Adam Wirthlin

Commercial Lines Producer

Turner Agency

Greenville, South Carolina

After dropping out of college, Wirthlin served in the U.S. Army for four and a half years as a fire support specialist and paratrooper. While military service brought great experiences, Wirthlin realized he needed a new occupation when, in 2022, he was deployed on Valentine's Day—leaving his fiancé behind.

“That one hit hard," he said. “Once we got married and decided to have kids, I wanted to make sure I was always there no matter what and doing something a little bit safer."

Now married, Wirthlin has found insurance is a great fit. “It seems like a complete 180 from serving, but the skills I learned in the military set me up for success in this field, like attention to detail, leadership and commitment," he says.

Skills carry-over from the army to insurance? 

Forming relationships is a really important skill. When you’re in the army, there’s a ton of different people from all around the country and the world. When you meet so many people who didn’t grow up exactly where you grew up, it’s much harder to start forming relationships. 

Encouragement for fellow vets to consider an insurance job? 

A lot of people who join the military have a desire to help people. They want to do something that feels good. If you’re saving somebody some money or finding gaps in their coverage and keeping them safe, it’s a good feeling. 

Overcoming market challenges? 

Being a small, local agency, it’s in times like these I feel we bring the most value to our clients. We understand the challenges they’re facing and we do our best to proactively address their risks, educate them on how to control their losses and advocate for their needs. It’s about having strong relationships that are built on mutual respect and trust.

Military service?

I did about a year and a half in college and it really didn't fit with me. I had some growing up to do and I needed something with a little more structure. I challenged myself and joined. It was great because it did bring me structure and did force me to grow up quickly. 

I was stationed at Fort Benning with the 75th Ranger Regiment and at Fort Bragg with the 82nd Airborne. I was deployed to Afghanistan and Poland. Basically, I would talk to airplane and helicopter pilots and tell them where to land or what to target.

How did you go from the army to insurance?

When I got out of the army, I immediately started working for my dad at a restaurant management company he owns. I didn't like it too much but I was thankful I had a job. A friend of mine who works at Turner Agency said that they were hiring for internships so I stepped out of my comfort zone and gave it a shot. I was hired three months later.

Why commercial lines?

When I first started interning here, they had me working in personal lines and commercial lines to see what I liked better. I instantly liked commercial lines better because I love seeing how people earn their living. There are so many different ideas and businesses that people come up with. It's really inspiring.

While I was in the army, my fiancé, now wife, and I owned a small dog park bar. You could drink a beer and let your dog off the leash—it was awesome. But we had to shut the doors because of extremely high liquor liability insurance costs in South Carolina. I never want somebody to have the experience of seeing their dream die just because their agent didn't do the due diligence to find them the best coverage or prepare them for the cost of liquor liability in the state.

What challenges are you currently seeing in the commercial p&c insurance market?

With the hard market, our clients are seeing premium increases and really hard underwriting with carriers tightening up on what they want to write. In South Carolina, we're dealing with a crisis in the liquor liability market, which is especially challenging for the people I'm trying to cover.

What are your goals for the next 5 years?

Personally, I hope to be the foremost agent in restaurants and bars in my city—hopefully even the state. I am pretty new to this, but I've got good mentors and I want to excel in this niche.

AnneMarie McPherson Spears is IA news editor.