For Tennessee insurance agent Roger Kane, life as a
Farmers agency owner wasn’t busy enough. Three years ago, he ran against three other candidates to become the state representative for the state’s 89th district – an area that includes Knoxville.
Although sponsoring insurance-related bills isn’t a top priority in his work with the legislature, he stays active in the industry and says both aspects of his working life are very fulfilling. And when he gets to combine them – witness the 2014 passage of a bill that made sinkhole insurance an optional feature on Tennessee homeowners’ policies – it’s even better.
A University of Houston graduate with degrees in business administration and history education, Kane got his start with Farmers Insurance Group in 1988. Initially working in claims, Kane eventually became a special investigator and in 1996, he moved to Tennessee to handle personal lines claims in Knoxville. By 1999, he was managing his own agency.
The most helpful piece of advice that got him there? The importance of continual connection with potential clients.
“Follow up, follow up, follow up,” Kane told
Insurance Business America. “We pick up more business because people quote with us and we follow up until they make their final decisions. Recontacting people does take time and effort, but it’s an easier way to get business in the long run.”
Kane added that the best agents are good listeners who address all of a client’s concerns – whether that means through their own agency or referring them to someone else.
Kane is so committed to improving the industry, he’s taught with financial services training company Kaplan Financial since 2007, training more than 3,000 insurance agents.
The enjoyment of connecting with others – as well as his love of his new state – led him to run for public office.
And the marriage of his two major interests has worked out well.
“I love Tennessee – everything about it and serving the people who live here,” said Kane. “And from an insurance standpoint, the beautiful thing about my community is that nothing happens: no tornadoes, no hail and no flooding. It’s a very wonderful place to be.”
