Tennessee Living

About the Author - Ben Sanders

Ben Sanders is legislative liaison for Tennessee Farm Bureau Insurance and can be reached at .

Like many kids, I knew exactly what my first allowance should be used for. I needed something absolutely necessary for a 9-year-old boy: a bullwhip.

After all, Indiana Jones had a bullwhip, so I absolutely needed one, too. A few scars later (turns out my brother was more bullwhip-adept) it was permanently shoved under the bed.

That worked out well because I’d moved on to a hunter/tracker/woodsman lifestyle. And of course, knee-high moccasins were vital. Davy Crockett wore them, so I needed a pair, too. After spending my hard-earned allowance on the moccasins, they were never worn once.

No matter. Rock stars don’t wear moccasins anyway. They do, however, have bright red electric guitars. So to be a rock star, naturally my allowance needed to fund the guitar, the equipment and the clothes. Too bad guitar lessons never quite made it into my budget.

I do confess those first financial forays were dismal failures. At the time, though, I was proud of my somewhat misguided financial insight. Like many kids, I had hilariously irresponsible beliefs about how an allowance should be spent.

Here at Farm Bureau Insurance, we liken our situation to getting an allowance. Our “allowance” is your business – the automobile, property and life needs that we insure for you. And, unlike the comical ways kids spend their allowance, we take our responsibility seriously.

Here are some examples of our financial priorities and how those priorities protect our Farm Bureau policyholders.

Commitment to Local Service

We believe you should be able to talk to your insurance agent, face-to-face, about your insurance needs. Therefore, we’re committed to maintaining an agency force of local agents – your friends and neighbors – in more than 150 local offices across Tennessee.

Strong Underwriting Principles

Underwriting is the process of evaluating risk and deciding what we can or can’t insure – and we take it very seriously. As a policyholder, you want us to. We strive to insure only appropriate risk at the right rates because, in the end, our policyholders’ money is at stake.

Conservative Overhead

Our corporate headquarters is in small-town Columbia, Tenn., not a skyscraper in Nashville. Our company uses Chevrolets, not Cadillacs. And when we need to travel across the state, we drive because there is no company jet. Simply put, we work hard – in big and small ways – to limit overhead.

Government Relations

Government-imposed regulations often begin with good intentions but end with a price tag. We feel a balance is necessary between protecting consumers and frivolously increasing the cost of insurance. We diligently work with lawmakers to represent you.

To a 9-year-old, that bullwhip seemed a great use of an allowance. Today, getting an allowance takes on a more responsible meaning.

We are proud of how Farm Bureau Insurance handles your insurance “allowance” to us. We take that responsibility very seriously because, in the end, our purpose is to take care of you – our Farm Bureau policyholders.

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Magazine:
Tennessee Home & Farm, Fall 2010 Edition Edition

Headline:
The Farm Bureau Allowance

Summary:
Developing financial priorities to protect policyholders.

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