Q&A with TONY GIAMPAPA, CIC

Meet Tony Giampapa, winner of the 2021 Young Agent Award and commercial risk management specialist with The Jacobs Company in Columbia, MD.

What sparked your interest in insurance?

A couple of different factors appealed to me initially regarding the insurance industry. First and foremost, being a trusted resource of information and advice for my clients is an incredible feeling. Earning the trust of others through the service we provide and the knowledge we apply to their risk mitigation is simply very satisfying. I also liked the idea that my efforts would directly impact my success in the industry. I wouldn’t necessarily be limited in my capacity to achieve.

What professional accomplishment are you most proud of?

Attaining my CIC designation.

What’s your favorite part of your job?

Placing risks that don’t fit into a carrier’s standard industry “box” and require a diligent market search to attain coverage. I like the challenge of helping companies with unique and difficult-to-place coverage needs. It takes a good deal of pursuit to find markets to consider tough risks and then a studious eye to evaluate terms offered to ensure that the appropriate coverage is there. Being able to deliver coverage to a client when they have struggled to find it in the past is awesome.

What would you tell young insurance professionals just starting their career?

Pick a topic to become a subject matter expert on and learn all you can until you are able to teach someone else the ins-and-outs of that area. Once you reach that point with a specific topic, pick another, and then another. These can be everything from how the experience mod is calculated, to the claims process with a property coverage, to understanding contractual liability. There is so much to absorb with insurance that it can be daunting when you’re getting started to try and get a grasp on everything at once. I found it best to take it one subject at a time.

What’s the best professional advice you ever received?

That there are two approaches to solving problems. The first is to ignore it and hope it goes away. The second is to address the issue immediately before it potentially becomes a bigger problem. Remembering that these are my two options pushes me to react to issues expeditiously given the first choice isn’t really an option at all.

Collectively, how do you see your generation of insurance professionals benefiting the independent agency system?

The independent agency system provides a variety of options for younger agents to get exposure and excel at writing coverage of different sorts. Having near limitless options in carriers to work with, types of coverages, and client industries to serve, young agents can discover what suites them best.

What was your biggest professional challenge during the pandemic, and how did you respond?

Not seeing my clients in person as much. This simply required a different approach to staying in touch. Emails and phone calls to check in became more prevalent than the stop-by visits.

What would people be surprised to know about you?

I have a patent from a liquid desiccant dehumidifier that a group of us invented and constructed in college for the Solar Decathlon Competition. The competition is held on the National Mall every couple of years and pits universities from all around the world against each other to design, construct, and demonstrate an innovated, sustainable house. With the University of Maryland, we came in second place in 2007.