David J. Murphy, CLU, ChFC, FLMI

Sales Vice President

It wasn't my childhood dream to be in the insurance business. This isn't what I went to college for. I became a life insurance agent because I didn't want to spend all day, every day, in the same building working with the same people. So, I chose life insurance sales as a career because it came with a good deal of freedom and a good income.

It wasn't until I delivered my first death claim that I began to truly understand the business of life insurance.

Our industry provides unique financial resources should the unthinkable happen. Now, more than ever, families and businesses must address how they will respond to market fluctuations, low interest rates, and economic uncertainty. Life insurance helps to bring back that certainty, and transform anxiety into assurance. Agents help their clients build strategies funded by products steeped in guarantees, tax advantages, and flexibility. Life insurance can be a transformative influence in the lives of people who might otherwise be unprepared for the loss of an income provider. Today, when people ask what I do, I say, "I'm in the life transformation business."

That's where North American Company comes in.

In the last 30 years I have sold insurance, worked in marketing, advanced sales, product development, career-agency development, illustration design and distribution, agency management and agent-recruiting. I have worked for multiple companies, some of which have since disappeared from the marketplace. In 2007, I sought to align my experience and goals with a company that had solid management, was stable, intentional, valued relationships and was profitable. I wanted to work for a company that viewed itself simply as a steward of other people's money, and that had the corporate humility to appreciate its dependence on the agents and Managing General Agencies (MGAs) who bring customers. Then I found North American—a company that fits all these descriptions.

My personal philosophy is to be in business on purpose. I work with MGAs who set goals, know what they want to accomplish and seek carrier partners who will help them reach written objectives. Periodically, I ask the MGAs what they want their agencies to look like in six months, a year, or further down the road. We quantify the types and amounts of sales needed to reach the goal. We quantify the number of agents needed to make those sales. We assess production, training, and recruitment. We establish a tactical marketing plan designed to drive the necessary sales and grow the required agent relationships. Then, we make mutual commitments of time, energy, people resources, and effort. Lastly, we execute the plan, monitor the progress, and have fun all along the way.

Here's my invitation to you:

If you appreciate the wonder of life insurance, if you are intentional in how you conduct your business, and if you have aspirations for your business that require the engaged cooperation of an effective insurance carrier partner—let's talk about how we can help transform your business, your life, and the lives of your clients.