Insurance is more than a commodity

Ben D. Smith‘s foray into insurance started when he realized banking was not the long-term career for him, shortly out of college. With his finance degree from Texas Tech University and his prior business experience, he decided to pursue a production-minded insurance role. Twenty-five years later, Smith now serves Higginbotham Insurance & Financial Services as managing director for the firm’s McAllen, Texas office – covering everything from managing the daily local operations to attending to the needs of his own clients. Insurance Business reached out to Smith to learn more about his career philosophy and his industry insights. In this interview, he shares how the internet is changing the way insurance businesses are dealing with their clients. He also talks about how he wants to change the way some carriers advertise and promote themselves. Smith: Almost everything - computers, online rating systems versus manual rating books and rating by hand; fax machines versus emails and scans; working in an office versus working at home options; hard copy photos being developed and mailed versus Google searches at a moment’s notice.