Adam Heuer

President
Heuer Insurance Agency
Sparks, Nevada

Age: 33
Guilty pleasure TV show: Deadliest Catch
Uber or Lyft: Uber
In your earbuds currently: Eric Church radio

Why insurance?

I’m a fourth-generation owner—we’ve got a long lineage. My great-grandfather started the agency back in 1929. I don’t know if there are many folks who really plan to be in insurance, but happenstance got me here. I was in between jobs in early college, started doing odds and ends, ended up getting licensed in life-health and then never left.

Agency footprint?

I’ve got 10 employees here including me, and we’re about 60% personal lines. Our book was built on personal lines. We’ve taken some market share into commercial lines, and that’s where I prefer to spend most of my time, but I also appreciate what personal lines does for the office in general. It really is what pays the bills. On the producer side, large commercial is obviously what pays their bills, but as an agency owner I see the consistency of personal lines revenue.

What’s to love?

Every day keeps you guessing. Whether it’s good or bad, no two days are the same. A lot of it to me is just about the relationships we build, whether it’s with my team here or our clients and everything in between.

Motivation?

There’s a lot of opportunity. I’ve seen this industry really provide for my family—I have a 16-month-old son at home, and insurance allows flexibility while allowing you to make a really good income.

Biggest mentor?

I think it’s typically who got you into the industry, and that’s my dad. I got to work with him for 13 years and he was in this business for 43 years, so he was just a wealth of knowledge.

Looking back, his perpetuation plan was spot-on. Once I hit that eight-year mark, I was involved in everything—every conversation, every email, every issue with clients, employees, carriers. He did a phenomenal job.

Millennial stereotypes?

The quickest one everybody goes to is we’re lazy, and maybe it’s because I am on the front end of it, but I feel like there’s a big percentage of millennials who have an old soul—we’re raised right. But maybe perception has something to do with it too. When people think millennials are lazy, maybe it’s just that we found a different way of doing something. So now, instead of spending 10 hours on something, we’ve found a way to do it in three, and then we get to enjoy the other seven.

Thoughts on Gen Z?

My son is 16 months old, can’t say anything, but he can unlock my phone, take pictures—it’s unbelievable. I think a real challenge is going to be people skills. That generation is really disconnecting with people. In this industry, you have to be able to talk to anybody at any time about anything, and it’s not over headphones playing a video game. It’s not Snapchatting. It’s an actual conversation. You’re going to lose every sale where you don’t talk to somebody. You might get it tomorrow, but they’re going to leave you just as quick if you don’t develop a relationship.

I do feel like that generation has potential to really shape the industry for the long run. We’re in a spot now where we have a lot of disruption, we have a lot of ideas, we have a lot of companies with ideas, none of which we know are going to work. By the time that next generation is in here working, by the time they have their hands on something, they’re going to be the ones who actually concrete the new way, whatever that new way is.

Industry’s greatest challenge?

I think the biggest touch we’re losing these days is the legislative side. I’ve been on the board of directors at the state level for about 10 years now, and my role this year is legislative chair. I go to the Big “I” Legislative Conference, and I try to go to the Hill here in Carson City every year. It’s a fascinating experience, and it’s so invaluable to our industry. I don’t think there are enough young agents getting involved with shaping the laws and the legislature that impact our industry.

That’s just our culture today—everybody’s so quick to get online and disparage or discriminate. People love to fuel everything, but the second they’re asked to help fix it, they’re like, “Well, just saying.” People are going to complain and want things to be different, but they need to do something about it. I would really suggest that folks get out and advocate for what they believe in, whether that’s personal or professional. We need more of a voice.

Future goals?

Given that we’re multigenerational family-run agency, I hope to carry that legacy on. There’s no guarantee, but as tough as this industry is, it’s a great industry. I can’t see anything better than to hope maybe my son takes it into the fifth generation. At the end of the day, if I could run this place for another 30 years, groom him and then the doors stay open, that would be success in my eyes.

Advice for a fellow young agent?

It’s a grind. You’ve got to be willing to work hard. You’ve got to be willing to work harder than anybody else. But if you can put in your time, you’re going to be successful. Be patient and good things will happen. As a good friend once told me, keep your head down, keep your ears back and charge forward.

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

Jacquelyn Connelly is IA senior editor.