Auto insurers with a twist

They weren’t your usual auto insurance company names — Crash Inc., Fortune Auto Insurance, Cobra, Classy Cats Inc. and Wizard Lizard.

Their slogans were just as edgy — “Where Saving A Fortune Is Always in Your Future” and “Striking Down The Competition One At A Time.”

The insurance agents were different too — Manatee High School seniors and juniors equipped with rate sheets from Progressive Insurance and giving out auto insurance quotes for coverage to fellow students, faculty and parents.

It’s all part of introducing the practicalities of the business world to students through a hands-on experience called Project Invest. Manatee High business education teacher Dennis Stallard believes high schoolers exposed to the real world of business are much more prepared when they graduate to be successful in life.

“We try to deal with subjects that deal with the world of work,” he said. “They (students) are one step being out the door and becoming adults. This helps them understand the consequences in the real world for not doing things the right way.”

Recently, the class spent three months learning about the world of insurance with representatives from several local insurance agencies coming in to talk to the class along with field trips to get a first-hand look at agents at work. The students even watched as a damaged car was towed to the school and a real claims adjuster determined how to assess damage and replacement costs.

Project Invest is a nationwide effort by the Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of America to offer high school students a chance to get hands-on experience in the industry.

In a three-month intensive study, students research the industry, develop a portfolio and a marketing plan, form mock agencies and handle jobs in customer sales, underwriting and accounting in a true business simulation, Stallard said. Manatee High School has been participating in the program for three years and Palmetto High School for five years.

“They get to see how diverse and intricate our business is,” said Phill Baker, an agent with Boyd Insurance and co-chairman of the local program.

Greg Bustle, with Wyman, Green and Blalock and the other co-chair, finds a lot of enjoyment in getting into the classroom and developing a relationship with the students. “You know, you can develop a jaded view of students these days but I’ve found, when challenged, they seem to rise to it,” he said.

Stallard and his counterpart, Gayle Twitty in Palmetto, are both “fine, enthusiastic teachers” who really make the program work, Bustle said.

Auto insurance, rather than health or property insurance, becomes the focus of study “because it captures their attention since most of them have a car or soon will,” Baker said.

Mason Morehouse, 18, enjoyed the competition between agencies in his class.

“We had incentives to get customers in for quotes,” he said. “Things like free sodas and Arby coupons.” Students, dressed in business attire and armed with business cards, persuaded their “customers” to spend 10 minutes getting an auto insurance quote.

“It was pretty intense,” said Reagan Pratt, 17. “There was some heavy competition.”

Stallard said the students “learned a lot about human nature” in the class. Students were faced with some eye-opening information, Baker said.

“They can’t believe the numbers they hear on premiums, how things like tickets, how far they drive and what their car is used for affects them,” he said.

“They find out we don’t just dream up the rates like magic,” Baker said. “There is a real process in coming up with the premiums.”

The study culminates with a banquet this week at Renaissance on 9th where students will be awarded several $2,000 to $4,000 scholarships as well as $600 to $800 in cash prizes.

Although Morehouse doesn’t plan to become an insurance agent — he hopes to attend Kent State University in Ohio and major in sports management — he thinks Project Invest and other activities in Stallard’s class have helped prepare him for the real world of work.

“It makes me understand why my boss gets mad sometimes,” said Morehouse, who also works part-time at a local restaurant. He ended up leading his team on the project and was frustrated by some of his teammates who didn’t handle their share of the work.

“If this had been a real job, they would have been fired,” he said.