Today we’d like to introduce you to Jonathan Kitchens.
Hi Jonathan, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My father was in the insurance industry for roughly 45 years, so I had always grown up around it. He began our agency in Richmond Hill back in 2002, and I started working with him in 2004 as a type of assistant while in college at Armstrong Atlantic State University with the idea of going into physical therapy. I ended up getting my Property/Casualty and Accident/Sickness licenses in 2005 and began as a producer for him. It became clear to me pretty quickly that I thoroughly enjoyed the business and working with my father long term had an appeal that many other jobs didn’t provide. My father is my hero and getting to spend that kind of time with him everyday was awesome! Getting so many years of experience with someone who you look up to and who has so much knowledge of the business was invaluable for me. As time went on and he was looking towards retirement, I had to look into stepping into the agency owner role as opposed to being a producer in his agency. I became an agent with our carrier, COUNTRY Financial, in December 2018. My father retired in the summer of 2019, and I took over our agency at that time.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
To begin with, taking over was a smooth transition, however, 2020 hit and everything changed. The landscape of the business changed post COVID and navigating that without the presence of my dad in the office was tough. It was also a challenge going from being a family only business to being the only one and having to find employees who wanted to not only work hard, but cared about the clients and the family feel we try to create here. But we managed to not only get through those initial trials but we were able to thrive…we were able to achieve our companies annual top All-American Award in 5 consecutive years to start out my career.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
As an insurance agent with COUNTRY Financial, we pride ourselves on bringing a quality product to the market. We hear a lot of people ask for the “best” insurance, and what they are really looking for is the “cheapest”. In what area of our lives do we ever equate the best with being the cheapest?? The industry’s way of marketing has certainly impacted the way the consumer looks at insurance, and I don’t believe that is necessarily for the better. At COUNTRY Financial, we do not set out to be the cheapest, but we do set out to be the best. My team and I are blessed to be backed by a company that is always at or near the top in all areas of client satisfaction when it comes to the products we sell, the services provided, and the claims assistance received. We strive to bring personalized service to our customers and meet with them to tailor their policies to fit their needs because insurance is not one size fits all. We know consumers can go online and buy insurance in an instant, but we believe that as local insurance experts that we provide significant value to our customers being able to meet face to face, get to know our clients, and truly caring about protecting what them and the things they works so hard for each and every day. Whether that is the home and auto insurance, or their life insurance to protect their family’s way life if the unthinkable were to happen. Being able to present a check to a family when that happens is the hardest part of this job, but also one of the most rewarding knowing that we did our job in meeting the need that our clients had and providing that help in some of the darkest of times. Our service truly is what sets us apart.
We’d love to hear about how you think about risk taking?
Insurance is all about managing risks! I have definitely taken risks with some the changing of some sales tactics that I was not familiar with when I originally started in the business. My father was never much into the selling of life insurance. We sold some here and there in my time with him but nothing like what I do now. I learned from some of the other agents and Financial Reps with our company some different ways to use life insurance, and it wasn’t/isn’t a concept many people are aware of. Again, many people want the cheapest thing when it comes to life insurance. However, if you know the living benefits of permanent life insurance, your outlook on what you spend on it will change. Learning the ways that it can be leveraged to provide cash flow later in life has drastically changed my business and the way we sell life insurance. Originally, I would have called you crazy if you told me to show someone a premium of $10,000+/year life policy, but now it’s almost normal and makes planning appointments with clients quite fun!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://agents.countryfinancial.com/usa/ga/richmond-hill/jonathan-kitchens
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Jonathan-Kitchens-Country-Financial/100063598411423/
Image Credits
Lauren Hearn Photography
