William J. (Bill) Barrett, W.J. Barrett Insurance Agency, San Clemente, CA, has been an active proponent of the disability insurance business. In fact, nearly all of the 41 years he has been in the insurance business he has specialized in DI.
Because of this dedication, Barrett was the 2010 recipient of the International DI Society’s W. Harold Petersen Lifetime Achievement Award, which is given to an individual who has made a special contribution to the disability insurance industry. The photo shows W. Harold Petersen, Petersen International Underwriters, Valencia, CA, presenting the award to Barrett at the 6th Annual Conference of the International DI Society.
Barrett, who entered the insurance industry in 1969, established a disability agency in 1973 for a prominent carrier. In 1975 he began specializing in the physician market, working with the Los Angeles County Medical Association. He went on to found W.J. Barrett Insurance Agency, which was a multiple carrier brokerage operation.
Active in the industry, Barrett was a founding member of The Plus Group, a national disability insurance marketing organization. He served four terms as president of that organization and is a consultant to the board of directors. He was also a founding member of the International DI Society and served as president and on the executive board for IDIS as well.
Barrett’s commitment to the DI industry continues far beyond his own business. He has consulted with many companies on product and distribution development, served on multiple advisory councils, taught classes, authored articles and spoken about the advantages of DI.
This editor has known Bill Barrett since the late 1970s, when he represented a carrier where I was employed. He was well-respected by the staff at every level—when he talked we listened! Not just because he was a good producer, but because he was personable, knowledgeable, and enthusiastic about the business. Congratulations, Bill—the recognition is well-deserved!
While we’re on the topic of dedication, we can’t let an anniversary slip by without some type of recognition. With this issue, Robert Goldstone, MD, chief medical officer, Pacific Life, has written for Broker World for 20 calendar years.
A consummate professional, Dr. Bob (as he is known in the industry) always delivers precise up-to-the-minute descriptions of impaired risks and the subsequent underwriting considerations that many of you encounter in the sales process. And, in many cases, he has helped many of us to know what questions to ask our own physicians.
Broker World is honored to include his quality articles each month, and we hope to continue to many years to come. Thank you, Dr. Bob!
Speaking of anniversaries that end in zero, this editor would be remiss in not mentioning that Broker World is continuing to celebrate 30 years of serving the brokerage community. You might have surmised that from this month’s cover.
By the way, the ticker tape parade is for BROKERAGE and the success it has experienced during the last 30 years.
The decision to begin publishing Broker World was based on William S. Howard’s conviction that brokerage was “significant in the total insurance marketing equation and destined to increase dramatically in importance during the years to come.” He also believed that the brokerage business as it had grown and evolved needed a voice to enter the new decade.
Bill Howard’s exact words were: “We propose to provide a medium of communication, one that will speak with the authority and backing from a broad front of the brokerage business, yet with the credibility of independence.”
That hasn’t changed since 1980—the business and publishing has evolved, yet our focus is still brokerage and independence. That still is the most efficient approach to provide insurance marketers the information they need in order to provide clients with the insurance options needed for a secure future.
So please join with us in celebrating BROKERAGE! The future is wide open. [SAC]
