a story about a client you have helped.
BR: Through our four regional leadership boards we are making a difference in local communities across the U.S. More than 21 million dollars and over 180,000 hours of volunteer service have been provided through the united industry effort. We have involved thousands of insurance employees in supporting their local communities.

LHP: What excites you most about the industry today?
BR: The quality, talent, diversity, and excitement of insurance students coming into the industry today is quite impressive. Across the U.S., we have many outstanding insurance educational programs: St John's, The Katie School, California State University, Fullerton, and the University of North Texas, just to mention a few of the programs represented on the IICF Division Boards.

LHP: Discuss the charitable contributions you and your company have made.
BR: The IICF is committed to representing the insurance industry in the highest of standards. We are a reflection of the strongest industry brands and the commitment the industry makes to the communities where our employees live and work. Over the last 10 years the IICF has grown to be the largest united-industry charitable effort.

We have launched a national Early Literacy Initiative, working with our national advisory board and partnering with Sesame Workshop on an award winning early literacy program called "Every Day is a Reading and Writing Day." This newest national program is being shared by industry companies, champions, and employees.

Through the IICF Week of Giving we have involved insurance organizations large and small in the work of community volunteerism. This program is only one of many volunteer programs conducted by the insurance industry. Collectively, the industry provides millions of employee volunteers every year.

LHP: Explain why charity and helping others is so important to you personally and discuss how it affects the industry as a whole.
BR: I have always been active in the community, even from a very young age. All of the companies I have worked for always encouraged active community support. Leaders and companies need to give back to the communities who support their business and success. Insurance is like no other industry — it is involved in every part of life. Demonstrating our visible and active support of local communities and their needs provides a face to the industry and allows the community to see insurance professionals in a different light – that of engaged and compassionate community leaders.

CYNTHIA TIDWELL
President/CEO, Royal Neighbors of America

LHP: Why insurance? How did you get your start in the industry?
CT: During my last year of college I worked in cardiac rehab in one of the pioneer facilities in Scottsdale, Arizona. I stayed for a while after graduation, but it did not take me long to figure out that unless you are an MD, you can support the system, but it would be difficult to lead or control it. So, it was time to change.

I am sure you can see the line of sight from cardiac rehab to building a wonderful career in insurance! In my first job I did auto accident injury claims. They liked that I understood medical issues.

I let decision-makers know that I wanted more responsibility and I actively pursued feedback on my performance. I was, and am, committed to continuous improvement and learning. I tried to make my boss look good and always made sure he had no surprises or was caught off guard. Yes, I said "he," as I never had the opportunity to work for a female boss. Female role models were few and far between. Today it is different.

Along my leadership journey, the single most valuable decision I made was to cross functions.I had marched up the claims functional career path and was running a division. My CEO suggested that if I wanted to run claims for the company, he would only put someone in that spot that knew the entire business and had P&L (Profit and Loss) experience. That was all I needed to hear. The CEO let me take over a nationwide line of business; I got P&L experience and never looked back.

LHP: Describe what you do.
CT: Royal Neighbors of America is one of the largest women-led life insurers in the U. S. We are a not-for-profit, membership-based organization that provides life insurance and annuities to protect women and their families. As President/CEO, I am charged with continuing our vision of protecting women financially and empowering them to improve their lives, families, and communities. That includes ensuring that we meet the fiduciary responsibilities to our members by running a great business; that our members have the appropriate financial coverage for each stage of their lives; and that the guidelines of our nationwide chapter network of volunteers are met. Our philanthropic efforts are geared toward empowering women to get to a better financial place in three specific ways: our financial protection products, financial education, and philanthropic programs that help women "learn to fish."

LHP: Describe your target market. What needs do you look to address in your practice?
CT: Our market is middle and upper middle market women and their families with products geared to their needs and solutions during differing life stages and transitions. When initially looking to purchase a financial product like life insurance, many people don't think about how their lives will evolve as they grow. But life moves at a fast pace. There's college, marriage, new home, children, retirement, etc. We help our members plan for each stage and show them the appropriate product that will protect specific needs.

Also, our research tells us that this market is typically frustrated with financial services and is feeling underserved and misunderstood. Women seek simplicity, but stability with products and services for themselves and their families. They also prefer to buy from socially responsible companies. Royal Neighbors is the perfect fit for this market. As a not-for-profit organization, our business success funds benefits for our members and supports them as they make a difference in their own communities. So our members not only have the financial protection they need at each stage of their lives, but also know they are giving back through their membership.

LHP: Share an achievement you are especially proud of.
CT: I have been very blessed in my career and have many accomplishments of which I am proud. That said, leading Royal Neighbors as the CEO, being responsible and accountable for the entire enterprise while steering it back on course, is very special. Royal Neighbors is a unique business. Nearly 120 years young, it boasts of an amazing heritage that I'm proud to help keep alive. Being able to lead a great business while also giving back and being socially responsible is a wonderful combination. It feeds my passion of educating women about financial matters and making a difference where it counts — in neighborhoods across the country.

Our success over recent years has been recognized in many ways. One example was the Stevie Award for Turnaround Executive of the Year that I received from the American Business Awards, while another was the Athena Award that recognizes women of significant business and philanthropic achievement and impact. These awards demonstrate the collective efforts of a team which strongly believes in Royal Neighbors and what we do.

LHP: Share a story about a client you have helped. 
CT: Life insurance is there at the most difficult time for a family — the loss of a loved one. I knew a woman who did not think she needed coverage because she was not the major breadwinner in her family. After many discussions, she finally purchased two policies on herself, a term and a universal life. The term was there for financial protection at a reasonable price and the universal life was being funded to help with future college expenses for her daughter. Then the worst happened; she died suddenly and unexpectedly.  Her husband did not see why the coverage on his wife had been necessary. But months after her death, he told me that he does not know what he would have done without the financial protection. His loss was devastating and that will not change, but he could hire help to keep the family running, pay off the mortgage, and set aside what was left for future education costs for his daughter.  

LHP: What excites you most about the industry today?
CT: The future is amazing. When you can get up every day and ask, "Who can I help today?" and then commit to understanding their future needs and develop solutions; it does not get any better than that.

The future of products is also very exciting. They do not have to be overly complicated, but they need to serve more than one need for a client. There are many ways this will unfold in the future. In addition, the role of saving for the future, including retirement, is more and more important for clients to understand. The need is there. Just think about this statistic: 50 percent of people aged 50 have less than $50,000 saved for retirement. As I said, the need is there!  Life insurance and annuities can and should play critical roles in this necessary planning.

RYAN WHELESS
Co-founder, Allied Wealth Management

LHP: Why insurance? How did you get your start in the industry?
RW: A personal and heartbreaking experience led me to my career in the senior market. My grandmother's second husband, Bud, was killed in an automobile collision. A log truck driver fell asleep at the wheel and hit Bud head on at a stoplight, killing him instantly and widowing my grandmother. A wrongful death lawsuit was filed and my grandmother was awarded $750,000. Grandmother did not live an extravagant lifestyle, so $750,000 and a railroad retirement should have lasted her the rest of her life. Unfortunately, she gave the money to my Uncle Terry's broker on Wall Street and was broke by the time she was 70. I don't know how or what the Wall Street guys did with her money, but I do know she had enough to make it through her retirement and failed because of the Wall Street system. This has bothered and affected me my whole adult life, and now I have a chance to help people by properly positioning their savings to fund their vision of retirement, preventing what happened to my grandmother from ever happening to them.

LHP: Describe what you do.
RW: The events surrounding 9/11 forced me to retire from my career as a private pilot and change professions. My wife, Leah Wheless, was already seasoned in the industry, and together we formed Allied Wealth Management, now Allied Wealth. We ensure our clients' dreams for their retirement are achieved with safe, secure and simple strategies.

At Allied Wealth, we think it's incredibly important to give back to our community. When you attend any one of our seminars and give to the Wounded Warrior Project, we will match all donations and contributions. We also support Angel Flight, which arranges free air transportation for any legitimate, charitable, or medically-related need.

LHP: Describe your target market. What needs do you look to address in your practice?
RW: We target individuals who are ages 50+. We have recently seen an influx of younger investors and life insurance prospects though, who are in the age range of 38 to 39. Typically, these prospects are high-income earners in the industry of oil and gas, or in various fields of medicine.

LHP: Share an achievement you are especially proud of.
RW: I'm particularly proud of creating an environment where my clients are successful both before and during their retirement years. 

LHP: Share a story about a client you have helped.
RW: Recently, I met with a woman who attended one of my workshops who felt she didn't have enough money for me to talk with her about her goals for retirement. It took her a lot of guts to even set and keep the appointment. When she came in, I could tell she felt about two feet tall. She explained that she didn't have any money, and that she was sorry for wasting my time. I noticed that she was wearing a postal worker's uniform, so I asked her about her job and how long she had worked for the post office. She said that it had been 38 years! I knew then that what I was about to tell her would probably change her life. I asked her how much money she made, and she stated about $50,000 per year. I told her that she was due a pension when she retired from the post office; she stood to claim over 40 percent of her annual salary each year for as long as she had breath in her body. Tears started to stream down her face. She couldn't believe that after all of her hardships and worry that she would, in fact, retire with a guaranteed income in the form of a pension each year. This woman came to my office feeling two feet tall, but when she left, she felt 10 feet tall. We never wrote business with her; however, helping people like her every day is why I continue to do what I do. 

LHP: What excites you most about the industry today?
RW: I'm excited about the endless opportunities to help people achieve their goals and dreams for retirement.