Chris Gonzalez never had any intention of getting into the family business – but our clients are incredibly happy he did. After studying accounting, finance, and real estate in college, Chris intended to go on to a plum accounting job at an enormous firm – which wound up going bankrupt just before he graduated. The experience sobered him and made him reconsider his priorities – did he really want to join the corporate game, or would he rather commit his life to helping people in real and measurable ways?
He chose the latter path, and began working with his father at Gonzalez Insurance. He quickly found ways of improving the customer’s experience with their insurance agent, largely in the realm of education. The more information we can give our clients, Chris reasoned, the better-equipped they’ll be to make smart decisions regarding their insurance. When difficult times arise, their insurance will be properly calculated to help them manage the disaster, which will make them glad they worked with insurance agents who put all their cards on the table from the beginning. Chris’ theory of customer service proved incredibly powerful, and he’s never stopped looking for ways to make it easier for clients to learn more about their insurance.
That finance degree didn’t wind up going to waste, either. Chris enjoys playing the real estate investment game, which gives him something of an inside scoop when it comes to advising clients on how best to insure their commercial property. He’s fond of saying that finding a good insurance agent is no different than finding a great mechanic – the cheapest one is often shoddy work that will cost you severely, but if you can find a reliable, reasonably-priced guy who does good work the first time around, you’ve got someone who’ll take care of you for life.
Your average insurance agent will be licensed by the state, which requires only one month of training. A particularly ambitious agent might be a CISR, or a Certified Insurance Service Representative, which is also relatively simple to procure. Chris holds these basic designations, but he has also pursued several other, much more prestigious designations that are harder to acquire and indicate a much higher amount of expertise in the real estate field.
Chris is a Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter (CPCU), which very few people in this industry hold, since it is challenging and time-consuming to acquire (8 different tests are required). Most relevantly for his clients, this designation requires ethics and experience requirements, as well as specialties in insurance-related business law, finance, and accounting. Chris is also a Certified Insurance Counselor (CIC), which is another prestigious designation requiring 5 exams over 2 years. This designation allows him to better protect his clients in commercial casualty, commercial property, life, health, and agency management. He holds an Associate in Commercial Underwriting degree, which gives him an expert understanding of how commercial underwriters evaluate risks, and he is an Accredited Advisor in Insurance (AAI). His education won’t stop with these accolades, either – he is currently pursuing his Chartered Financial Consultant (ChFC) designation.
Remarkably, with all of this, Chris still manages to have spare time, during which you can often find him reading up on real estate, renovations, and finance. He’s an avid bicyclist, traveler, and motorcycle rider, and any of the above are great ways to strike up a lasting friendship. Just don’t ask him about skiing – he only just started to learn.
Chris may not have been certain he wanted to enter the family business, but ever since he claimed his space here, Gonzalez Insurance has reached new heights. Chris’ enthusiasm and innovation have made our company an incredible place for us to work and for our clients to work with, and he says now that he can’t imagine himself anywhere else. He tries to come up with a new client-friendly service or product every week, and we anticipate you’ll be reaping the benefits of his hard work for years to come.
If you’d like to talk to Chris about your insurance needs, you can reach him directly by filling in the service form below. He’ll be more than happy to get in touch with you and help you figure out the best way to protect all the most important things in your life.