Featured Business
Colleen Humphrey,
American Family Insurance Agent
by Virginia Bruce
 From her office in Cedar Mill’s new commercial building on Cornell, Colleen provides home, auto, life, business, and umbrella policies for American Family Insurance.
“I chose to work in the insurance business because of a hard lesson in what happens when you’re not properly insured. I chose to work for American Family because it is one of the most stable companies and has an amazingly efficient claims department. I had to know that the people I insure will be taken care of when the time comes.”
Colleen’s first career was in the restaurant business for over 25 years. After about seven years of owning and managing “Seafood Mama Restaurant,” she took on a business partner who suddenly died a few years later. “After being forced to make the decision to sell my restaurant, I realized it could have been prevented if my agent had offered to set us up with a life policy that would protect my portion of the partnership. I owe it to my clients to help them avoid such a situation if anything should happen to them. I like being the person that looks out for them”
Before opening Seafood Mama, she owned Crackerjack’s Pub & Eatery. She sold that in 1987 and created the new restaurant “from scratch.” It was a popular and lively spot, with a pleasant interior and three levels of decks and gardens out back at the location on 21st Avenue. After that, she went on to spend the next ten years managing both corporate and independent restaurants in the metro area.
When Colleen started receiving recruiting letters from insurance companies, her initial reaction was “why me?” After finally agreeing to talk to the recruiters, she became convinced that she really did have the right skills and motivation to be a great agent. “In a way, it’s the same process as running a restaurant. You let everyone know where you are, tell them the value of what you offer, and invite them to share that,” she says.
 She gets great support from the company. “American Family has an extensive training program at their State office. They fly all of their agents to spend time at the home office in Wisconsin, to study under the management and agents that have been with the company for their entire careers. And there is on-going training for new as well as existing products, to help us take care of our clients.”
After her training, she spent a year at an agency in the Pearl District, but she really wanted to be part of a neighborhood with a strong sense of community. She has lived in the Cedar Mill area most of her life, and graduated from Sunset High. When she found this office space she knew right away it was just what she wanted. She’s been here for two years.
She has clients all over Oregon, but she markets mainly within Cedar Mill. She joined the Cedar Mill Business Association right away and started advertising in the News. She really likes having everything close and local.
Everyone wants to save money on insurance. Colleen says, “I can do the best job for a client when I insure their entire portfolio. There are large discounts for insuring home and auto, as well as for having an umbrella, life, monitored alarm system, and business policies. Plus, we have new auto discounts that make us extremely competitive.” She even has some nice gift cards from local restaurants and coffee bars for potential customers who come in and check out her services.
What sets her apart from other agents? She says, “I like to make life as convenient as possible for my clients. I make sure they have my cell phone number so they can shoot me an email or call if there is anything they want me to address for them, and I always respond to them right away.” She laughs, “It’s a personality flaw… I am happy when my clients need me.”
 |
| Chad, who usually works in another AmFam office, is helping her out this summer while her regular office assistant, Jennifer, accompanies her husband to Hawaii on an Intel sabbatical (poor thing). |
One of the challenges she finds is that this economy, “makes it hard for people to do what is best for themselves, and have the coverage they need to protect their families.” She cautions people not to let coverage lapse, because you lose all your discounts and have to go back to the base rate.
She really loves the building she’s in, especially now that it’s full of tenants. “My building is the best… I encourage everyone to come see us. Beside our agency, there is a fabulous hair studio, acupuncturist, masseuse, yoga studio, traditional east Indian dance classes, a financial advisor, and a Persian market and deli that offers fresh grilled lunches.”
Colleen lives within five minutes of her office with her husband Doug. They recently remodeled to make “a nice living space so my Mom and her dog could move in and not deal with the stairs on a regular basis. They join us (and and our two eight-year-old kitties) when they are up to it. We feel like a big family now—there are six of us.”
As you might imagine with a former restaurant owner, she loves to cook. “I have moved from my love of traditional French cooking to a much lighter, leaner fare… spending as much time as possible at the local Saturday markets and supporting the Oregon farms.”
Colleen Humphrey’s American Family Insurance office is located at 12923 NW Cornell, Suite 102. Call her for more information at (503) 626-2129, or email her at chumphr1@amfam.com.
|
