PREVIEW
THE BOOK
Excerpt from Chapter 3
Kermit, the Wizard of Oz and The Royal Hangover
Excerpt from Chapter 5
Death Ground
Excerpt from Chapter 11
Ice on the Wing, the Angels May Sing
CRITICAL ACCLAIM
Gene Reiling writes:
"In The Insurance Wars, Tompkins tells every mistake he made and how
he solved those mistakes to build his agency from scratch into the
powerhouse it is today. In The Insurance Wars, the 'how not to'
is as important as the 'how to'..."
-Western Dakota Insurors
Rapid City, SD
Bruce E. Cook writes:
"I started reading it at four in the afternoon, and
finished it at midnight...I wish I read it 30 years ago; it would have saved
me literally millions of dollars."
-Aloha Insurance Services, Inc.
Kailua Kona, HI
WORDS OF WISDOM
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If your marriage is shaky, probably having
your wife help you in business for no wages is a bad idea. |
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Do no count on a loan until you are certain
you have one. |
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Network, network, network: when you are done
doing that, network some more. |
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Snowmobile racing can be hazardous to your
marriage. |
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Do not ignore good technology, even if you
are hard up for money. |
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Advertising can be fun and does not have to
cost you an arm and a leg. |
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If good employees show up on your doorstep,
hire them, even if you do not know if you can afford them. |
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You can still do handshake deals in the Old
West. |
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Death Ground One other reason
we were cash-short was that my wonderful banker had been harping on me to
show more of a profit. So in the fall of 1989, I had left some money
in the company to show we were doing better. Yeah, great--that cost us
an additional $8,000 in taxes! Wonderful advice and help from a bank
that was soon to shut us down anyway. Can you believe this stuff?
I know $8,000 may not sound like a bunch of cash. But when you are
already up against the wall, it seems like a very large amount...
...Heavy-hearted, I scheduled an appointment
with the "new" banker and went up to see him. I told him how I had
gotten Western Agency, Inc., lean and mean: how our sales, income, and
profitability were up; how we were writing more premium with fewer
employees; and how we finally had the agency on a solid course for recovery.
I showed him we had $90,000 in earned commissions coming in within a few
months. Once more I offered to bring my CPA in to help explain my
numbers if need be. With a face of granite he said, "But you still owe
us the same amount of money you did six years ago."
...Bankers are like blind bus drivers.
You, the borrower, are sitting behind them (Bankers) in the bus, shouting
directions as to when and where to turn, knowing these idiots could kill you
at any moment. No way, however, will they let you drive the bus.
You know nothing about it, right? There we sat with a vibrant,
excellently managed agency, moving ahead with strong sales, at a time when
all other agencies in town were reeling and losing premium; and this stupid,
cold-hearted fool was turning me down for a loan...
...My next best bet was Linda's parents, Don
and Darleen Ballantyne. Don, who passed away this past fall, was not
just my father-in-law; he was a good friend of mine. A tough,
self-made millionaire oilman, he was one of the best people I have ever had
the privilege to know. Also, contrary to all the jokes about
mothers-in-law, Darleen and I did then and do now get along great.
What super people! I got hold of Linda, and she and I went up to her
folks' place.
...My voice was shaking as I told Don I
needed to talk to him. He said, "Sure, let's go for a drive." I
do not really remember what we talked about until finally I blurted out,
"Don, I need some money." He did not ask me what for or for how long.
He did not remind me about having too many toys. All he said was "How
much do you need?" I told him $10,000. Without batting an eye he
simply wrote me a check for $10,000. At least for the moment, he and
Darleen had saved Western Agency, Inc. We paid them back 49 days later
with interest. |
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ORDER THE
INSURANCE WARS
ORDER
CONTACT INFORMATION:
(800) 735-4955
The Insurance Wars
408 20th Ave. SW, Suite 101
Minot, North Dakota 58701
info@theinsurancewars.com
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
 Chuck
Tompkins, CEO Western Agency, Inc., is a 31 year veteran of the insurance
business. Chuck started his career as a captive agent in 1973 for Farm
Bureau. In 1976 he started his own independent agency, Western Agency,
Inc., which has seven offices, seventeen employees, and writes over $12,000,000
in premiums excluding workers compensation insurance. Although Western
Agency, Inc. writes all lines of insurance, they specialize primarily in
contractors and farms. They are the largest single farm agency in North
Dakota insuring over 900 farms in the state at this time. Chuck and his
wife, Linda, live on a farm southeast of Minot and have six grandchildren.
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