How a family tragedy led me to find passion and purpose as a benefits agency owner

Like many of the people who are probably reading this, I am an agency owner. But it took a family tragedy to awaken me to realizing the full potential of that business, which included finding passion and purpose in what we were doing for all those years. 

I’m hoping that my story — as difficult as it may be to retell, which I have done at industry events — might just inspire others to be more thoughtful about the way they run their agencies and serve customers. And with more than two years of personal and professional epiphanies through a pandemic and the Great Resignation, now is as good a time as any for people to rethink their work and lives. 

My story begins on February 23, 2013, when my friends and I were celebrating a phenomenal 2012. We grabbed our trucks, trailers and snowmobiles and headed 12 hours deep into the Quebec province of Canada. 

The lodge we were staying at was seven miles down a steep and winding driveway that was off the main dirt road. There were 75-foot pine trees, snow past our waists and not a cell tower in sight. We were in the wilderness along some pretty rugged terrain.

Read more: 4 ways to support Black employees with your culture and benefits

At 10 p.m. that night after a long 12-hour drive, there was a knock on my door, which I opened and saw my friend Ned who said, “You need to call Danny.” Immediately my heart dropped. Danny is my best friend, and he knew exactly where to find me. Danny is also a funeral director. 

Initially, I thought something happened to my mom, who was 78 at the time, or my dad, who was 83. After frantically searching for a cell signal, I finally contacted Danny. The words he spoke changed my life forever. It wasn’t about my parents. My 22-year-old son, Ian, had committed suicide that day. I was stunned and in disbelief. 

For the next two years of my life, I wasn’t present mentally, physically or emotionally, yet my company not only survived, but thrived and grew. If someone had asked me then how or why, I just didn’t know. But five years ago, the light bulb went off in my head, and I realized that without employees I had no business. My employees actually saved our business.

What happened next truly transformed my operation. I made the same connection for all the employers we worked with — that without their employees, they had no business either. It was at that moment I understood my mission and purpose in this business. We need to honor and treat our employees as the No. 1 asset they are. 

Read more: Are you offering the right type of benefits to your caregiver employees?

Employees need to know that there are more effective ways to find healthcare that truly benefits them. The amazing thing is, when we go down this path, we begin to give employers the ability to control their healthcare spend. Employers begin to treat their benefit program as an asset or investment rather than a liability or cost. 

This changes how people think of how they should access care. Give employees better access to higher quality healthcare and reduce their cost. We need to change the focus from the employer to the employee… the No. 1 asset of all our clients. We need to make healthcare affordable for employees and truly provide them with the benefits they need and deserve. This is especially true in such a tight labor market where average working Americans are realizing more than ever the true value of their benefits coverage. 

Too many employees can’t afford to use the health plans we have created for our employer clients. The average employee doesn’t have $500 in savings, let alone the $3,000 or more in deductible and out-of-pocket expenses their benefit plans require.

Read more: 3 steps to strengthen employee benefits using non-traditional data

We have created a population of functionally uninsured; they have health coverage, they just can’t use it, don’t use it, or use it and then must file personal bankruptcy. Statistics show that 67% of all bankruptcies are caused by medical debt — and over 50% of those people have health coverage.

We, as an industry, need to change our focus from selling insurance to helping employers honor and help their No. 1 asset: their employees. We can — and should — do a much better job of changing the narrative on healthcare. 

I can’t change the outcome of my son’s action, but I can choose to honor him and my employees and truly make a difference in how we deliver and access healthcare. I challenge you to join me and others who are truly making a difference.