Kim Mathews

Principal
Associated Insurance Services, LLC
Indianapolis

Age: 28
Guilty pleasure TV show: The Walking Dead
Favorite beer: Two Hearted Ale from Bell’s Brewery
Preferred social media: Instagram

Why insurance?

My uncle and grandfather were really big in the insurance industry, so I grew up knowing about it. I worked for my uncle’s agency for about a year before I went to college, but it wasn’t until I actually moved back here after college that my aunt and I decided to go into it as partners, as a woman-owned agency. I had a job, but I wasn’t super happy with it. This was just a great opportunity to be part of something new in an industry that is recession-proof. After living through the crash of the mortgage crisis and everything, having a career that’s never going to go away is something I thought a lot about. We opened our doors March 1, 2012.

Now, the thing I like the most is that every day is completely different. I’m a list-maker, but I learned early on that making a to-do list is not feasible in this business. It’s constantly reprioritizing—you have a multitude of things you’re trying to get done. I really like to jump around and experience different things. I don’t like to be doing one repetitive thing for a serious amount of time. So that’s really been appealing to me—it keeps it fresh, it keeps it fun.

Work/life balance?

I go to a lot of meetings before work and a lot of functions after work. To me it doesn’t feel like work, which I know isn’t true for everybody. But I’ve gotten really involved with some young professionals groups, so it’s really cool to be able to promote my business and meet other people but also learn about them in sort of a social circle. We go to a happy hour or we go bowling or something like that, so it is kind of mixing the social and the work. A balance is important. I definitely take a lot of weekend trips and try to get away and out of my head for a little bit. But overall, it’s fun. I think in our generation, we find a lot of ways to combine work and life.

Motivator?

Being a good leader and a good support system for my employees. My major in college was management, which is funny because I think I’m the only person I know who actually uses my degree. But I really love that piece of it. Everyone’s had jobs where they didn’t have a great boss or they didn’t have a good team vibe and the culture, so that’s really important to me—learning from what I’ve known at other places and trying to make this culture really supportive. I want my team to feel like we’re all in this together.

Biggest role model?

Definitely my uncle. He had an agency for about 25 years and he’s now in a different industry—sort of the other side of insurance, the restoration side. He’s my go-to when I have those questions that I’m not sure about, when I need some advice. I call him my Yoda. He’s been there, he’s done that, he knows some of the trickier situations. And the way he deals with people, the way he treats his employees and his strategic partners—he’s just been a real role model in terms of being there to help serve others first. I call it business karma: If you’re reliable and you’re a good person, it comes back two-fold.

Most annoying millennial stereotype?

That all we care about is our phones. I hear a lot of people saying, “You guys just don’t even know how to communicate with people,” and I would actually argue the opposite. I was born in ’87, so I remember a time before the internet or smartphones, and then we kind of grew into that. At least for my friends who are millennials, I think that face-to-face communication is still really important. I would almost argue that we might be the last generation that really values that as much as our parents and our grandparents did. Gen Z grew up on the internet with an iPad in their hand.

Millennial stereotype that fits you?

Adaptability and embracing change. The thing I love most about my job is that I get to bounce around and work on a lot of different things in any given day. Our generation, because we’ve seen so much change in our lifetime, is able to adapt. From what I’ve seen with some of the boomers, they seem to be a lot more stuck in their ways. On the one hand, it’s good because they’re really loyal and they’re really strong. But then on the other hand, this is the type of business where you have to go with the flow. Things are constantly changing and that helps set you apart if you’re able to do that.

Industry’s biggest challenge?

One of the things I hear from people a lot, especially my friends who are millennials, is, “Why would I call an agent when I could just go online and get my own policy with Progressive or GEICO?” What I always come back with is, “I could theoretically go online and get a will through LegalZoom, but do I want to rely on the internet to create my will? I would much rather talk to an adviser or somebody that can help me draft that document.”

The value we add is two-fold: 1) being a trusted advisor and 2) being a liaison. If you’re with GEICO and you have an accident and you need somebody go to bat for you, nobody at GEICO is going to care. But if you call me and I know you, that’s no problem. We’re advocates for our clients. Part of the challenge with technology is being able to convey that value to people and why it is important for them still to have that personal relationship.

This article is the seventh 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.