Nobody grows up saying they want to sell commercial insurance. I sure didn’t.
Before I ever wrote a policy or walked a client through their coverage gaps, I spent years working with standardbred race horses. Early mornings, long hours, physical work, unpredictable outcomes. You learn fast that the things you can’t control will always outnumber the things you can, and that the only thing you’re really managing is risk.
Turns out that’s pretty good training for insurance.
Not Exactly a Straight Line
I grew up in Pittsburgh and moved to Northeast Ohio for college. I went to Baldwin Wallace, came for school, and never left. Somewhere along the way I got married, had two kids, and started asking the question every parent eventually asks: Is what I’m doing going to be enough?
I loved the horse racing world. But loving something and building a stable life on it are two different conversations. I wanted to provide something better for my family. Not just financially, but the kind of stability where you’re not wondering what next month looks like.
So I made a change. I got a position at an Allstate agency and spent a couple of years learning the business from the inside. How policies are structured, how claims actually work, what carriers look for, and most importantly, what clients actually need versus what they’re being sold. After a couple of years I took the leap and bought my own Allstate agency.
And then COVID hit.
Walking Away and Coming Back
I sold my Allstate agency during the pandemic. The timing, the market conditions, the uncertainty of it all. If you were running a small business in 2020, you know what that felt like. Every decision felt like a guess and the ground kept shifting under your feet.
I went back to the horses. And honestly, part of me thought that might be the end of the insurance chapter. But the thing about running your own business is that once you’ve done it, working for someone else never quite fits the same way again. You’ve seen what’s possible. You’ve tasted the freedom and the fear of having your name on the door. That doesn’t go away.
So I came back. But this time, I came back differently.
I joined UPIC, a Columbus-based group of independent insurance agents, and opened my own commercial-focused agency under their banner. No more captive carrier. No more selling whatever one company told me to sell. This time I could shop the market, find the right coverage from the right carrier, and build something that was actually designed around what my clients needed.
That was almost two years ago. Over eight years of insurance experience, two agencies, one pandemic, and a whole career with horses before any of it. Not exactly a straight line. But I think the winding road is what makes me good at this.
What I Learned From Horses (Seriously)
People ask me sometimes what horse racing has to do with insurance. More than you’d think.
Working with horses teaches you to pay attention to the details other people skip. A slight change in how a horse moves might mean nothing, or it might mean everything. You learn to watch, ask questions, and not assume that because something looked fine yesterday, it’s fine today.
That’s exactly how I approach a client’s insurance. I don’t just pull up last year’s policy and hit renew. I want to know what changed. Did you buy another property? Add a crew member? Start doing a different type of work? Did your lease terms change? Because any one of those things can create a gap that doesn’t show up until you’re filing a claim.
The other thing horses teach you is that you can’t fake competence. The animal doesn’t care about your sales pitch. Either you know what you’re doing or you don’t. I try to bring that same honesty to how I work with clients. If something isn’t right, I’ll tell you. If I don’t know the answer, I’ll find it. I’d rather lose a deal being straight with someone than win one by telling them what they want to hear.
Why I Focus on Contractors and Investors
When I opened this agency, I had to make a choice about who I wanted to serve. I could try to be everything to everyone, or I could get really good at one thing.
I chose commercial insurance for contractors, property investors, and growing businesses. Partly because I understood them. These are people who build things, who take risks, who bet on themselves. They’re not sitting in corporate offices collecting a salary. They’re out there every day making it work, and they need someone who takes their coverage as seriously as they take their business.
The other reason is more practical: these are the people who get the worst service from the big agencies. A contractor with a $5,000 annual premium isn’t a priority for a national brokerage. A landlord with three rental properties doesn’t get the attention that a Fortune 500 account gets. But those businesses matter. Those policies matter. And the gaps in those policies can be devastating when something goes wrong.
That’s where I come in. Not because I’m the biggest agency. Because I’m the one that actually picks up the phone.
The Honest Truth About Running This Business
I’m not going to pretend it’s been easy. There have been months where I questioned everything. Months where the marketing didn’t work, the phone didn’t ring, and I wondered if I’d made a huge mistake coming back to insurance instead of staying with the horses.
Cash flow is a constant conversation. Finding new clients never stops being a challenge. The amount of time you spend on things that aren’t your actual job is staggering. Fixing your website, figuring out software, dealing with carrier bureaucracy. And nobody prepares you for how lonely it is. When you work for someone else, at least there’s a team. When it’s your business, the decisions are yours and so are the consequences.
But here’s the thing: I wouldn’t trade it. Not for a second. Because when a contractor calls me and says “hey, I just got my first big contract and I need real coverage,” I get to be the person who helps them take that step. When a landlord calls because a pipe burst and they need to file a claim, I get to walk them through it and make sure they’re protected. That’s not just a transaction. That’s someone trusting me with their livelihood.
What I’d Tell Any Small Business Owner
If you’re running a business in Cleveland, Broadview Heights, or anywhere in Northeast Ohio, and you’re reading this, I want you to know something: the struggle you’re feeling is normal. The doubt is normal. The feeling that everyone else has it figured out and you’re just winging it? That’s normal too. I’m right there with you.
I’ve built two agencies now. I’ve sold one. I’ve walked away from a career I loved to try something new, and then walked away from the new thing to go back to the old thing, and then came back again. None of it was planned. All of it taught me something.
The businesses that make it aren’t the ones that have all the answers. They’re the ones that keep showing up, keep learning, and keep making the next right decision they can see. That’s all any of us are doing.
And if one of those next decisions involves looking at your insurance, really looking at it, not just auto-renewing whatever you had last year, I’m here. Not as a salesman. As a business owner who’s in the same fight you are.
Andy Betts is the owner of UPIC Commercial, a commercial insurance agency in Broadview Heights, OH. With over eight years of insurance experience and two agencies under his belt, he serves contractors, property investors, and growing businesses throughout Northeast Ohio. You can reach him at (216) 714-3377 or andrewbetts@upinsurancecompany.com.