EP 271: Debunking Health Insurance Myths with Your Local Good Neighbor: Blake Terry's Journey With Terry Family Insurance

What makes Blake Terry with Terry Family Insurance a good neighbor?

Ever wondered why finding the right health insurance feels like navigating a maze blindfolded? Blake Terry of Terry Family Insurance joins the Good Neighbor Podcast to pull back the curtain on a critically underserved market - health insurance for entrepreneurs, small business owners, and early retirees.

Blake shares his fascinating journey from spending 18 years in the golf and hospitality industry to founding his own insurance agency just months before the COVID-19 pandemic hit. With no backup plan and unwavering support from his wife, he built a thriving business despite the unprecedented challenges. His story serves as an inspiring testament to perseverance and finding purpose through helping others secure affordable healthcare.

The conversation tackles persistent myths about health insurance, particularly the misconception that DIY shopping is the best approach. Blake reveals how independent agents can unlock twice as many options as consumers find on their own, often at better rates. He also explains why health insurance pricing varies so dramatically between individuals - even for identical plans - based on factors like age, health condition, zip code, and income. For entrepreneurs, 1099 workers, small business owners with fewer than 20 employees, and those who retire before Medicare eligibility at 65, these insights prove invaluable.

Blake's mission extends beyond selling insurance policies. Through his weekly newsletter and social media presence, he educates clients about maximizing benefits, cutting costs, and finding tax savings opportunities. His message is clear: everyone needs a health advisor as part of their professional support team. Check out TerryFamilyInsurance.com or follow Blake's weekly newsletter on social media to learn more about topics like child-only healthcare, managing insurance between jobs, and avoiding common plan selection mistakes. Your health – and wallet – will thank you for listening.

To learn more about Terry Family Insurance  go to:

https://terryfamilyinsurance.com/

Terry Family Insurance

682-268-0520

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place
where local businesses andneighbors come together.
Here's your host, Sophia Yvette.

Speaker 2 (00:10):
Welcome to the Good Neighbor Podcast.
Are you in need of a familyinsurance company?
Well, one may be closer thanyou think.
Today I have the pleasure ofintroducing your good neighbor,
blake Terry, with Terry FamilyInsurance.
Blake, how's it going today?

Speaker 3 (00:26):
Wonderful Thanks for having me.

Speaker 2 (00:28):
Yeah well, it's wonderful to have you on and we
are so excited to learn allabout you and your business.
Can you tell our listeners alittle bit about your company?

Speaker 3 (00:38):
Absolutely yeah.
So we are a health insuranceagency.
We specialize in providinghealth insurance solutions for
entrepreneurs, families, smallbusiness owners and early
retirees those that are lookingfor insurance until they age
into Medicare at 65.

(00:58):
We are right here in the DFWarea, local, but we serve
families in over 40 states, sonationwide, and we just are
really passionate about, youknow, ensuring people get
affordable health care thatprovides the benefits you know
that they want to need.

Speaker 2 (01:19):
Oh yeah, I know that's a big issue right now,
but back to you for a second,Blake, how did you originally
get into this business?

Speaker 3 (01:28):
Yeah, great question.
So the early part of my career,I served about 18 years in the
golf and hospitality industry.
So I really enjoyed that.
But just kind of got to thepoint to where, as with
hospitality type jobs and afamily, the hours and the
weekends and the holidays justweren't really working for me.

(01:52):
So kind of looked for otheropportunities and just coming
from like a servant, you know,kind of career, if you will, in
the hospitality industry I enjoyhelping people and finding
solutions.
And kind of career, if you will, in the hospitality industry I
enjoy helping people and findingsolutions.
And kind of stumbled acrosshealth insurance and just really
saw that it was an underservedmarket, especially for

(02:13):
individuals that we really serve, which are those that are kind
of on their own for shopping fortheir own health care, whether
they're business owners orentrepreneurs.
What have you so, kind of overthe course of about six months,
led into this and we're reallyenjoying it.

Speaker 2 (02:29):
Now, Blake, what is the most common myth or
misconception you come across inyour industry?

Speaker 3 (02:36):
Yeah, there's quite a few, as you can imagine, I'm
sure, with any industry, but Ithink really the top two are the
most common are.
One is certainly it's a.
It's a product that you can doyourself.
However, doing it yourself,looking online, et cetera, you
kind of eliminate about half ofyour options.

(02:56):
An independent agent can reallyexpand your options, which is
obviously going to have a muchhigher probability that you're
going to get a more affordablerate or better coverage or a
combination of both.
And then the other misconception, I think, is price.
I think one of the things thatmakes shopping health insurance

(03:18):
so confusing is that it's notlike most other products where
the price is the price you know.
You may pay a few pennies ordollars more or less at one
store versus another.
Health insurance pricing canvary drastically from one person
to the other, even if you'rebuying the same plan.
That's just because plans arepriced on age, overall health

(03:41):
condition, income, the zip codeor county you live in, age,
overall health condition, income, the zip code or county you
live in, as well as numerousother factors that can drive the
price up or down, depending onwhat those factors are.

Speaker 2 (03:51):
Wow.
Now Blake, who are your targetcustomers, if you can ideally
narrow it down to about threedifferent niches, and how do you
attract them?

Speaker 3 (04:07):
Sure.
Well, first, we're a hundredpercent referral based.
So it's you know, clientsreferring us, people we've
helped in the past, or just youknow kind of being local in the
community.
I doing this podcast today andthe word getting out.
Our target clients are mid tohigh income entrepreneurs,

(04:29):
realtors, trade jobs,consultants, people that again
aren't offered benefits becauseof their work status, 1099 type
workers, small business ownerswhen I say small business owners
, specifically businesses thatare less than 20 employees, all
the way down to just you knowone, the business owner we have

(04:51):
a lot of success with helpingthem with affordable coverage
and high enrollment with theiremployee demographic.
And then, of course, there's alot of people that, when they
get ready to retire if it'spre-65, one of the biggest
concerns is how to obtain healthinsurance and then whether or
not they can afford it off ofwhatever their retirement income

(05:11):
is going to be for those fewyears from their retirement age
until they turn 65.

Speaker 2 (05:19):
So, Blake, have you ever thought about doing your
very own podcast?

Speaker 3 (05:25):
I've thought about it but not acted on it.
You know I'm a pretty busy guyand you know I like doing things
the right way and I know it's alot of work and time consuming.
So at some point down the linemaybe, but I'll leave that to
the experts like yourself.

Speaker 2 (05:42):
For now, Now let's go ahead and switch gears.
Can you describe a hardship orlife challenge you overcame and
how it made you a better andstronger person today?
What comes to mind for you?
What?

Speaker 3 (05:56):
comes to mind for you .
Yeah, well, I think the firstthing that pops in my head is
really just the career changethat I made five, six years ago,
going from what I'd done foralmost 20 years to starting a
business from scratch.

(06:20):
And, as it turns out, not onlydid I start that business from
scratch, but it was just a fewmonths prior to COVID.
So that just kind of added tothe challenge, I think, and the
stress level of not being ableto meet in person, not being
able to kind of get out in thecommunity and spread the word,
as well as just the challengesthat we all faced during that
time.
But I think, you know, foranybody that has started their

(06:40):
own business or is looking tokind of, what got me through it
is, you know, I had a wife thatsupported me 100%, that was a
cheerleader for me along the way, as well as just not having a
plan B.
You know there was never abackup plan, so it was just
whatever it took and as long asit took, and just, you know,

(07:03):
overcome it and get it done, andI'm blessed and thankful that
it all worked out.

Speaker 2 (07:09):
Well, that's amazing.
Yes, faith can get you throughthe hardest challenges.
Now, blake, please tell ourlisteners here one thing they
should remember about TerryFamily Insurance.

Speaker 3 (07:27):
Yeah, I guess the biggest thing is that I mean we
just believe that everybodyneeds a health advisor.
I mean, just like you need agood team of people around you,
whether it's to help with taxplanning and business planning,
whatever it may be realtors, Imean, there's a lot of experts
out there that can save you timeand money, as you, you know,

(07:50):
are searching for solutions indifferent areas of your life.
So, whether it's something youneed now or maybe in the future,
just that somebody if it's notus, somebody like us, you know
should be in your corner so thatyou can definitely cut some
costs and have a betterexperience.

(08:11):
As you know, we all are goingto need health care at some
point.

Speaker 2 (08:15):
So, Blake, how can our listeners learn more about
Terry Family Insurance?

Speaker 3 (08:20):
Yeah.
So first off, I mean, of courseyou can visit our website,
which is justTerryFamilyInsurancecom, but I
think the biggest thing thatpeople might want to tap into is
on social media, whether it'sLinkedIn, facebook, Instagram we
post a weekly newsletter.
That newsletter is really, youknow, for any and everybody.

(08:44):
It focuses primarily onmaximizing your health benefits,
regardless of your plan,cutting costs and unlocking tax
savings.
Some of the most recent topicsthat we focused on are
child-only health care, shoppingfor health insurance in between
jobs, as that happens to all ofus at some point in our life

(09:06):
and career, and then why yourhealth insurance plan
disappointed you, which justkind of dives into maybe common
mistakes that people make whenselecting a health plan and
maybe what they can dodifferently in the future to
have a better outcome.

Speaker 2 (09:21):
Well, Blake, I really appreciate you being on the
show.
We wish you and your businessthe best moving forward.

Speaker 1 (09:27):
Thank you for having me.
Thank you for listening to theGood Neighbor Podcast.
To nominate your favorite localbusinesses to be featured on
the show, go to gnpfriscocom.
That's gnpfriscocom, or call469-221-9345.