Q&A with Rita & Jess McMullen

Rita McMullen, CPCU, AFIS, AAI is president of PDM Insurance Agency. Her daughter, Jess McMullen, CPIA, CLCS, is agency partner. Together they oversee the independent agency, which consists of three locations throughout southcentral Pennsylvania and specializes in farm and crop insurance.

Q. Rita, tell us about what brought you into the industry and how your career progressed.

A. [Rita:] I entered the insurance industry as a high school business co-op student in 1980. As I worked through college, I stayed involved in insurance and decided I wanted it to be a career. I worked in customer service, commercial and personal lines, but I found my real niche in the agricultural insurance world thanks to growing up on a Franklin County, PA dairy farm. I became a producer in 1985 and sold all lines of insurance, and in 2000 I became a partner with PDM Insurance Agency. In 2016 I became the president and 100% owner of PDM with two agency locations in Franklin County. In 2022, I made my daughter, Jessica McMullen, a partner in PDM, and in April 2022, we opened our third location in Biglerville, Adams County, PA.

Q. Jess, you have a degree in animal science from Texas A&M University, where you competed on the Equestrian Team. That sounds amazing, but I suspect you didn’t intend to work in insurance. How has the industry “grown on you” over the past 10 years?

A. [Jess:] I definitely didn’t intend to work in the industry, but a er I graduated and came back to Pennsylvania, I started a job as an equine vet tech and quickly realized that I wasn’t making ends meet financially. My mom suggested that I come work for her. At first I was concerned that my animal science degree would “go to waste” and that I’d be stuck in a stuffy office job, but after giving it more thought, I asked to try things out and see how I liked it. Once I got into the swing of things, I realized that I still had the opportunity to work with farmers and horse people and that made me feel a lot more comfortable because I could relate to them! Ten years later, I’ve gotten a lot more confident in my insurance knowledge and have a lot more experience in understanding business and agricultural risks. Equine and agriculture are still my main focuses, but I have branched out to commercial lines as well.

Q. Rita, what was it like for you to have your daughter join you in the agency?

A. [Rita:] Jessica had helped me out with some projects at the agency during her breaks from college, but she wasn’t sure that insurance was the career for her. I was so happy when she agreed to try “the job.” She started as an entry-level receptionist and worked her way up through personal lines servicing, to commercial lines and agricultural lines producer. I am so proud to have her join me in the insurance business, and I look forward to the future of our agency with her as a partner.

Q. How has your relationship changed since you began working together? And do you have any advice for other mother-daughter teams just starting out?

A. [Rita:] It was stressful at first because we also lived together and spent a lot of time together. I hired a consultant to work with us at all levels of the agency, and it helped us to realize each other’s strengths and personalities. It gave us the insight to know what each of us does best so that we could complement each other and work as a team. Working with family is a challenge, and I think it’s important to recognize our differences and to trust and respect each other as business partners. We try our best to not talk business at family get togethers as well.

Q. You’re both horse lovers and have lived on a farm. What an authentic way to develop a niche! Tell us about your agency’s farm and crop markets and how they have evolved over the years.

A. [Rita:] I grew up on a dairy farm and always had a passion for the agricultural industry. I had an opportunity to learn crop insurance early in my career, and it came pre y easily with my background. We have continued to grow our crop book, and we also like to handle the other lines of coverage for our ag/farm customers to be their one-stop insurance agent. We are now working with the fourth and fifth generations of family farms, and it’s so refreshing and exciting to see the younger generations who have the passion to keep the family farm alive and well.

We have expanded and evolved from traditional farms to the newest agriculture risks, like agri-tainment and farm markets, to name a few. And with Jess’s background and degree in animal science, we also have expanded our products to provide livestock mortality coverage for equine and farm livestock. We are constantly learning and attend multiple ag events and expos as exhibitors so we can stay current with the changing trends. We can insure the crop from the time it is planted, to all the processes it undergoes, to providing food on consumers’ tables.

[Jess:] I grew up on our small family farm where we had horses, as well as sheep and beef cattle.

I also would go to my uncle’s dairy and occasionally help him with chores. But horse showing really took up the majority of my time when I wasn’t in school. We traveled all over the country for my competitions, and that’s what led me to being recruited to the Texas A&M NCAA Women’s Equestrian Team in college.

That was such an amazing time! Not only did I get to ride and compete, but I also earned my bachelor’s degree in animal science and took a plethora of ag classes – sheep production, equine, and meats and butchering courses, I got it all! This education, along with my prior agriculture and horse knowledge, helps me a daily basis when it comes to servicing our farm, ag business, and crop customers. I really feel that I can relate to them and know exactly what they’re talking about when they present any problems or issues.

Q. This issue of Primary Agent is dedicated to women in insurance. I suspect that Rita’s experience entering the industry was different than Jess’s, but let’s explore that. How have you each experienced working in what was recently a male-dominated industry?

A. [Rita:] When I entered the insurance industry in the 1980s, it was definitely male-dominated. Females entered the business in service roles, and I was fortunate to work my way up the ladder from servicing insurance accounts to eventually becoming an insurance producer. I had to prove myself to be worthy of the role and was fortunate to have many good mentors in my career, both men and women, to help guide me. In our industry I believe that the person, whether male or female, who does the best job will prevail and that we respect each other accordingly.

[Jess:] When I first started in the business, I could clearly tell that it was a male-dominated field. I would a end meetings, CE classes, and other events with my mom and would always notice that we were usually some of the only women in the room. At first it was a little intimidating, but as my knowledge and experience have grown, I’ve come to find that it doesn’t really matter who you are, it’s about what you know and whether the customers trust you and feel comfortable with you.

Q. What’s the best professional advice you ever received?

A. [Rita:] I was told early in my career that insurance is ever changing and that you need to stay in front of it or you will be left behind. I think that is a very true statement.

[Jess:] I’ve always just lived by what one of my ag professors said to me in college: Always do your best and be truthful because no matter what business you end up in, it pays off in the end.

Q. What’s your favorite part of your job?

A. [Rita:] Working with my customers and meeting new prospects. They are the reason we have a job. It’s a challenge to meet a customer and evaluate what their risks are and put together an insurance program to protect them, but I enjoy working through placement of our customers.

[Jess:] I really enjoy going out and visiting all of my customers and being able to help them or show them some things that might help them when it comes to their insurance coverages. When we first write an account, we almost always go to their location so that we can see what’s going on firsthand and are able to relay that to the underwriters. I always enjoy seeing their operations, and honestly, I think it makes the customers feel so much more relaxed and open to what we’re trying to tell them because we’re there showing them that they’re not just another phone call and completed application. When I’m there on visits, we spend most of the time reviewing coverages and collecting information, but I always make time for them to show me their dogs, farm animals, or anything else that they’re proud to show off to me at their place!

Q. What keeps you busy outside of work?

A. [Rita:] My husband and I enjoy spending time with Jess, watching her compete with her horse, Rowdy, at horse shows. We also enjoy our fur babies – Pedro, and Jess’s dogs, Kona and Boone. We love to travel and especially enjoy camping in our motor home and seeing the United States.

[Jess:] I still competitively ride and show my horse, Rowdy, on the American Ranch Horse Association (ARHA) circuit. That usually takes up my summers when shows are in full swing. We were lucky enough to clench the ARHA World Championship in Amateur Horsemanship in July 2021. In the wintertime/off season, I’m still usually out at the barn at least every weekend, if not more! If I’m not at the barn, I do enjoy just relaxing at home with my boyfriend and dogs. Or you can find us at the local dirt track, Port Royal Speedway, with all of our friends.