Howard Beatty is an exercise in gratitude. In fact, the past three years have been a whirlwind for him.
“I got engaged, got married, got a home, had two babies – and opened up the agency,” Howard recounts. “I’m blessed.” Howard’s agency offers insurance of all kinds: home, auto, life and commercial.
It's more than just a business. It's an opportunity to show gratitude by giving to others.
This mindset stems from when Howard, a high-school state and national soccer champion and competitive collegiate wrestler, was forced to rethink his life after a serious injury.
“I identified as an athlete,” Howard says. “I had to find my new purpose.”
I hear an athlete’s mentality when Howard talks about getting into insurance. “I thought, ‘If I can have a career be just like a sport, there's no reason I can't get to where I want to go,’” he explains.
He moved from Illinois to Troy, knowing only one person. “If my back’s against the wall and I have to do something,” Howard acknowledges, “I will do it.”
The restart worked: Howard got all his licenses in three months. While working, he adds.
Every athlete understands the importance of a strong team; Howard’s has been together since the beginning. “Among all the teams I’ve been a part of,” Howard notes, “this one's the best at doing a great job and being proud of their work.”
To become an insurance expert, Howard again drew on his athletic past. “How I got really, really good at sports,” Howard says, “was I competed with older kids, I practiced with older kids.”
So he found himself a mentor. “She’d been with State Farm for 37 years,” Howard recalls. “I took that as ‘that's a person who can really help me.’”
He spent night after night mining his mentor's years of experience, learning every aspect of insurance. The opportunities for changing lives and expressing thankfulness to others – and to the community.
“It blossomed into a really great friendship,” Howard says. "I’m very thankful for her mentoring me, even when maybe I wasn’t as easy to lead as I would be today.”
As a kid, Howard says he “made a lot of mistakes.” The blessing: those mistakes opened him up to others’ gifts. “You can learn anything from anybody,” Howard declares.
I quickly learn a lot about insurance from Howard, as he rattles off at least eight carriers he represents and each one’s specialty. Howard has many clients who’ve benefited from that wide range of offerings.
“A client put his car in reverse, had a heart attack and died,” Howard recounts. “The vehicle kept going backwards into the neighbor across the street’s garage.” Fortunately, insurance covered everyone and everything.
Thankful for peace of mind.
Then there's the Disney-loving couple with thousands of dollars of Disney memorabilia in their basement. You guessed it: a flood. But Howard had insisted all the Disney treasures get itemized. “I made them give me the documents,” Howard laughs. “So they got those replaced.”
Thankful for protection. And a little humor.
Howard’s attention to detail is apparent: to obtain a qualified health coverage letter for a client, he boggles my mind by asking no fewer than nine questions – ones I never would have thought of. The letter was letter-perfect.
“When you're knowledgeable about what you do,” Howard replies, “it's a lot easier to do what you do. I want to take things off people’s plates, relieve them from things that I do every day.”
Since opening in November, Howard’s staff has grown from two part-timers to five full-timers.
“I still remember at two in the morning, doing my business plan while feeding Howard (his son, Howard V) a bottle. Now we have almost 75 five-star Google reviews. It definitely wasn't easy, but anything worth having never is.”
I wonder if there’s anything else Howard wants to say; he gives me the perfect quote to end the story.
“Life happens. Insurance makes it a little better.”
Visit hbivinsuranceagency.com to meet with Howard.
“When you're knowledgeable about what you do, it's easy. I want to take things off people’s plates, relieve them from things I do every day.”