I’m not going to give away personal details like my name, where I live, or where I work, but I do want to share how I got started in the insurance industry and what inspired me to start posting insurance agent memes online.

Growing up, I never planned to enter the insurance industry. I didn’t even know what I wanted to do. My focus was always on sports, and I went to college mainly to continue wrestling. In the spring of 2013, I graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Nutrition, under the assumption that having a degree meant job offers would start rolling in. Like many millennials, I was told my whole life that a degree was the key to landing a good job. Fortunately, I didn’t accumulate too much college debt, thanks to a wrestling scholarship that covered most of my tuition. But once I graduated reality set in fast when I couldn’t find work. With a wedding just three months away, I needed a job—any job. That “something” ended up being a position in the lumber yard at Lowe’s, making $10 an hour.🤔 I mean I did like driving the forklift around but I didn’t see myself working retail forever.

I’ve always been driven by results, and the hourly pay with no commission didn’t sit well with me. So, I started applying for any sales job I could find: medical sales, insurance, car sales—you name it. I literally went on indeed.com and clicked apply for job after job. But even the so-called entry-level jobs all wanted 3-5 years of experience, which made zero sense. I mean, I did go door to door selling paper subscriptions when I was 14, so I had some experience. I was even willing to move from my small hometown and began applying for jobs in the Seattle area. A family friend suggested I beef up my resume by listing my wrestling achievements, which included being a state champion and a two-time junior college All-American/National Champion. Funny enough, that was the thing that helped me get my first interview—the Allstate agent who hired me had wrestled in high school, too.

After a quick, impromptu interview trip to the Seattle area, I got the job offer as a sales producer. My wife and I found a place to rent and, in two weeks, we packed our entire life into a 4x8 U-Haul and moved.

Once I got licensed, I was thrown straight into the deep end of the insurance industry. My days were spent calling internet leads nonstop and faking it until I made it. It’s a numbers game, and I knew that as long as I kept dialing, I’d eventually close sales. With my athletic background I’ve always been very competitive and my goal was to beat everyone in the office for sales. But after a while, the grind really starts to wear you down. On the bright side, pain makes for great meme material.

Around 2016, meme pages were beginning to gain popularity on platforms like Facebook and Instagram. I started on Instagram, and back then, there were no insurance meme pages. After experiencing the stress of chasing a couple of office bonuses, I had more than enough material to create my own memes. If you've ever been part of an office bonus chase, you know exactly how intense and exhausting it can be. Being naturally creative, I suggested to my office that we should start an insurance meme page. However, no one seemed interested, so I decided to create one on my own as a way to blow off steam. It turned out to be incredibly therapeutic, which is why I kept going. Initially, I would post every few days, but now I can’t help myself—I find myself posting multiple times a day!

As my experience in the industry grew, so did the content I could create. Between 2014 and 2019, I worked toward getting my Certified Insurance Counselor (CIC) designation by attending annual classes. For those of you just starting out, I highly recommend it. It really helped me understand the ins and outs of ISO policy jackets and takes your game to the next level. The instructors are also E & O paranoid which makes for great content.

In the beginning, my memes were more geared toward the captive side of the industry. But since becoming an independent agent, you might’ve noticed that my content has shifted. This hard market has been a huge source of inspiration, and my memes help me laugh off some of the stress. With more business going to surplus lines, I’ve come up with a lot of “Acord Form” memes that hit home for a lot of us. I write a lot of business in California, so for anyone in the trenches here, you know how frustrating it can be with nonrenewal, inspections, brush zones, carriers leaving the state, and all the BS from the DOI. It feels like every stressful moment can turn into a funny meme. I do poke fun at underwriters quite a bit, but it’s all in good humor—I get that not every risk can be approved, and I know the pressure they’re under. But really, I had an underwriter last year try to cancel during the review period over a Christmas wreath on the client’s door. Make that make sense!

People often ask how I come up with my memes. Honestly, a lot of the time, I’ll be working and boom—an idea hits me. It could be a customer situation, a declined risk, or an inspection issue. To keep this meme page going, I’ll definitely need to stay in the insurance industry to keep the ideas flowing! It helps that I’ve watched a ton of movies over the years, so I’ll usually think of a movie scene or photo that perfectly fits the situation. Staying up to date with current events helps too—whether it’s Will Smith slapping Chris Rock or Travis Kelce shouting at his coach, anything can spark an idea. Plus, with so many apps offering meme and reel templates, it's even easier to get creative!

I hope my memes have brought you some laughs and helped relieve a little bit of the stress that comes with this industry. Don’t take my memes personally ( underwriters) and know that it’s all in good fun. We are all in this hard market together so we might as well laugh it off. Tell your coworkers to give me a follow on Instagram, Facebook, Tiktok, & LinkedIn. I’ve got more to say about various topics in this crazy changing industry, so stay tuned for more posts!