General Agent With More Than 40 Years Experience Had Front-Row Seat to Industry Turmoil

For more than four decades, Robert Fine has had a front-row seat to the ups and downs of the life insurance industry.

During that time, he's witnessed several economic crises and found that the key to staying ahead of those situations is to "adjust to them and stay on top of your business every day.

"It's also important to make changes on the fly and work with people who are very career-oriented and serious about the business," he said.

That is something he's learned as a general agent for the Guardian Life Insurance Company of America. This year marks his 40th anniversary with the company.

Fine is also the founder and chief executive officer of insurance and financial services firm Robert Fine & Associates.

Fine's career began in 1965 as an insurance consultant with Metropolitan Life, a job he got after being approached by three sales agents while eating breakfast at a local restaurant.

For more than two years, he did sales and was eventually promoted to sales manager. Then, in 1971, he set out to start his own financial services company and eventually began brokering some business with Guardian.

Fine became a general agent for Guardian's Worcester, Mass., territory and made an agreement with then-Guardian CEO Leo Futia "to build the business my way, which would be hiring people frustrated with the training company and get them to the next level of sales: estate planning and the business market."

Fine credits Guardian's recruiting model as helping him attract experienced agents looking for "an organization that supports and fosters an entrepreneurial spirit."

Today, Fine's Framingham, Mass.-based general agency has 18 producers, 40 employees and more than 5,000 clients. The family-owned business also is run by his sons, Randy, who is president, and Matthew as director of sales and marketing.

"Working with Guardian has taught me how to run my own business," noted Fine. "That's paramount because it's not allowed in many companies. Guardian is an entrepreneurial company and its synergy is incredible. I'm retiring my sixth CEO of Guardian at the end of this year and I continue to maintain relationships with them."

Fine said one of the biggest lessons he learned during the most recent financial crisis is to "stay close to your best people and see what you can do to help them every day. It's also important to build trusted relationships."

What life insurers now need to do to regain momentum, he said, is "to talk to their top producers to find out where their clients' needs are and help them address those needs. They have the wherewithal to do that in the area of products."

Fine said he looks forward to the future and continuing to help his sons grow the agency to the next level.

"We want to bring in more agents that feel the same way we do about the business and see what value-adds we can bring to them to help them achieve their goals," he said.

Guardian Life Insurance Company of America has a current Best's Financial Strength Rating of A++ (Superior).

(By Lori Chordas, senior associate editor, Best's Review: [email protected])