Amber Bosma

Vice President of Operations, Partner
Prins Insurance Inc.
Sanborn, Iowa

In 1996, she wanted a job and Prins needed a processor. Over the years, she worked as commercial account executive, office manager, and accountant. Eventually, she and three colleagues purchased Prins, and today she’s head of corporate human resources, IT and financials. “I like to be busy,” Bosma says. On her desk sits the statuette of a female elephant that symbolizes her approach to life and business.

YOUR ELEPHANT?

At #TeamPrins, we believe in a culture of belonging, and elephants resonate. When a mother is about to give birth, the other elephants in her herd surround her. They stomp for her to encourage and protect her. Sometimes you need to stomp for others, whether it’s a customer with a claim situation or a teammate with a challenge. But when it’s your time of need, it’s OK to let others stomp for you. I didn’t get to where I am by myself. I was given opportunity. I believe in passing that on. The joy of my job is seeing other people succeed.

YOUR MOTIVATION?

I like to be challenged and always learning. While some nuances are the same, every client presents an individual challenge. I love that.

KEY TO SUCCESS?

We independent agents are good at building and maintaining relationships. But the key is understanding how each client wants to be served. Yes, we need to understand who they are, but we also must be willing to reach them on whatever level they need, through whatever communication medium they want.

WHAT DOES THE CHANNEL NEED TO ADDRESS?

Perception and promotion. I asked my two kids the other day, “Do you want to take over the agency?” They looked at me like, “Why would I?” I told them, “Obviously, I have not shared with you …” I went into my whole spiel about what a great industry this is. But the common perception is that it’s about sales. We need to promote insurance as a varied industry providing a lot of opportunity. We need to be proud of the work we do. We need to promote how important to society as a whole insurance agents are.

WHAT KEEPS YOU ON COURSE?

Ours is a legacy industry. If we want to grow and evolve, we need to give back to the industry that has provided us so much. We need to leave the insurance industry in a better place than where we found it. That belief led to my long-term involvement with the Applied Client Network. I served as chair for two years and still serve on the board of directors. It also led me to serve on the board of the Society of CISR (Certified Insurance Service Representative, a designation of the National Alliance for Insurance Education and Research).