We’re excited to feature the 2017 NACUSO CU Collaboration & Innovation Award winner 7 Insurance. We sat down with Jerry Tweeten to hear how he came to work in credit unions and how two credit unions, less than a mile apart decided to not see each other as competitors but collaborators for the benefit of their members.
PART ONE: Life Story and Experience
What’s your current position and can you give me a brief overview of what it is you do in your work? I am the President, and we are a full lines independent insurance agency. We are a collaboration of Y12 FCU and ORNL FCU and I oversee nine CSR/Agents. I manage both credit union’s corporate insurance programs and their other insurance programs, GAP, Service Contracts, Debt Cancellation, Accidental Death & Dismemberment (AD&D), and collateral protection insurance (CPI) programs.
What would you say most motivates you to do what you do? What are you most excited or passionate about?
What motivates and excites me most of all, along with our team, is saving our members money. The savings are real, not perceived. We have saved our members well over $500,000. Our most successful stories involved three of our members that saved over $3,000 annually on their insurance and provided better coverage. How can this not excite you?
I want to hear the story of how you came to work with credit unions. What attracted you to work for 7 Insurance?
In 1986 I started at Alaska USA FCU as a temp employee, working in their insurance department. I worked within the insurance department during my tenure there and established their insurance CUSO as their Manager of Insurance Services.
My father was a CMSGT at Elmendorf AFB and opened an account for my brother, sister and myself. AK USA FCU was always part of my life since we moved to Alaska in 1977, so for me it was a place that was always there for us. I had a friend who knew the human resources person at AK USA FCU and she told me there were open positions. I was there the next day and started working the following week. AK USA FCU believed in me and offered me every opportunity to succeed. I can’t thank them enough for what they did for me and my family. I’ve been working in and around credit union’s since 1986 and won’t work in any other industry.
Continue reading Spotlight on 7 Insurance President, Jerry Tweeten
