This New Brunswick insurance executive has always been driven to succeed and make the most of her opportunities – a trait she developed in childhood.
“When my friends were playing with Barbies, I was out cutting grass and running errands for my neighbours, to earn income,” says Angela Walton, a commercial account executive with Wilson Insurance in Fredericton, N.B. “I have always been driven by income. That is why I love being on the commercial sales side of things – I can work as hard as I want, and if I work hard, I can earn more money. I’m never stuck.”
Walton, who is one of the contenders for the Top 30 Elite Broker title in the December issue of Insurance Business magazine, got her start in the banking industry before making the jump to insurance.
“I had 17 years in the banking industry – my main position was bank teller, but I would cover off different duties. Opening new accounts, safety deposit boxes, things like that,” she told Insurance Business online. “Then when I was working for this one finance company, part of my role was to follow up for confirmation of insurance. I became familiar with the different lingo, and I thought ‘this is interesting,’ because depending on what you are financing, you always require different types of coverage. So I decided to leave the banking world, I thought I would give insurance a try.”
The Top 30 Brokers ranking measures and recognizes the leading insurance brokers in Canada. Those that make it into the Top 30 will join an elite group of insurers, with the rankings appearing in the December issue of Insurance Business magazine.
Those interested in taking part in the survey can go to www.insurancebusiness.ca, or click here. (continued.)
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Walton started out at a different brokerage and was there for seven-and-a-half years before moving to Wilson Insurance, where she has been for the last two years.
It was a move that revealed her success in the industry.
“I get a large part of my business from referrals. I know when I switched brokerages, a lot of my clients followed me, and that is a nice compliment – because I know I am doing something right when they follow me,” she says. “Being from the community, I know a lot of people; and I am very active in the community. I would like to think when people are looking for an insurance quote, they think of me.”
Wilson Insurance is the largest, independently-owned and operated insurance brokerage in Atlantic Canada, with 53 employees and three offices.
For Walton, her ties to the community have facilitated her growth as a broker.
“I like to think I have a personality that people are comfortable with,” she says, remembering a story of how her days as a youth have built life-long relationships that remain today.
“The mayor of our city, who has been the longest-serving for Fredericton,” says Walton, “when I was 10 years old I would listen to the radio to try and win concert tickets. At the time, the mayor was the radio announcer. He remembers me being 10 years old to go pick up my tickets – and the times I didn’t win, he still had tickets for me.” (continued.)
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That relationship remains.
Born and raised in Fredericton, Walton is the business ambassador for the city and sits on the board of junior achievement as an advisor.
But it is those ordinary, everyday contacts that Walton has found to be the most rewarding.
“I just wrote a $23,000 account,” she says. “I was boating on the lake, chatting with someone I know, and they introduced me to another person who I didn’t know. Of course you talk about business, what you do, and his renewal just happened to be coming up in that month. And I said, ‘Do you mind if I give you a call when we go back to the office on Monday and book a date and time?’ and he said, ‘That would be great.’ I wrote it up that day. It was so natural.”
Those wishing to enter the Top 30 Elite Brokers list must complete their entries by November 15.
