Hundley Batts Jr. has his hands full as both an insurance professional and an entertainment consultant. Smart Choice gives him the freedom, support, and carrier access he needs to seize opportunities.
The Kid with the Briefcase
When Hundley was a kid, he took a briefcase to school. The other children laughed at him, but he was resolute. “I’m going to be a businessman,” he would say.
Now, he’s the president and CEO of HB2 Insurance Services, LLC, and he’s also a successful motivational speaker, writer, and entertainment consultant who’s worked with a number of notable celebrities.
Hundley learned about insurance by working with his dad, who had been an independent insurance agent since 1972. “I would go to work with him every weekend when I was a kid,” he recalls.
Apparently, that early training paid off. Hundley went on to work with his dad as an independent agent for 28 years. They represented top carriers and had direct contracts. Each producer at the agency focused on a different insurer.
“ Travelers was my company,” he says. “We had to meet ambitious goals. It was a lot of pressure, to be honest, but I enjoyed it.”
Forging His Own Path
Eventually, Hundley decided it was time to start his own firm. He had ample experience as an independent insurance agent, but he knew he’d need access to carriers. He also knew exactly how to gain that access: through the Smart Choice insurance network.
He’d heard about Smart Choice from a friend and had even helped a colleague sign up with her agency back before he opened his. “I just remembered that I liked what I saw with Smart Choice,” he says. “So, I decided to give them a call.’”
The conversation went well, but before he signed the contract, he looked at other options. “They wanted so much of an upfront joining fee to get started,” he says. Smart Choice didn’t, which made it stand out.
In addition, he wasn’t required to hit any high-pressure sales goals with Smart Choice.
After nearly three decades in the business, he was perfectly capable of making sales. However, starting his own venture, he preferred not to have that pressure. “It was a relief since I’m a one-man operation now,” he says.
In the end, it was an easy decision. He signed the contract with Smart Choice.
Working from Home Without Limits
Hundley decided not to spend money on office space. “I work out of my home 100% now, and I love it, to be honest,” he says.
Working from home doesn’t limit the business he’s able to write. “I write all over the country, thanks to Smart Choice,” he says.
He has licenses in Texas, California, Georgia, and Tennessee, and the Smart Choice platform gives him a way to write even more business.
Today, HB2 is a multi-faceted insurance and financial planning firm that specializes in commercial insurance, entertainment insurance, and employee benefits as well as life and disability insurance.
As an entertainment consultant, Hundley has insured many notable clients including John Legend, Carlos Santana, Tyler Perry, Prince, Rick Ross, Justin Timberlake, Lenny Kravitz, Matchbox Twenty, and many more.
Smart Choice gives him the freedom he needs to build a superstar agency. “I’ve got all these markets, and if I have an opportunity, I can write them,” he says.
Hundley explains he doesn’t have to worry about doing half a million with one carrier or $200,000 with another because there are no minimum premium requirements when he uses Smart Choice.
Back at his dad’s agency, that wasn’t the case. “It’s much easier and more flexible now – I can just shoot some stuff over to Smart Choice. They quote it, send it back, and I close the deal.”
Local support from State Directors and local Territory Managers (TM) ensures that agencies get the support they need from a knowledgeable expert.
“I feel fortunate to have an amazing TM like Wil Carter. He regularly checks in with us to see if we need anything, stops by often and is always there when we have a question. Plus, he gives me updates on new offerings from Smart Choice and their carriers – and he pays attention to detail -- and that’s priceless. We consider him part of our team.”
This support allows him to focus on his clients while growing his business. “I like being in front of people,” he says. “The beauty of working with Smart Choice is the fact that I can talk to a client on the phone and send the information over to Smart Choice for quoting. Then, I can go on to my next three or four projects. It saves me 20 minutes or so each time.”
Efficiency is important because Hundley has a lot on his plate, juggling both his insurance and entertainment ventures.
“I feel fortunate to have an amazing TM like Wil Carter.”
Seizing New Opportunities
Hundley has leveraged Smart Choice resources to pursue new commercial business opportunities.
He’s also a certified government contractor, which means he can bid on government contracts – and Smart Choice helps with that, too.
“As a member of a Smart Choice platform, I was able to bid on some automobiles in Idaho for a government contract,” he says. It was a good five-year contract for multiple vehicles, but many commercial markets turned it down because they didn’t want to deal with the government.
With some assistance from Lynn DePasquale, Vice President of Smart Start Commercial Lines, he was able to find a solution and was awarded the contract. “She’s phenomenal,” Hundley says of Lynn.
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