Jenni Mathis

Personal lines producer
Williams, Turner & Mathis, Inc.
Tucker, Georgia

Age: 29

Guilty pleasure TV show: “Game of Thrones” and “The Office”

In your earbuds: probably something by Macklemore

The app you can’t live without: Weather App

Spotify or Apple Music: Spotify

Netflix or Hulu: Netflix

Why insurance?

My mom owns the agency, but for the first 27 years of my life, I refused. I did not want to do it. I tried it one time for about three months, back in 2013, and I just was like, “I’m not meant to be behind a desk—this is not me.” So I pursued my passion, which is wilderness therapy. I was an expedition leader for children with autism, Asperger’s, ADD, ADHD—it was a lot of working with kids with special needs, where we would go on a three-week canoe expedition or a three-week hiking expedition. And then I did a similar thing down in Texas, where I worked at a more all-inclusive camp for both children and adults with special needs.

After doing that for a couple years, I decided, “You know what, it would be really cool if I didn’t have to sleep outside in a tent 300 days of the year. I’m tired of drinking coffee with bugs in it—I’m ready to live inside a house.” So I gave insurance another go. I worked for State Farm in Texas because that’s where we were living—my wife was the assistant director at the camp where we met, so I worked for the enemy for a while just to learn. I discovered that, much to my dismay, I liked it.

So I used to navigate the risk of a river or a hiking trail, and now I navigate the risk of people’s lives. It’s kind of funny, because my mom had kept telling me, “You’ll be really good at insurance! You should do it.” And I was like, “No, absolutely not!” And then my wife one time was like, “I think you should do insurance—I think you would like it!” And I was like, “Yeah, you’re right! Let’s do it.” She obviously became the favorite daughter-in-law in one moment.

What’s to love?

I have tried to do pieces of commercial, but I really like personal lines, because I love hearing everyone’s story. You kind of have an interview with every person you help, and that forms a connection. Someone says, “Oh, we just bought this new piece of art,” or “We got a new car”—it’s all these pieces of people’s lives, and you get to help out as you get to know them. I like the puzzle of it. I like how not every person who walks in the door has the same story. You think it’s just a boring desk job, but there’s a lot more to it.

Work/life balance?

In the end, as much as you want to make is how much you’re going to work. I might come in on a Sunday morning and work for four hours, but I’m by myself, in jeans and a t-shirt. I don’t have to work on the weekend, but I do because I feel like I’d drown otherwise—I just have so much to do. But it’s nice, because you have that ability to you can work at home if you want. It’s easy to find the balance.

I work a lot with the youth group at the church I grew up going to. I go on a mission trip with them every summer as a chaperone, which makes me feel really old. I’m like, “No, no, no, I’m just here to hang out, guys. I’m one of you.” My wife and I hang out with them a couple times a month, helping facilitate, so that’s where I get to use my major.

We like to eat food, go to breweries—just explore all the areas of Atlanta, because Atlanta is such a cool, vibrant city. There’s so much to do. We recently finished up a donut tour of Atlanta, and the next one will be tacos.

Embracing change?

I went to the Principals Academy with the Independent Insurance Agents of Georgia, and when I got out, my first thing was changing our management system. That was my first baby project, because we just weren’t working as smart as we could be. We put together an implementation team of a couple people who worked in the agency, and they did an amazing job. We went from Applied TAM to Epic, which is super user-friendly. We’re still learning stuff—just today I did something and was like, “Oh my gosh, I didn’t know we could do that.” We’ve only been in it for a few months, but I love it so much more than the other system.

Millennial stereotypes?

I don’t like labels—maybe that’s my millennial stereotype. I don’t like being called a millennial, but I don’t mind being a millennial, either. Sure, I’m a millennial, but we’re cleaning up the world and we’re making things better.

Future of the independent agent?

I think the independent agency is kind of like a craft brewery, in a way. You can go to State Farm, but it’s just going to be like a Budweiser. You come in to an independent agency and it’s local and you’re like, “Man, this is cool—I haven’t had this IPA policy before.”

Biggest career mistake?

My first year here, I had the mentality of sell, sell, sell. That’s a great mentality, but it was quantity versus quality. So then I looked at what’s still there and what’s not from the renewals, and the people who were just looking for price left because the price went up. That’s going to happen.

So now I’ve changed my mentality from sell, sell, sell to really focusing on selling the quality versus the quantity. That helps insureds, too, because I’m making sure, “OK, everyone’s getting an umbrella, everyone’s getting life—I don’t care what you say.” It’s harder work, but it’s also better because I know the person I’m helping is going to see how much work I put into it, and they’re going to be there until they don’t have a car anymore. They’re going to be there until the end of time.

Advice for a fellow young agent?

A career in insurance is kind of like when everyone’s saying, “Oh, wow, this is a really good show,” and you watch the first two episodes and you’re like, “Ehh, I don’t think it’s for me.” You have to at least get to episode five. It’s not right away that you’re going to be like, “Ah, this is it! I understand!” You’ve got to get through the licensing and learning, but once you get your wings, once you’re able to kind of do it on your own and you get your footing, it’s really fun. It’s really cool. It’s just not instant gratification. Give it a little time.

Jacquelyn Connelly is IA senior editor.

This interview is the seventh in a series that profiles 10 millennials in the independent insurance industry, based on IA’s July cover story.