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Vol. 2, Iss. 21
November 13, 2013

 

Declarations: The Coverage Opinions Interview With Chris Amrhein
of InsuranceIsFun.com

The Insurance Website That You’ve Gotta See To Believe




Just its name – InsuranceIsFun.com -- has got to be enough to make you want to check it out. And when you do you won’t be disappointed. How many insurance websites sell coffee mugs, clocks, boxer shorts, t-shirts and clothing for your dog (and lots more) that say such things as “Bind me baby,” “Adjusters live in denial,” “Forget my exclusions. Let’s talk about your limitations,” “Insurance is fun. No really, it is,” and “Will bind for chocolate.” (And a bunch more). But selling fun insurance items is just part of this great website.

The obvious questions about a website like this – what’s its purpose, how did it get there and who’s behind it?

First the who. IIF is the brainchild of Chris Amrhein of Virginia. Chris is a 42 year veteran of the insurance industry. His background is in the independent agency business, having been a producer and agency owner/manager. But Chris is now, and has been for a long time, an insurance educator. He serves as a speaker, consultant, seminar leader and training developer. He is also a text book author, monthly columnist for American Agent and Broker Magazine and faculty member of the IIABA’s Virtual University.

Chris’s collaborator, co-founder of IIF, and co-chief fun officer, as he is known, is Peter van Aartrijk of The van Aartrijk Group LLC in Virginia. The van Aartrijk Group is a branding and marketing communications firm dedicated to supporting professionals in insurance, financial services and association management.

I spoke to Chris last week from California where he was on the road doing what he does. So what’s the story behind IIF, I blurted out after we had a minute of pleasantries. The idea for Insurance is Fun came about six or seven years ago as a place (club so to speak) where insurance professionals, who speak a language only known to themselves, can go and experience a lighter side of the business. The idea was for it to serve as an adjunct to its founders’ business interests. Incidentally, Insuranceisfun was Chris’s AOL e-mail address since its very earliest days.

The IIF website describes itself as a place where those with a fascination with forms, lust for policy language and kinship with coverage can come together and feel a part of something greater. No longer do you need to keep your love for insurance a secret. IIF is a way of life. Loving what you do and being proud of it. The site uses superb cartoon graphics and this immediately sets the tone for what’s about to come.

The IIF site offers educational insurance podcasts (such as lessons from the Grateful Dead to incorporate into your business), insurance jokes, claims quotes, insurance poetry and seminar offerings. While the content is somewhat focused on the insurance agency side of the business, there is plenty there for non-agents too.

Now, about all of those products with crazy insurance expressions. Wearing a t-shirt or apron that says “Bind me baby” or “Adjusters live in denial,” or having such expressions on a stuffed teddy bear, license plate frame, hat, pillow or clock, is simply part of the IIF experience, Chris explained. Bind me baby is the best selling slogan. Can’t make up your mind about which expression you like best? There is a t-shirt that has them all.

Of course I had to ask Chris about sales. While the site sells plenty of merchandise, he told me, it does not make a lot of money. But it is not designed to. Since the site does not accept advertising, the objective is simply for the money made from the store to cover the IIF site’s expenses. And it does that. The site uses Café Press to handle the production and distribution of the products. When you take the Café Press route, where they do all the work, it limits the amount of money to be made. Chris raved about Café Press and the level of quality and service that they provide. That’s what matters most to him.

Check out InsuranceIsFun.com and see the fun that you’ve been missing and how you can be the most popular gift-giver this holiday season.

 
 
 
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