10 Millennials Who Are Transforming Insurance: Caroline Pintabone

Caroline Pintabone

Commercial Lines Account Executive
Ahart, Frinzi & Smith
Phillipsburg, New Jersey

Age: 29
Guilty pleasure TV show: The Bachelorette
Favorite beer: Guinness
Preferred social media: Instagram

Why insurance?

I was a financial economics major. I should have listened to my dad, because when I first started that major my sophomore year, he asked, “What are you going to do with that? You have to pick an area.” Senior year I said to myself, “Oh my gosh, Caroline—what are you going to do?” I knew Tom Ahart from when I was younger—he coached his daughter’s softball team and we played against them (and won!). I knew he owned an insurance agency, so I called him and said, “Listen, I’m a financial economics major, I literally have no idea what I want to do, I need an internship to graduate and you wouldn’t have to pay me. Will you hire me?”

I started in January while I was still a senior in college, and it just grasped me. This is probably the reason I’m still into it—you are actually having an impact on a person. You’re protecting something that’s so valuable to them. That is what keeps me going.

Work/life balance?

We’re in an extremely flexible industry. I work from home one day a week, and it just makes sense. I get so much more accomplished when I’m in the peace of my own home. It’s a completely different vibe and I know that I’m a lot more productive. I’m going to get my work done whether I’m in the office or at home, where I can take an hour here or there to do whatever I need to do.

I can also work remotely—I can take a vacation and I’m still able to access my accounts and have calls forwarded to my cell phone. Obviously certain times of the year get a little more stressful than others, but I work with my employers and they work with me to allow me to balance my life in general.

Motivator?

I’m an account executive so I’m doing a lot of servicing, but I’m also expected to produce. When I’m in the office, I enjoy taking on the agency technology issues—modernizing the way we do things and teaching people how to multitask to make our whole system a little quicker.

Outside the office, what keeps me going is the opportunity to sell. There’s no limit to the income you can make within this industry. Finding those niches and markets you really want to go after and just knowing that the sky’s the limit—it’s an industry that’s not going away. We’re always going to need insurance, and I think the security of that makes it a little more attractive as well.

Biggest role model?

My biggest role models are my parents. They have worked extremely hard to get where they are today, and they enjoy life to the fullest. I’ve always envisioned that when I’m their age, that’s the way I want to live. My dad continually advanced his career to provide for our family, and yet my parents were still able to be extremely involved in all three of their children’s lives. That’s another reason why this industry is so appealing to me—there’s no income limit and it allows for a flexible lifestyle. I look at my parents and say, “If I stay in this industry, I can be like them one day.”

Millennial stereotype that fits you?

That millennials want everything at their fingertips and don’t want to have to pick up the phone to get an answer. That’s how I market my accounts—based on the company’s response time and how easy I can access them. I think I’m more productive because of my knowledge of and my adaptation to change. As technology advances, I want to learn it and apply it immediately.

Industry’s biggest challenge?

I think some people in the older generations are afraid of change. My agency is located in a very rural, older area. We’re trying to get people to expect their policies via email, and they don’t even want to do that. That’s our biggest hurdle—getting people to jump on board with the modernization of technology so we can work more efficiently and stop spending time mailing something or picking up the phone, rather than just sending a quick text message or email. I feel like we’re losing valuable time that we could be spending either expanding our client base or better servicing our accounts.

This article is the eighth in a series that profiles 10 millennials in independent insurance, based on IA’s July cover story. Keep an eye on IAmagazine.com and upcoming editions of the News & Views e-newsletter for more insights into how young people are working to secure the future of your industry.

Jacquelyn Connelly is IA senior editor.