Featured Business
Joseph LaParne Agency
By Virginia Bruce
Two events in Joey LaParne’s life guided him toward a career as an insurance agent. First, when he was 15 years old, he was in a car being driven by a friend when it went off the road and hit a tree. Joey sustained serious internal injuries and spent several weeks in the hospital. Although he fully regained his health, the friend’s insurance coverage, while adequate, just wasn’t enough to cover the huge medical bills from his multiple surgeries and long hospital stay. Joey’s family had to struggle to cover everything.
 Two years later, his 21-year-old sister died suddenly of an undiagnosed heart condition. She left behind two young children and a husband who struggled to continue the daycare business she had started. “With the loss of her income, medical bills and the stress of dealing with a new business, her husband ended up having to sell their house. Without the aid of family and friends, he could have ended up homeless,” Joey recalls. “I didn’t know back then that I wanted to become an insurance agent, I just knew that things would have been much better if my beloved sister had just invested in a life insurance policy.”
LaParne started working early in his life, delivering the Oregonian for his father, who had a distributorship in the Aloha area. “I got up at 4 am every day to deliver papers. Sometimes I skipped out of school just to head back home and sleep—I wasn’t much of a student,” he laughs. He became a contract distributor full time when he finished school, but when the Oregonian went online and circulation plunged, he spent a few years working for his brother-in-law in the construction business, and then began working in a Nike warehouse. “I was moving up in that job, but I finally realized I really wanted to work for myself. I don’t like to be micromanaged!”
 That’s when he investigated insurance. He checked out the four big companies that operate in the Portland area, and was most impressed by Farmers. “They excel in many areas. I appreciate that they let their agents stay involved in the claims process. I can establish a relationship with my clients. I want to be sure that they’re taken care of and not just handed over to the claims department.”
He started with on-the-job training as a reserve agent. “Once you get your license, and prove that you can do the work, you can convert to ‘career agent.’ You spend seven days at Farmers’ University in Thousand Oaks, California.” He was impressed with the thorough training and with the way the company invested in him. “It really ramped up my loyalty and morale,” he says.
His approach with clients is very hands-on. “My favorite approach is the ‘Insurance 180,’” he says. “When a prospective client sits down to review their current coverage with me, we often find they have ‘bottom of the barrel’ insurance and have been overly exposed to risk.”
He says that a lot of agents just sell the state minimum coverages to win the business. “It’s a price game,” he says. “Once we establish their needs, and the appropriate coverage is put in place with their new policies, I love the look of relief my clients get knowing they can rest easy now that they’re properly protected.”
People can save money by having all their coverage with one company. For homeowners, he says, “Avoid smaller, less catastrophic claims. Pay attention to the security and safety of your home.” The best way to save money on car insurance is, of course, to drive safely and avoid getting tickets!
Many people have very little idea what kind of insurance coverage they actually have, he notes. He enjoys educating them. “Sometimes I go into a business, and gather the employees at lunchtime over some pizza, and explain in plain language what they probably have, and what they need.”
 He offers all kinds of insurance except health. This includes business policies for liability and equipment, along with home, auto, boats and RVs.
He and his wife Tiffany have a three-year-old son and are expecting another son in May. She has been working as a mortgage processor, helping customers with all the paperwork they need to gather to complete their applications. “She sees the other side of the insurance business,” he says. “I can get my clients’ paperwork handed over in about four minutes. Sometimes it takes days for her customers to get theirs from their agents. That’s the difference that having your own live agent can make.”
Getting policies online can be very tempting, he understands. The difference, he says, is that, “Bottom line, an agent gets to know you personally. They sit across the desk from you, and they learn your needs. They can then be proactive and see problems before they become problems. You have questions? Call your agent. You need to pay your bill? Call your agent. You need documents? You have a problem? Call your agent. You talk to the same person every time. Or you can get online insurance, talk to a different person in a cubicle every time you need something, and sit on hold every time you call the “toll-free service hotline:”
As an example, he tells of an elderly couple who live on the coast. “A neighbor’s tree fell on my clients’ house in a storm. After battling with the neighbor and his insurance company for weeks, with water coming into their home, they finally decided to call me. I had a claims rep there the next day, and had a check in their hands a couple days later. I helped them with arrangements for getting the home repaired, and checked in with them daily. I felt horrible about not being aware of the situation sooner. I have left them back where they were before that tree fell and they could not be more grateful. That’s why I love my job.”
He enjoys the small-town feel of Cedar Mill, where he and his family now live. He joined the Cedar Mill Business Association a couple of years ago and got involved with the Events Committee, helping to organize the group’s booths at the Park Concert and the Cider Festival. This year, he joined the board, and counts a couple of other board members among his clients.
His biggest challenge is marketing. “I don’t like telephone marketing,” he says. “I don’t enjoy getting interrupted by some stranger on the phone, so I don’t want to do that to other people.” He considers himself an adviser and an interpreter, helping people to understand their needs and the types of coverage that will keep them from suffering the kind of harm that he and his family experienced.
“I'm getting known as 'the most referred agent in Cedar Mill' because of my commitment to my clients. They seem to love what I'm doing for them so they often refer me to their family, friends and co-workers.”
He understands that change can be painful for people. “It can be a lot of trouble for people to switch their insurance. And sometimes they feel like they don’t want to face their lack of protection. I try to make it as easy as possible. I am happy to make house calls if that’s easier.”
He’s offering a two-page guide he created called, “7 questions you MUST ask your insurance agent to insure you aren't being ripped off.” Anyone who wants this can simply call or email him—no cost or obligation to them. “I just want to make sure everyone has the right insurance for their current and future needs,” he says.
His office is on the second floor of the Cook Building, on Murray across from the Safeway center, at 1070 NW Murray Rd., Ste 6. If you want to share the confident feeling of knowing your insurance is adequate to your needs, give Joey a call at 971-228-8966 or email him at jlaparne@farmersagent.com.
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