I hail from the world of Management Consulting, which quite possibly will go down in corporate history as the single most confounding marketing ploy ever conceived for young, hungry college graduates. “What’s that, you say? You’re gonna let me fly four times a week, live out of a suitcase and off room service, develop closer relationships with car rental agents and hotel receptionists than I have with my family, work 160 hours a week, obtain a Masters in Microsoft Powerpoint and get to tell the world I’m ‘advising clients’? Where do I sign?  Oh, my soul too?  Sounds good.”

So yeah, I needed a change. I was fortunate enough to be made aware of an opportunity to join Bankers, which at the time I’d generally understood to be in the Insurance business. Granted, I then knew a sum total of zero about Insurance.  Not really exaggerating, either – I’d seen the car insurance commercials with the President from “24” (who also played the voodoo designated hitter in Major League, right?), the cavemen who I guess were selling insurance, and the little talking lizard. But I literally didn’t know much else.

But – as I’d mentioned before, it was time for a change. Plus – I thought, “I mean, how hard can it really be? It’s freaking insurance.  You pay some money, if something goes bad, you get a check – boom.

I was wrong. To the newcomer, it’s pretty darn complicated. The lingo alone is enough to drive one to madness – carriers, reinsurers, PML, at-risk, non-at-risk, TIV, MGAs, TPAs, mayonnaise, Willie Mays. Not to mention all the regulatory complications, various distribution models, product variability, etc, etc. This is supposed to be my full time job, and it seems confusing – so I can appreciate how confusing it probably seems to folks outside the insurance business. So how have I been getting by so far?

Well, for one thing – relying on the experts to translate for me. The good news is, there are people out there who actually understand this stuff – and are willing to translate for normal people like you and me.  Also, I try to read the basics like our See Through Insurance blog.

So, if you find yourself needing to make sense of Insurance – take heart.  Believe me – it’s not you; it’s the industry.