Building Trust and Relationships: How Erin Neill is Making Her Impact in the Insurance Industry

In this episode of the Teevee The Marketer Podcast, Teevee interviews Erin Neill, the owner of Hanby Insurance, about her career in the insurance industry and her passion for educating people about insurance.

They discuss the importance of building relationships and trust with clients, and how networking and word-of-mouth referrals have been key to Erin's success.

Erin emphasizes being careful when selecting the cheapest options for insurance. We've all been there and had to make these tough choices at some point. She offers her thoughts on best practices when making these decisions.

Overall, the episode provides valuable information and perspective on the insurance industry and the importance of being protected in case of unexpected events.

Because in life you can count on the unexpected events happening.

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The complete saga with Erin Neill is out there in the wild, ready for your listening pleasure. You'll find it lurking in your favorite podcast corner.

Where might that be? Don't fret! Teevee the Marketer, is EVERYWHERE.

Now, you've got to promise not to let Erin & Hanby Insurance feel lonely out there on the Internet. Give them a little follow on their socials.

You can virtually high-five them on Facebook and Instagram right here:
FB: https://www.facebook.com/HanbyInsurance
IG: https://www.instagram.com/hanbyinsurance/

And don't forget their digital abode, the website, because nothing says 'I'm a fan' like bookmarking their homepage: https://hanbyinsurance.com/

Transcript

Teevee (00:00:00) - Welcome everyone to the Teevee the Marketer podcast. Today we are joined by Erin Neill of Hanby Insurance. She's actually been someone I've known for many, many years, over 10 years to be exec and is now my insurance person. And it's something I actually will be discussing later in the podcast because there's, it took a long time before I even did any business with Erin, but over the course of time, she just became a trusting person that I now get, she has almost virtually all my insurance businesses, so I don't know if you knew that, but Erin, welcome to the show. Um, if you would, please tell us a little bit about yourself.

Erin Neill (00:00:35) - Hey Teevee. Thank you so much for having me on today. So I'm Erin Neel, and I own Handy Insurance. Um, I've been in the insurance industry for 24 years this year, um, and it is something that I'm super passionate about and I'm just very grateful for the opportunity to be your insurance person.

Teevee (00:00:53) - Thank you. I, uh, this, uh, I said this a lot actually, 24 years, and you mentioned passion. Oh my goodness. I have a, a wasp in the house. How'd they make it up? Nine floors. I'm on the ninth floor of this penalty. Sorry. But  Harry, you said you were passionate. Tell me about that. What exactly can make you so passionate about insurance? Well,

Erin Neill (00:01:15) - Insurance is the number one tool that will protect your financial stability, if anything crazy were to happen, right? So most people, their biggest assets are their homes and their cars. So if they get in an auto accident or some crazy happens to their house, the best way to recover from that is by having insurance. And so my passion is just educating people on insurance and why it's important.

Teevee (00:01:38) - That's interesting how I, I actually never, I guess put it in that box. You're insuring people's biggest assets, um, which is valuable. You need something to protect that, that investment. How did you get into this, this 24 years? You don't look like you're over 30.

Erin Neill (00:01:55) - Well, thank you. Um, so when I was in college, I was working at the mall and I was looking for more of a professional career, I guess you could say. Um, I was in school to be a teacher and I went to the, um, I guess the college and Career Center is what it's called. And back then, I'm sure it's all online today, but they have big binders with, um, job descriptions in it. And I started going through a binder and one of the, um, things that really stood out to me was a receptionist position at an insurance agency. She

Teevee (00:02:28) - Started from the bottom, started

Erin Neill (00:02:29) - From the bottom, answering the phones. Back then we had all paper files and, um, I was a file clerk, so, um, just yeah, really at the bottom. And then I learned more and more about insurance and how it kind of related to education and teaching people about their insurance and decided it would be a good career path for me.

Teevee (00:02:47) - Fantastic. That's, uh, how, how old were you there?

Erin Neill (00:02:52) - 19.

Teevee (00:02:54) - 19. That's a great age to figure something out. . Yeah. Put a lot of years into it. 24 years of experience. That's insane. So when we met, how many years? You're 10 years in

Erin Neill (00:03:06) - About that. I think that we've met in 2010 or 2011, so,

Teevee (00:03:11) - Yeah. Yeah, yeah. And where we've met was East Dallas Network. It's, uh, a group, uh, one of the, to me, the best networking group in all of Dallas, but I haven't been to the other show. That's kind of a bias statement. , uh, it's a place that where I really started taking off with my business and, and learning when networking was when I got there, I didn't know. I didn't have a clue as to what it was. I just showed up and tried me friendly. I met you there. Um, and one of the big things that I definitely wanted to talk about in this podcast is when I started looking through everyone that I, uh, that I give my money to. And that takes care of my health to either invest it, protect it, uh, protect my properties, my assets, and protect myself. Um, every single person came from that, the East Dallas Networking family tree.

Teevee (00:04:00) - Um, so I trust people with my finances. I trust you with everything I like. It's, it's insane to me just how many of those people from that group ended up being someone that I trusted. And I guess just a big lesson for me was because, and what I learned in marketing is that especially in these kinds of things, it takes a lot of time to gain trust. And you never ever sold me on anything. Like you just were a friendly fight face and you were kind whenever I asked questions and you were just fantastic. Like how, how, what's your thought when it comes to trying to find new clients?

Erin Neill (00:04:38) - Um, for me, I'm relationship based, so I guess relationship based marketing is the best way for me to get new clients. Um, and then I, I, I do a couple of the networking events, uh, or groups now. Um, like I did back then. I kind of got out of it for a while whenever I got married and, um, started having a family. But I didn't necessarily miss the new, the, the business aspect. I miss the relationships. I miss seeing people every week or every other week. But, um, you know, sometimes owning a business is kind of on an island, right? And so all around other business owners, you're right. Um, it just gives you a great place just to realize, like, I'm bought out here all by myself, so I still do some networking. Um, but I actually get most of my business from word of mouth.

Erin Neill (00:05:29) - So referrals from current customers. Um, I really enjoy dabbling in, um, online seo. I manage my own website. Right? Um, that's, yeah, one of the things that we used to talk about, um, back then, and so I, I, I mean, you get clients multiple ways, right? Like, it's not just one way, like, it's a whole bunch of things that all come together. But I think that the key of it, key to it for me is just relationships. Whether somebody finds me online, on social media, um, or out in the community, I wanna get to know them as a person

Teevee (00:06:02) - In a world where we're bombarded with insurance commercials and advertisings. Uh, I used to be with, um, was it Geico? The Geico, um, anyway, for literally, and I've, I've actually watched sports from down to time. I've watched the, like the Cowboys or nba and I'm just counting how many insurance commercials come on. Sometimes they'll be back to back to back and it, it's, it's insane. But there's obviously they popcorn pour a lot of money into it. As a marketer and advertiser, I've actually also read that they also have some of the biggest market shares. Cause they have the biggest budgets that they can spend to give, so people can give 'em a chance. How are you able to differentiate yourself? Is it just the relationship, like you stated?

Erin Neill (00:06:46) - Um, I don't think it's just the relationships. I think part of the way that I differentiate myself is by educating my customers. So really talking to them about what their insurance means. What do their liability le me limits mean? What does that look like for them if they do have an auto accident? Um, I also differentiate myself, because unlike a lot of those carriers that have the big marketing budgets, they've only got one option. So like, if you call Geico, um, on the auto side, you're only gonna get a quote from Geico. It, you give a quote for homeowners insurance, they'll quote you with whoever they have in this region. In Texas, a lot of times it's travelers. Um, state Farm, only at State Farm, um, Allstate agents typically only have Allstate. But at my agency I represent multiple companies. So I, I work for my customers to make sure that they're getting the best coverage and a great price. And that way when something happens with one company, I can go back and recheck everything and see if there's a better option somewhere else. So it's more, again, about serving the customer and not just putting everybody with one company, because that's all I

Teevee (00:07:51) - Have. So I told you, I, and you know, this obviously a you, but for your audience, , I actually, she you've always been in the back of my mind and everyone, so a while I'm actually drive walk Rockwall. Um, where, where are you based? At Rockwell. At Rockwall. And recently even Senior Billboard. I was like, I

Erin Neill (00:08:10) - Know her ,

Teevee (00:08:12) - Is this still there?

Erin Neill (00:08:13) - Yeah, I have two of them now.

Teevee (00:08:15) - Oh, wow. Look at you. Um, so I had a, I had a Dico and I, I've been happy with them, it's fine. Uh, but I thought about getting a test. So I started, uh, looking into insurance. And I don't have a Tesla, by the way, to your audience. Um, but I thought about it. So during that process, I actually was Googling insurance in the process for that. What were the complications? What should I be aware of? And I had questions. So I remembered you and I said, let me just ask Eric. Erin should know. Aaron knows every, and that's one thing I ed about you, you, we know everything about this stuff, um, called you. I was on the phone with you for a while, uh, and I don't remember if it was right away or days later now, I thought to myself that one way or the other, I was gonna give you all my bits for the car. Well, for the car that I had, and I think even at renters, and now you have three of them. But I remember that the reason for me, the deciding factor was I wanted someone that I could speak to was, to your point, um, there's a lot of automation out there, especially with Geico and all. You're not talking to any anyone. Um, and that can be very convenient. But I have questions. I want a human being and someone that I trust. So is that outdoors?

Erin Neill (00:09:29) - Yeah.

Teevee (00:09:30) - I thought it might, I thought it might have been indoors. I was like, oh no, do you have to leave the building here?

Teevee (00:09:35) - Like, oh, cracks. I literally thought that. But I remember just making that decision. And then of course, my sec my, my older daughter got a car. Mm-hmm. , my younger daughter got a car. So it was really an obvious choice to go with you. And that I trusted that you would look around and try to find the deals that were ne that you could get. And also, and I think this is one of the things that a lot of what I've learned, cuz a lot of people will find the cheapest insurance that I, I see them all the time, Abby, what would be a reason to not just get the cheapest insurance, in your opinion?

Erin Neill (00:10:09) - Um, so what a lot of people that don't realize and is the liability limits that you choose on your auto insurance are really important, right? And the liability is what it pays for the other guy. So if you got in a car accident and you rear-ended somebody, um, they said they got hurt pretty bad. How much is your insurance gonna pay for that person? Um, and I don't like to say that's gonna like talk about bad things, but let's say they, they died. Well, do you only have the state minimum limits in Texas, which is $30,000? Let's just say it's a Geico, they're gonna write a check for $30,000 and then they no longer have a duty to defend you at all. So you just had this really bad accident, it was your fault, something horrific happened and now that person's family's getting $30,000 and if there's any kind of lawsuits or anything like that, you can personally be held liable for that. And so as somebody who wants to make sure that your assets are protected, we recommend that you carry much higher limits. Um, and that's why, and the same thing happens on the property damage side. So the state limits for the state minimum limits for property damage in Texas are $25,000. As of a few months ago, the average price of a new car was $47,000. Oh

Teevee (00:11:28) - Wow.

Erin Neill (00:11:30) - If you have those state minimum limits and you just accidentally totaled somebody's brand new car, well now you could personally be on the hook for that different. And so, you know, most people are like, oh, I just want the cheapest. And if it's the minimum and that's what the state says, I have to have, that's what I want. But they don't realize the ramifications of that decision, which is, you know, if you have any type of assets at all, even though if you plan on earning money in the future, they can come after your future earnings.

Teevee (00:12:00) - I've never thought about

Erin Neill (00:12:01) - That. And so, you know, don't they'll just buy the cheapest insurance buy my stance on it is to buy the most insurance that you can afford. Yeah,

Teevee (00:12:09) - I, I mean, I remember being just 15, 20 years ago, I wouldn't have been able to to buy anything past the minimum. But once I really figured out, so I actually sat down with another insurance person and they were explaining to me the very same thing. And I hadn't, hadn't put that together. I said, the un uneducated, you don't know what you don't know. I seem to say that every podcasting, you don't know what you don't know. Um, but when you buy them the bare minimum, it'll cover you in, in case you get pulled over. And I think a lot of us as well, you're core or you're struggling and you're just trying to make ends meet. Um, you're just trying to make sure that you're, you have the bare minimum as far as the staying concerned. But when he broke that down to me, essentially what you said, I'm like, oh crap, that's actually a relatively high probability of somebody getting hurt in these accidents.

Teevee (00:12:58) - You see them every day and take for granted that it's happening to people every single day when we're driving and we're stuck in traffic, it's like, oh damn. Um, they screwed with traffic, but somebody got into an accident and somebody could really be damaged and hurt. And the the ram ramifications of that are huge. So as soon as I could, I started to actually have a little more, um, to ensure, insure yeah, ensure with insurance that I was gonna be able to at least protect myself. Now the idea that you just said about it, them going after your future earnings, now that's crazy. I didn't even consider it, but he didn't mention that. Um, that's huge. That's, that's painful. That can hurt generations down the line. Right? Well, um, I'm glad I'm with you. I'm, like I said, one of the things I, I recently got a car out of the blue because I needed to give the other car to my kit and I just texted No, no, I emailed you, Hey Aaron, here's the information. What can you do for me? And off you it uh, or was it your assistant may have been your assistant point is I really, really personally now at this point in my life, appreciate having people that I can talk to. Um, so I love your business model. How was it when you were first starting out though? Was it a challenge? Was it because it takes time to build this portfolio appliance, I'm assuming? Yeah,

Erin Neill (00:14:17) - So it does. And it was really hard. So when my first 10 years in the insurance industry, I was with a captive company and I was with Nationwide. They've since gone independent and they have all the same carriers and stuff that we have now or a lot of 'em. But back then I was kind of used to that one carrier model and the first thing I had to do was learn how to deal with multiple insurance companies and learn the ends and the outs of each company and the coverages that they offer. And then I also had to learn how to get clients because the company that I was with had one of those big advertising budgets. And I very quickly realized that I did not see . And we, yeah, very quickly, um, when I was sitting there going, why is my phone not ringing?

Erin Neill (00:15:00) - Well, nobody knows about you. Uh, and that was also right before the days of social media. You know, now when people change jobs, they can just go put a blast out on Facebook and you know, half of their contacts find out, you know, within 24 hours or whatever. Um, but back then that wasn't the case. And so I was like, okay, I have to figure out how am I gonna make this film ring? What is that gonna look like? So at the learning curve of figuring out all the companies, then I had to figure out, okay, what is the best way to market? Um, and I did, I started with my friends and family and I kind of made a list of people that I did business with to reach out to. Um, also when I first started, I worked a part-time job at a tanning salon in the evening.

Erin Neill (00:15:40) - So I would work my insurance business during the day, as in after work I would go clean up sweaty tanning beds and I started giving my card to the tanning salon client saying My day job is an insurance agent. And, um, I still have some customers from the tanning salon. Oh, you kidding? No, I'm not. Um, but I just, I've always, you know, my whole life I've been a relationship based person. Um, it's like I meet people and I kind of put 'em in my pocket, like you and I met Peace Dallas, and um, that's pretty gonna put it, we've just been friends forever, right? Yeah. Um, since then. And so I've just kind of done that my whole life. So I started kind of with my, my network, um, and then just branched out from there. I started a referral program for my current clients, asking them to send me business back then all I could afford was a $10 gas card to the Shell Station, but I would send them a $10 shell card every time.

Erin Neill (00:16:36) - Uh, now we sent $20 to Amazon, um, . I know, but, um, well everybody has it and now have customers that are all over the state and some I'm even outta state. Oh, okay. And, you know, move. Yeah, I would, I used to try and do things locally, like a local car wash or something like that, but then I would send it to a customer that's down in Austin. Well, yeah, I'd come to Rockwall to get their car washed. Um, so anyway, so I, I started with a referral program. Um, and then also when I started insurance agents didn't have social media and they didn't have websites. And all of my mentors were like, oh, you can't, you can't do a website. Somebody will, you know, sue you cuz it's something you say on your website or on social media. Um, can you give coverage advice online? And um, I started reaching out on Facebook to other young agents that I saw were doing it. And so I started a Facebook page. I set up my very first website. A friend of mine helped me with it, um, and just kind of grew from there in those avenues. But that's really how I got started. And it, it wasn't easy. It was really hard actually , but, uh, very grateful for it. How

Teevee (00:17:46) - Long before you, you were convinced how long before you quit the tanning salon?

Erin Neill (00:17:51) - I worked at the tanning salon. I gave him a one year commitment and I think it ended up staying 18 months.

Teevee (00:17:56) - Um, and how long before you realized or there was a point where you had to quit and you made this your full-time gig and you felt good even that this is, this could be your long-term gig.

Erin Neill (00:18:07) - It was right around the 12th month mark, so I told them when I started. Um, but they were having a hard time there finding, um, and I can't think of the word right now, but I dependable, dependable health in the evenings cuz you know, most people that work at attaining Salon are, you know, high school, early college kids and I was in my, you know, late twenties and um, I just really needed the cash. So I said, yes, I'll be your night manager. Um, I'll do her one year. And um, about the year mark, I was kind of, cuz I was working the insurance office from eight to five and the tanning salon from six to 10 or six to 11, and then the tanning salon on the weekends too. So, um, it just started, you know, I started doing more marketing. I started going to, you know, more of the, the networking stuff, um, that really needed to focus on for the insurance agencies. So at 12 months I went to only working the weekends at the teaming salon and then maybe one night a week if somebody called in or something and then at the 18 month mark I was like, okay guys, I we're done for an now and they're still friends of mine, so, but they, they helped me, you know, get my start

Teevee (00:19:10) - So first somewhere. Yeah, yeah, sure. I love the, um, the hustler mentality. You just trying to do whatever you can to bridge the gap between working for someone and, and ending up, uh, doing the thing yourself. Tell us about Hand Be why Hand Bee insurance? So

Erin Neill (00:19:27) - Hand bee insurance was a big blessing, uh, for me. So when I very first started, um, I started from scratch. So not only, um, did I not have any name, um, my cousins owned a agency in Denton, Texas. And um, it was one of the, it's actually still one of the five oldest businesses in Denton. Oh wow. Um, Ray King Insurance is the name of it. And they kind of helped me get started because as an independent agent, like you don't just go out, get an appointment with travelers like they're, but you can get started under an umbrella and build a book of business. So that's what I did, um, through my cousin's company and it worked really well. They ended up forming a company called Agents Alliance that helps other agents get started at the business. Um, and, but I was their very first scratch agency, well, after a couple of years, um, they had also owned Hambi Insurance and um, they originally wanted it to be a second location for their agency outta Denton, but it didn't really pan out that way. And so, um, they gave me an opportunity to buy it in 2011. And so I bought Hambi and then for a couple of years I tried to be Hambi Raymond King or, and finally I think it was 2013, I just dropped everything but Hambi and branded, the Hambi agency

Teevee (00:20:42) - Was Hambi around in that area before it was an established brand. Oh yeah,

Erin Neill (00:20:47) - I should have finished that. So yeah, so Hambi, sorry. Hambi was the oldest insurance agency in Mesquite when I bought it. It was founded in March of 1940. So we just had our 83rd birthday. Um, and it was family-owned until my cousins bought it in 2007. So the Hambi family owned it. Mr. Hambi started it in 1940 and then in 1974, his son-in-law took over and then ran it until 2007 when my cousins bought it. Um, so it, it it's a well known, um, Hambi Stadium and Mesquite is named after the founder. Uh, and the, he had the elementary and Mesquite is named after the founder's nephew. Um, and then there's a street named after the founder's mom or wife. Um, I can't remember now, sorry. Um, but yeah, so Hambi is really well known in Mesquite, um, and has been there forever. And so that's why it was such a blessing to get to buy that agency and I felt like I had a lot to work with on the brand. Yes. Um, because I do really enjoy marketing and so I was able just to take it and, and run with it. But that's, that's the history of Hanley.

Teevee (00:21:50) - Interesting. My daughters went to school in Mesquite and I think I've seen the various things you just mentioned and never put it together. Um, I knew part of the story but I just guess I didn't know it all. . That is super neat. So my daughters will, when they listen to this, I hope they listen to my podcast. Um, who will uh, get a kick outta that cuz they both graduated. Uh, well one's graduating this year from from North Whiskey.

Erin Neill (00:22:15) - Pamela, I'm an, I'm a Lady stallion too. No

Teevee (00:22:18) - Kidding. I got, tell 'em, I just interviewed a lady stallion  Long, I, I'll tell from that. It's funny, elder

Erin Neill (00:22:26) - I never got made fun of until I went to college and they were like, oh what stallion. So you were a lady stallion? Yes, we were , yes.

Teevee (00:22:37) - I don't know what else could be other than a lady

Erin Neill (00:22:41) - Stk.

Teevee (00:22:41) - Thank you for that history. Listen, it's always, I enjoy listening to this, the backstory, especially in this case where you um, you purchased an established brand that's a great, great opportunity. Uh, love that you, you literally rattle with it from the moment I met you. You were already doing seo, you doing marketing, you, you were doing things that uh, at the time you're still actually one of only a handful of people that have actually done that kind of thing from the moment I met them. So kudos to you. Um, it's really not surprise to me that you had, you had something, um, and it's pretty impressive and it's stupid cool. Cause I, that was the other thing I was wondering, is she still in business at her? So when I, when I started thinking of you, um, I actually had trouble thinking of Hailey but I um, and so quick disclaimer, yes, on Facebook I have everything turned off.

Teevee (00:23:34) - The new seat is turned off so I don't see anything there and if, if I did that because I'm always in Facebook doing ads for my client and the last thing I need is to be distracted with the news seat and like, oh no. Um, and off I go. So I hadn't seen anything from you in years but I knew that we were friends and I was like, I sure hope that she's still in visit us. Of course, sure you're killing it. Especially unless I saw the billboard. That's one of the coolest things to me in terms of the networking is as I drive around town I'll see people that I know well, like they're marketing their advertising their bands or whatever their gear and it's like I know them, I've known them for years like so neat. So congratulations on, would you say 48? No, 68 80

Erin Neill (00:24:19) - Third. Oh

Teevee (00:24:19) - God I need their way off. I need to write this up down next time. 83rd anniversary this year of being in business. Wow. Cool. Um, what are things that people should keep in mind when it comes to insurance? Whether it be home insurance or auto insurance, things that, questions that they should be asking but don't.

Erin Neill (00:24:39) - Um, the first thing I'd say, and it's gonna probably sound cliche coming from an insurance agent, but it's not all about price. So, um, we kind of touched on that a little bit in the beginning, but I've never known anybody that just had like a fire at their house or um, you know, a major auto accident that's like, oh sure bla I bought that cheap insurance. Right, right. You know, and so don't say so hung up on the price. Uh, when it comes to auto insurance, the minimum limits that you should be buying are a hundred thousand, um, per person bodily injury, 300,000 per an accident and a hundred thousand property damage. And that's the minimum, that's a minimum that we recommend in this office. Um, but if you do, you know, decide to purchase what we recommend, we also recommend that you look into an umbrella policy that would give you an extra million dollars in coverage and you can go up to five 10, even the 25 million umbrella.

Erin Neill (00:25:34) - Of course you have to go through another market to get up to the 25 million mark. Um, but you can get more than just those minimum limits. So look at at least a minimum of 100, 300 on your auto insurance. Um, if you're wanting to save money on auto insurance, especially right now with the market being so tough, the best way to do that is by the telematics. So I know all these commercials are out right now, like don't mess with my discount or, um, what's another one? Drive and save. I think, you know, there's just all these ads out there. Well most of the companies have come up with their own version of the telematics, but you gotta be careful. So it's an app that you put on your phone and it'll monitor your driving. Um, most of the companies, about half of 'em have a period of 90 days.

Erin Neill (00:26:23) - Um, more and more of them are going to um, a full-time. You just keep it on there all the time and it monitor your driving. Um, but some of the companies will raise your rate based on that data. So if you're gonna look into the telematics, I would ask, will this raise my rate and how long do I have to use it? So like I said, most of the time it's a period of 90 days and it will not raise the rate. Um, but some of 'em it's more permanent and it can raise the rate. Um, and that's about it on the car insurance side. I mean there's other coverages you should have such as uninsured motorists about one in five people driving around out there don't have any car insurance. Um, so you really should look at having some uninsured motors, um, coverage Now on homeowner's insurance, I always say, um, buying insurance isn't like buying bananas, right?

Erin Neill (00:27:12) - Like you can go buy a banana at Walmart and you can go buy a banana at Kroger and then if you're gonna get a banana, right, might taste a little different maybe depending on where it's from. But you know, for the most part a bananas, a banana. But when it comes to insurance, you know, while we are regulated by the Texas Department of Insurance, every single carrier out there has a different policy. And on homeowner's insurance you can go from one company to another and maybe save $300, but you could be losing coverage like damage to your foundation caused by water or repeated leakage and seage of water. Um, another one is additional replacement cost. So there's a lot of companies out there that don't even offer those endorsements and because people think buying insurance is like buying bananas, they don't even think to ask that.

Erin Neill (00:28:03) - So, um, really get into the endorsements and you know, it may be worth $300 for you to carry those coverages. Um, in my office I do every quote for homeowner's insurance just like I would in my very own home. Um, and then if you don't want the coverage, you can obviously take it off, but I don't want to give you the cheapest quote out there and then go, oh, but you should add this and this and this and now here's the rate. I would rather just give you what the rate is with what I recommend and then if you wanna take something off you can. Um, another insurance that's very often overlooked is renter's insurance. And now more and more apartment complexes are making their tenant area renter's insurance. It's a mandate. Um, yes, so, but be careful because a lot of times when you buy the renter's insurance through the apartment complex and they just tack it onto your rent, it's only covering liability.

Erin Neill (00:28:56) - It's not actually covering your stuff. Well, you want coverage for your stuff, right? Like if you're gonna pay $8 for the cheap insurance through the apartment complex, why not pay 15 or 20 and actually get your things covered? Um, and you usually get a discount on your auto insurance that can almost make the renter's insurance free. Um, but if you don't live in a house in an apartment, a lot of the houses out there for rent are owned by individuals or smaller operations and they aren't requiring that renter's insurance. And nothing makes me sadder than to see somebody that just had a house fire or something crazy happen and they were in a rental and they didn't have any renter's insurance cuz it's really cheap. How, how often do you say would you say that happens? Well I don't always find out about it because they don't have insurance, but I was saying on my old personal Facebook and I don't get on there that much anymore either cuz I'm just like you, I'm busy and if I'm on there, I'm usually trying to just find out how to work one of my apps or my cat has diabetes, so lately I've been on the diabetic cat app, you know, like I'm not out there just kind of scrolling newsfeed, but at least once or twice a year it comes across my feed.

Erin Neill (00:30:04) - One of my contacts, somebody they know didn't have insurance. Yeah,

Teevee (00:30:08) - I guess what I was thinking is it's just more common than we, we we know. Right? Um, that's the point of it All this accidents and I I'll tell you yeah, started elude, elude to this, to this earlier, I actually have this really hate relationship with most insurances just because it seems like almost any time that you actually need something, they make it really difficult, whether it be health insurance, uh, all the, all the health insurance especially they make it so challenging to actually get what you've been paying for, for maybe decades before actually needing it. Um, so knowing, but at least knowing that if you got the most protection, the the protection that you need and having somebody to advise you because everything you do see is ba not primarily, especially on the freeway. Everything you see, once again majority what you see is saving money.

Teevee (00:30:58) - It is about getting the cheapest rate, it is about getting fair minimum, like we were the cheapest, but it comes at a cost. There's just some, some realities to it all. And that's when I guess getting older makes you wake up to that like, well I can get it for $20, but what is actually being covered with those $20 in case a real accident happens? Right? Um, so having someone like said, just giving them the options and then allowing them to make a decision is better than trying to own like a gotcha at the end of the thing. Like, oh, you could add these things later. Yeah. Um, so very much appreciated as someone that, sorry, hates insurance. , I really like you though.

Erin Neill (00:31:36) - Not most people don't like insurance and, and that's really hard to you right now, especially in the insurance market that we're in. I feel like no, every day somebody is mad at me and I'm like, well, I don't set the insurance rates. Those are set by the state. You know, the state actually has to prog approve the insurance rates that are out there. Um, so insurance companies can't just raise 'em to whatever they want. And you know, Texas Department of Insurance approves all of those rate. Um, and then if you think about it, my billboard doesn't say anything about saving any money. It's just my mugshot and, uh,  while ago, ,

Teevee (00:32:08) - You don't say you're the cheapest and some of them are literally say cheapest insurance, right? Almost free insurance says that there's just, as you get older, you need to recognize that everything comes at a cost. If you're getting the cheapest at what cost, at what expense, if you're getting the most expensive, there's a reason Ever heard something quote that I love is if it's it's the best. It's not the cheapest. The cheapest, it's not the best. And knowing that, keeping that in mind like, all right, what concessions do I have to make as a consumer? What am I okay with? How much risk am I willing to take? Um, and if you're okay with it, then so be it. But knowing that it could be ugly, like you should be protected, you should have enough to at least, uh, absorb enough of that impact in me. Well, if, if it were to happen, um, transitioning into the future, what are big, what are your plans for Hand Beat and Airy?

Erin Neill (00:33:00) - Um, so my plan is to stay here at Hanby for another 20 years. And, um, you know, I love my career. Don't plan to go in anywhere. Um, I would like to see em b can continue to grow and continue to educate people out there on their insurance and you know, why they should carry good coverage like you just said. Um, and why they, why they should have a personal agent. But yeah, hand be is gonna be around for a long time. You know, we've got nine people here in our that are all here to help.

Teevee (00:33:28) - I love that. I love that you're growing. Um, nothing gives me joy. They knowing that the people that I like, uh, and the people that I, that I pay  are doing well. Um, and I just wanted to bring someone on to, to talk about insurance. Cause like I said, I hate it and I'm sure most people hate it, but it's a reality light, unnecessary tool. So if I could bring on my agent, uh, and have her share some of her insight and tips, uh, for managing it all, uh, why not? And I'm really, really grateful. Thank you for the opportunity. Um, where can people find you, your insurance company? Where can they, where, where are you on Thews?

Erin Neill (00:34:08) - So our website is just handy insurance.com. Um, and then our phone number, if anybody still wants to call us,  is (972) 285-0381. Um, but yeah, if you just type in Hanby Insurance or my name in the Dallas area, we should pull up on the web and pretty easy to get in touch with, um, MB insurance on Facebook as well. Um, but yeah, we would, we would love to help. And we have a page right online where you can go in and request a quote. Um, another thing that's really cool is you can just upload your declarations page directly to us from our website. Um, so if you would like us just to kind of give you recommendations, because sometimes people, they'll say, I'm looking for the cheapest insurance, and I'll tell 'em like, you have a really great rate, but I see a loophole here. And if I were you, I would call your agent and see what it would cost you to bump this up or make this change. Um, but yeah, we, we love doing, you know, insurance analysis. I love talking about insurance all day. So if you call and ask me an insurance question just like you did with the Tesla, um, I'll talk about it. ,

Teevee (00:35:17) - I love it. Thank you so much. Um, I will make sure to include all the links to her various platforms, um, in the show notes and whenever we share it. Um, thank you so much for being a guest. Uh, you're my first one in a wild. I'm gonna continue to do these and bring people that I, I trust and respect in, in business, Aaron, to share with the world and see what happens. Hopefully Anna, everyone, and learns a little something. Thank you for educating us all.

Erin Neill (00:35:41) - Well, I'm glad I could. And again, thank you so much for bringing me on your podcast. Um, I have a lot of respect for you and excited to be a guest. Thank

Teevee (00:35:47) - You everybody. Uh, until next time, this is the Teevee the marketer podcast and have day bye.