Quincy Branch is a national Young Agents Committee Member and a second generation insurance professional who, like many agents, was bit with the entrepreneurial bug at a young age, establishing a supply company which served MGM Mirage and Southwest Gas . While attending University of Nevada, Las Vegas, he decided to follow in his father’s footsteps and enter a career in insurance.
Today, Quincy is president and CEO of Branch Benefits Consultants and a member of the national young agents committee. Below you will read his take on his journey into the insurance industry.
Since I’m a second generation insurance agent people always assume that insurance was my lifelong dream. Well that couldn’t be farther from the truth. My father started in the insurance business as a door-to door life insurance salesman in Louisiana. During the summer I would “ride along” with him on occasion more so to hang out with my dad, less so to fuel a deep fascination with how insurance worked. After riding from house to house in the country heat, I sort of made up in mind that if this is what insurance was I would never do it.
My father’s career progressed and our journey brought us to Las Vegas. I would “help out” around the agency, but it was mainly cleaning the office running errands type stuff. As I was finishing my degree I began to “work” more closely within the agency doing filing, cleaning and bookkeeping activities. After I got my degree and I was at the agency everyday doing the bookkeeping for the agency, my father mentions that since I’m there every day, I should get my P&C license. His logic was that we would then have a licensed agent in the office at all times. He assured me that it was strictly for formalities and that I wouldn’t be called upon to sell anything.
So I accepted the challenge, self-studied and passed the test to get my P&C license. And true to his word I really wasn’t very active with my P&C license and I was ok with that. About 8 months later he advised that in an effort for me to be well-rounded I should go ahead and get my L&H license. So again, self-studied, passed the test and got my L&H license.
After securing that license he came to my desk and said congratulations we are starting an L&H division and I want you to head that department. Within months of “getting my feet wet” we were able to secure an 800+ employee group so my intro into the benefits world was baptism by fire.
The thing is from the first moment I loved this line of insurance and every day I am so thankful that I am working in the insurance industry. Every day is a different adventure and all those lessons I learned early on in my career are definitely paying off for me under my new role as agency owner.
If you would like to share your story about being a young agent, contact Susan.Bonner@iiaba.net.