At Securus America Appreciation For Military Is Business As Usual

While the insurance industry is not typically associated with veterans of the United States military, Matawan-based Securus America crafts and sustains an environment where military veterans are not only respected for their enlistment, but are sought-after team players for the personal and professional attributes that the military instilled in them.

“What we do is not going to be good for someone who wants to do the minimum work and get the same paycheck every two weeks,” according to Michael Hall, a veteran of the U.S. Marines and a National Agency Director at Securus America. “It’s hard work, and we need people who are self-disciplined, who can get up and get themselves out the door. It’s something that veterans are used to doing, especially in the Marines, where one of the first things they teach you is promptness.”

Hall joined Securus America in 2012 after serving in the Marines and as a firefighter with the Baltimore City Fire Department. He started as an agent selling Securus final expense policies, but quickly worked his way up to a leadership role where he oversees 25 final expense insurance sales agents across five states.

“It’s all about community and culture,” Hall said. “We’re not looking for people-- we’re looking for the right people… Nobody on our tiers wants status quo. [Everyone here] wants to grow and stretch themselves-- they are very competitive.”

Founded in 1985, Securus America contracts independent agents to market and sell insurance policies that cover funeral and other end-of-life expenses. John Kight, Vice President of Field Operations at Securus America, describes the company structure as a “promote yourself compensation plan” that guarantees opportunity for those willing to work for it.

“For most people in the insurance business, in order to get a raise or increase, it has to come from a manager or someone from their hierarchy,” Kight said. “From the very first day they start, our agents know the amount of business they have to do to award their own compensation increase. We also share profits with our agents who want to build agencies, not a standard practice in the industry. We give agents the opportunity to build their own agencies and produce as much passive income as they want to produce.”

The final expense insurance agency’s appreciation goes beyond taking time to thank veterans at all of Securus America’s events-- Kight noted that events feel incomplete without “the pledge and a prayer.” Kight said this model for success-- one that is unique to them-- has proven successful among veterans who join the company as sales agents.

“I think we are attractive to veterans because we do give the ability to go outside and go work and go achieve without having someone looking over their shoulder, monitoring their every effort,” Kight said. “We want self-motivated people and most veterans tend to be self-motivated.”

To Kight, the influx of veterans-- several of them work as agents and serve in leadership positions at Securus America-- reflects the greater significance of their service to the final expense insurance agency’s ability to thrive in the United States.

“We stand for America, [and] we stand for freedom and the American dream, even though it’s defined now in different ways,” Kight said. “I run our company’s events, and I wouldn’t think about [having an event] without an American flag on the stage or without starting with the Pledge of Allegiance and a prayer… We truly appreciate that we can enterprise and do what we do because of their service.”

According to Hall, the competitive nature of the agency, coupled with military discipline and the company-wide appreciation for service members, makes veterans an unstoppable succeeding force at the final expense insurance company.

“Veterans can put their discipline and hard work to use [at Securus] and they can determine and earn whatever they want to earn,” Hall said. “Their background, education, and experience don’t matter. All that matters is how willing they are to work hard… Everybody here has such a high level of respect for veterans and that shows at all of our events… That’s what really developed the culture that we have here.”

Hall said that agents, who are referred to as “road warriors,” often rely on each other for advice and support, both through group text messages and frequent in-person gatherings where more senior agents will act as mentors to new sales team members.

“[New agents] will often ask people with more experience for pointers and encouragement, and then go right back out the next day,” Hall said. “No matter where they may be, they wrap their arms around the other person… Securus [agents] are always connected with each other.”

Josh Wiseman is one of the self-motivated veterans succeeding as an agent with Securus America. Wiseman, who served in the National Guard before joining Securus in 2013, said that the group’s communal structure provides a framework not unlike what he felt in the military.

“Securus appealed to me because veterans and soldiers find a great sense of camaraderie and teamwork-- to work together as a group to achieve a common goal,” Wiseman said. “As part of the team, you celebrate the good and encourage and push through hard times. That type of work ethic is what people are drawn to.”

To Kight, that work ethic is exactly what it takes to be successful.

“Achievers set themselves apart and I consider veterans to be achievers,” Kight said. “Veterans understand success principles, teamwork, goal setting, and working through what most people consider to be failures. They are used to working in that environment [and they] use those [traits]… [as] stepping stones toward success. It really sets them apart and sets veterans up to succeed.”