Brett Garry

Risk Adviser
Garry Insurancenter
St. Paul, Minnesota

Age: 31
Guilty pleasure TV show: Deadliest Catch
Uber or Lyft: “Uber, but if the wait is too long or the rates are crazy, I’ll use Lyft.”
In your earbuds currently: Classic country

Why insurance?

My grandfather started the agency in 1970—we’ve remained in the same building all that time, and my father currently runs the business. I guess they say the only people who really know they want to go into insurance are family people, but when I went to college, I dabbled in some other things. I took some criminal justice classes for a few years and didn’t really know what I wanted to do.

I ended up getting a degree in finance, and when I was looking for a job, I was drawn to the insurance world. But my father said, “If you want to come join the insurance business, that’s fine, but I’m not really keen on hiring you right out of college.” I wound up working down in Des Moines, Iowa for about four years in the personal and commercial underwriting departments for Nationwide Insurance.

At the time, I was less than excited about moving down to Des Moines, but it turns out it’s actually a great town. I enjoyed my time there, and I’m so glad I went that route—to be able to come back to the agency, speak the language and know how things work a little bit versus just being a dumb college kid.

I moved back to Minnesota and joined the agency about five years ago. The plan is for me to eventually take over, but we’re just in the early stages of talking about that. I don’t think my father’s in any hurry to step down and go anywhere. That’s kind of the nice thing about this business—you can retire at your leisure.

What’s to love?

Every day is different. One day I may be putting out fires or trying to solve an audit problem for a contractor, and the next day I might be at a restaurant talking about how to make sure their employees are safe. You never quite know what you’re going to get into. Insurance agents have a reputation for being kind of stale, but being a young agent and having the flexibility to be creative with the ways we communicate with our customers—it’s nice.

Biggest mentor?

My father for sure. I had the pleasure of working with a lot of brilliant people when I spent some time on the carrier side, and they taught me an awful lot about the industry, but throughout that whole time—throughout my whole career in the industry—my dad has been my go-to. He’s been doing it for almost 40 years now, so he’s seen just about all there is to see.

Millennial stereotype that drives you crazy?

That we’re lazy and don’t want to work. That drives me nuts, because as an agent, you’re as successful as you want to be. If you work hard, great things will happen, and if you don’t, that’s your problem. This industry especially is one where no matter how old you are, if you want to work hard, the sky’s the limit.

Millennial stereotype that fits you?

That we’re kind of techie. I wouldn’t say I’m glued to my phone, but the nice thing about the tech world is it gives us infinite ways to stay in touch with and service our customers. I’m fortunate enough to have a wife who understands that if I need to hop on my phone and respond to a couple of emails on a Saturday afternoon while we’re at the Home Depot, she’s OK with it.

Thoughts on Gen Z?

My wife is an elementary school teacher, and she says some of these second- and third-graders have smartphones now. You hear all these horror stories about how as these younger generations become consumers, the independent agent is going to go by the wayside. I 100% don’t subscribe to that at all. As agents, we’re just going to wind up drastically changing the way we communicate with our customers over time.

At my agency, for example, we’re looking into options that would allow us to communicate with our customers via text. A lot of these kids would rather shoot a text off and get an answer versus sit on the phone for 10 minutes. I’m still more of a phone call guy myself, but I think that’s just the way we’re headed.

At the end of the day, people are still going to want someone to consult—this will always remain a relationship business. You’ve still got to be able to provide value to your customers. It’s just that over time, the ways in which you do that will evolve. Some customers may find that value in being able to text their agent for their auto ID card. It’s up to agents to make sure they’re staying on top of those things.

Industry’s greatest challenge?

We need to recruit new talent to this industry. You go to some of these conventions and industry functions, and our generation is severely underrepresented. It doesn’t seem to be changing. We’ve got to find a way to create some more excitement around this industry. It really is a great industry—if you want to work hard as a millennial, you can be extremely successful, and you can also have some flexibility where you don’t have to be tied to your desk 9-5. That kind of thing should appeal to millennials and even those younger generations.

Advice for a fellow young agent?

Don’t get discouraged. I think every young agent goes through it—you hear the word “no” a lot. It’s just part of the business. All the no’s make the yes’s a little bit more rewarding when you close a nice deal. You have to be persistent. Stick with it, keep working, and good things will come.

This interview is the fourth in a series that profiles 10 millennials in the independent insurance industry, based on IA’s July cover story.

Jacquelyn Connelly is IA senior editor.