AAFP Insurance Services - Customer Care

J. THOMAS KOCH - PRESIDENT

For Tom Koch, designing and delivering quality, cost effective insurance coverage to family physicians has been more a passion than a job. Literally, he has devoted his entire 40-year career not just to insurance, but to AAFP Insurance Services.

“I started as a part-timer in the summers when I was in college – stuffing envelopes and calculating by hand premium age rate changes. So, I guess you could say I started in the mailroom. I had the unique opportunity to learn the business from the ground up.”

Joining the organization full-time upon graduation from Vanderbilt University in 1971, Tom worked in several positions before becoming president in 1981.

Along the way, in addition to serving members, he helped to shape the industry itself. In 1975, he co-founded the Professional Insurance Marketing Association (PIMA) a nationwide trade association whose members provide insurance coverage to professional associations.

Tom is also a past president of the American Institute of Professional Association Group Insurance Administrators (AIPAGIA). He earned his RHU (Registered Health Underwriter) designation from the American College, and is licensed in 50 states and the District of Columbia. Learning from his father, who was president of Insurance Services before him, Tom sees his role not as selling insurance, but of serving members and meeting their protection needs.

“We do not take off-the-rack coverages from big insurance companies. We design the policies that best reflect the needs of our members and then seek out the insurers that can deliver those policies at competitive costs,” he says. “That is one of the things that make us unique: We put our members’ needs first because AAFP Insurance Services is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the AAFP Foundation. Every member of the Board of Directors is a Family Physician. So Insurance Services is operated by family physicians solely for family physicians.

Why does Tom believe in insurance? “I believe in living a balanced, well-ordered life, and that requires a certain peace of mind. Insurance is a tool that allows someone to mitigate the financial impact of some of life’s uncertainties, and that can help maintain balance, order, and hopefully, peace of mind.

“That is my goal when it comes to working with our family physician members. The best part of what I do is the satisfaction of helping, if only in a small way, members to have one less thing to worry about – freeing them to concentrate on practicing medicine and providing the best primary care in the world.”

And, yes, Tom does have a life beyond work. “Working with family physicians is my passion, but outside of work, I enjoy our five grandsons, traveling, reading, small gatherings of friends and family, walking, swimming, and riding my horse, Dusty. I also enjoy puzzles, live theater, classical music and political discussions.”

RICHARD L. MARSH - VICE-PRESIDENT AND TREASURER

Rick Marsh, a Certified Public Accountant, handles the balance sheets and income statements for AAFP Insurance Services. A graduate of Northwest Missouri State University, with a degree in accounting, Rick’s primary responsibility since joining Insurance Services in 1989 is to make sure the numbers come out right.

He is the first to admit, however, that his job is about much more than numbers. “What I do directly impacts members,” he says, referring to his role in helping to make sure that new insurance policies provide rates and terms that are attractive for members, while also being financially sustainable for the organization.

“Because of the design of our products, we can offer coverage at rates that are competitive,” he explains. “At the same time, we generate a significant amount of dividends for the Foundation each year.” [AAFP Insurance Services is a wholly owned subsidiary of the AAFP Foundation.]

Rick is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. He is also licensed in life, health and property/casualty insurance, which gives him a unique perspective in his work.

As part of that, Rick measures his success in terms of the doctors who turn to AAFP Insurance Services for their insurance needs. “Family physicians are busy,” he says. “They don’t have the luxury of a lot of time to research their needs. That’s our job, to do that on their behalf. For me that’s what makes working with AAFP special.

“Looking at the policies we have designed, I enjoy knowing that we are a credible, reliable resource for coverage and for information for members.”

Rick enjoys the idea of everyone doing what he or she does best. “I go to my Family Physician when I have a health care need. Our members come to us to help with their insurance needs. For me, it’s nice to be able to pay it back in a small way.

“Our members can trust that if I give them information, it is factually based, not sales hype. My job here is not to sell, but to inform and help our doctors arrive at their own decisions.

When not crunching numbers and working with doctors, Rick, along with his wife, enjoys raising their five children. For relaxation, he fishes and works in his yard.

BETTY FREEMAN - DIRECTOR OF MARKETING

Betty Freeman is not your typical, hard-driving marketing executive or salesperson; she’s a dedicated educator. Before joining AAFP Insurance Services in 1986, she used her degrees from Stephens College and the University of Denver to teach French, American History, World Geography, and Remedial Reading.

That’s one of the many reasons she enjoys working with Academy members. “No one here has a sales quota. We describe our products and help doctors understand their options. Mostly, we strive to help them understand the role insurance plays in their overall finances.

“I develop pretty much all of what some organizations would describe as ‘sales materials,’” she says. “To me, however, my role is to educate and inform.

“Teaching taught me to anticipate questions and to give simple, direct, and coherent answers. That ability has transferred to creating descriptive literature for our insurance products. If the AAFP member does not understand our products after reading the brochures, then I haven’t done my job correctly.”

Others agree. She entered the Professional Insurance Marketing Association (PIMA) Marketing Methods competition 13 times and won 13 times.

Betty also comes honestly by her appreciation for insurance. “My husband died at age 42. As a young widow, I quickly learned that bad things do happen to good people, and your vision of your family’s future is just a heartbeat away from disruption.”

She believes in ongoing education, as well. She received the LUTC Fellow designation from the Life Underwriter Training Council and is an active member of AIPAGIA (American Institute of Professional Association Group Insurance Administrators), PIMA, NAIFA (National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors, and the Kansas City Direct Marketing Association.

What she enjoys most about her more than two decades working with Academy members: “I feel truly blessed to work with intelligent, ethical people and to have a portfolio of products that everyone needs.”

Outside of work, Betty still enjoys teaching and being involved in Church and Bible study. Among her most satisfying moments is a situation “in which I helped a young man stay away from gang membership and to get his high school diploma.”

She also worked with “another high school student who didn’t know the alphabet, so couldn’t read. In just six months, he rose to the sixth grade reading level.”