From Insurance Internship to Budding Career

Marine and construction broker Jonny Young had no idea three years ago that an internship he was required to complete to graduate college would lead to a career in insurance.

But after just three weeks interning with Appalachian Underwriters in Sarasota, Fla., he was offered a job as a producer and he hasn’t looked back since.

“I’m addicted to showing up for work and learning about what’s going on next,” he said. “Insurance has opened me up to so many different industries.”

Young says he appreciates how working for Tennessee-based Appalachian Underwriters’ Brokerage Division gets him out of his comfort zone, and he is already seeing success in his early career.

He realized quickly that honing his skills in a particular niche of business was the best way to gain experience and grow as a broker, he said, but he wasn’t sure at first which niche he wanted to focus on. He worked with his boss to figure out that out and two niches developed – cannabis and marine.

He has since become the team lead for commercial cannabis risks for Appalachian Underwriters’ Brokerage Division and inherited marine business from a senior marine broker who retired. Young said he is really enjoying working in both segments. Thanks to demand and interest in cannabis ventures, that book has grown significantly in the last three years, reaching about $1 million in premium.

Appalachian Underwriters also just launched a new in-house cannabis underwriting facility that Young helped to develop.

“It’s an exciting time and we are looking forward to more growth over the next couple years,” he said.

He said he enjoys the wholesale side of insurance because it deals with different types of businesses and industries so he is learning something new every day. And he enjoys that in the insurance industry, there is no limit to what he can produce.

“I’m a commission-based employee and there are no set restrictions on how many relationships I can have or the number of accounts – it’s all about your work ethic and what you can do for yourself,” he said. “There is no cap on how much you can grow.”

Young says competition from other brokers that just care about price can be a challenge, particularly because he works to ensure his customers get the best coverage.

“Nothing irks me more than when a policy is written incorrectly,” he said. “Sometimes the competition is all about price and I am about selling the right coverage.”

Five or 10 years from now, Young hopes he is still working to do just that with Appalachian Underwriters, and noted he is very thankful for those at the company who have mentored him in these early stages of his career.

“It’s really nice as a young person to be able to go to someone who has that experience,” he said.

Young said he wouldn’t recommend a career in insurance to everybody, but for those who want a career where there is no ceiling to what you can do and who want to take control of their destiny, it is a great path to choose.

“Most other industries, it is hard to move up. A lot of times you have to stay at a lower level for awhile and figure it out,” he said. “When you are in producing, the numbers speak for themselves and there is opportunity for growth if you put the work in.”