Good Neighbor Podcast: Frisco

EP 271: Debunking Health Insurance Myths with Your Local Good Neighbor: Blake Terry's Journey With Terry Family Insurance

• Sophia Yvette

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What makes Blake Terry with Terry Family Insurance a good neighbor?

Ever wondered why finding the right health insurance feels like navigating a maze blindfolded? Blake Terry of Terry Family Insurance joins the Good Neighbor Podcast to pull back the curtain on a critically underserved market - health insurance for entrepreneurs, small business owners, and early retirees.

Blake shares his fascinating journey from spending 18 years in the golf and hospitality industry to founding his own insurance agency just months before the COVID-19 pandemic hit. With no backup plan and unwavering support from his wife, he built a thriving business despite the unprecedented challenges. His story serves as an inspiring testament to perseverance and finding purpose through helping others secure affordable healthcare.

The conversation tackles persistent myths about health insurance, particularly the misconception that DIY shopping is the best approach. Blake reveals how independent agents can unlock twice as many options as consumers find on their own, often at better rates. He also explains why health insurance pricing varies so dramatically between individuals - even for identical plans - based on factors like age, health condition, zip code, and income. For entrepreneurs, 1099 workers, small business owners with fewer than 20 employees, and those who retire before Medicare eligibility at 65, these insights prove invaluable.

Blake's mission extends beyond selling insurance policies. Through his weekly newsletter and social media presence, he educates clients about maximizing benefits, cutting costs, and finding tax savings opportunities. His message is clear: everyone needs a health advisor as part of their professional support team. Check out TerryFamilyInsurance.com or follow Blake's weekly newsletter on social media to learn more about topics like child-only healthcare, managing insurance between jobs, and avoiding common plan selection mistakes. Your health – and wallet – will thank you for listening.

To learn more about Terry Family Insurance  go to:

https://terryfamilyinsurance.com/

Terry Family Insurance

682-268-0520



Speaker 1:

This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host, Sophia Yvette.

Speaker 2:

Welcome to the Good Neighbor Podcast. Are you in need of a family insurance company? Well, one may be closer than you think. Today I have the pleasure of introducing your good neighbor, blake Terry, with Terry Family Insurance. Blake, how's it going today?

Speaker 3:

Wonderful Thanks for having me.

Speaker 2:

Yeah well, it's wonderful to have you on and we are so excited to learn all about you and your business. Can you tell our listeners a little bit about your company?

Speaker 3:

Absolutely yeah. So we are a health insurance agency. We specialize in providing health insurance solutions for entrepreneurs, families, small business owners and early retirees those that are looking for insurance until they age into Medicare at 65. We are right here in the DFW area, local, but we serve families in over 40 states, so nationwide, and we just are really passionate about, you know, ensuring people get affordable health care that provides the benefits you know that they want to need.

Speaker 2:

Oh yeah, I know that's a big issue right now, but back to you for a second, Blake, how did you originally get into this business?

Speaker 3:

Yeah, great question. So the early part of my career, I served about 18 years in the golf and hospitality industry. So I really enjoyed that. But just kind of got to the point to where, as with hospitality type jobs and a family, the hours and the weekends and the holidays just weren't really working for me. So kind of looked for other opportunities and just coming from like a servant, you know, kind of career, if you will, in the hospitality industry I enjoy helping people and finding solutions. And kind of career, if you will, in the hospitality industry I enjoy helping people and finding solutions. And kind of stumbled across health insurance and just really saw that it was an underserved market, especially for individuals that we really serve, which are those that are kind of on their own for shopping for their own health care, whether they're business owners or entrepreneurs. What have you so, kind of over the course of about six months, led into this and we're really enjoying it.

Speaker 2:

Now, Blake, what is the most common myth or misconception you come across in your industry?

Speaker 3:

Yeah, there's quite a few, as you can imagine, I'm sure, with any industry, but I think really the top two are the most common are. One is certainly it's a. It's a product that you can do yourself. However, doing it yourself, looking online, et cetera, you kind of eliminate about half of your options. An independent agent can really expand your options, which is obviously going to have a much higher probability that you're going to get a more affordable rate or better coverage or a combination of both.

Speaker 3:

And then the other misconception, I think, is price. I think one of the things that makes shopping health insurance so confusing is that it's not like most other products where the price is the price you know. You may pay a few pennies or dollars more or less at one store versus another. Health insurance pricing can vary drastically from one person to the other, even if you're buying the same plan. That's just because plans are priced on age, overall health condition, income, the zip code or county you live in, age, overall health condition, income, the zip code or county you live in, as well as numerous other factors that can drive the price up or down, depending on what those factors are.

Speaker 2:

Wow. Now Blake, who are your target customers, if you can ideally narrow it down to about three different niches, and how do you attract them?

Speaker 3:

Sure. Well, first, we're a hundred percent referral based. So it's you know, clients referring us, people we've helped in the past, or just you know kind of being local in the community. I doing this podcast today and the word getting out. Our target clients are mid to high income entrepreneurs, realtors, trade jobs, consultants, people that again aren't offered benefits because of their work status, 1099 type workers, small business owners when I say small business owners, specifically businesses that are less than 20 employees, all the way down to just you know one, the business owner we have a lot of success with helping them with affordable coverage and high enrollment with their employee demographic. And then, of course, there's a lot of people that, when they get ready to retire if it's pre-65, one of the biggest concerns is how to obtain health insurance and then whether or not they can afford it off of whatever their retirement income is going to be for those few years from their retirement age until they turn 65.

Speaker 2:

So, Blake, have you ever thought about doing your very own podcast?

Speaker 3:

I've thought about it but not acted on it. You know I'm a pretty busy guy and you know I like doing things the right way and I know it's a lot of work and time consuming. So at some point down the line maybe, but I'll leave that to the experts like yourself.

Speaker 2:

For now, Now let's go ahead and switch gears. Can you describe a hardship or life challenge you overcame and how it made you a better and stronger person today? What comes to mind for you? What?

Speaker 3:

comes to mind for you.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, well, I think the first thing that pops in my head is really just the career change that I made five, six years ago, going from what I'd done for almost 20 years to starting a business from scratch.

Speaker 3:

And, as it turns out, not only did I start that business from scratch, but it was just a few months prior to COVID. So that just kind of added to the challenge, I think, and the stress level of not being able to meet in person, not being able to kind of get out in the community and spread the word, as well as just the challenges that we all faced during that time. But I think, you know, for anybody that has started their own business or is looking to kind of, what got me through it is, you know, I had a wife that supported me 100%, that was a cheerleader for me along the way, as well as just not having a plan B. You know there was never a backup plan, so it was just whatever it took and as long as it took, and just, you know, overcome it and get it done, and I'm blessed and thankful that it all worked out.

Speaker 2:

Well, that's amazing. Yes, faith can get you through the hardest challenges. Now, blake, please tell our listeners here one thing they should remember about Terry Family Insurance.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, I guess the biggest thing is that I mean we just believe that everybody needs a health advisor. I mean, just like you need a good team of people around you, whether it's to help with tax planning and business planning, whatever it may be realtors, I mean, there's a lot of experts out there that can save you time and money, as you, you know, are searching for solutions in different areas of your life. So, whether it's something you need now or maybe in the future, just that somebody if it's not us, somebody like us, you know should be in your corner so that you can definitely cut some costs and have a better experience. As you know, we all are going to need health care at some point.

Speaker 2:

So, Blake, how can our listeners learn more about Terry Family Insurance?

Speaker 3:

Yeah. So first off, I mean, of course you can visit our website, which is just TerryFamilyInsurancecom, but I think the biggest thing that people might want to tap into is on social media, whether it's LinkedIn, facebook, Instagram we post a weekly newsletter. That newsletter is really, you know, for any and everybody. It focuses primarily on maximizing your health benefits, regardless of your plan, cutting costs and unlocking tax savings. Some of the most recent topics that we focused on are child-only health care, shopping for health insurance in between jobs, as that happens to all of us at some point in our life and career, and then why your health insurance plan disappointed you, which just kind of dives into maybe common mistakes that people make when selecting a health plan and maybe what they can do differently in the future to have a better outcome.

Speaker 2:

Well, Blake, I really appreciate you being on the show. We wish you and your business the best moving forward.

Speaker 1:

Thank you for having me. Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor Podcast. To nominate your favorite local businesses to be featured on the show, go to gnpfriscocom. That's gnpfriscocom, or call 469-221-9345.