Ann-Marie Del Monte is a Senior Commercial Insurance Specialist at Inszone Insurance Services and the Branch Manager of our Inszone satellite office in Colorado Springs. Ann-Marie joined the team in December 2020 after Inszone’s merger with her previous company, Schaefer Agency. Her continued passion for helping her clients with their insurance needs is paramount to her success over her two decades of professional experience in the insurance industry.
Ann-Marie prides herself in her thorough understanding of the commercial side of insurance, which allows her to professionally assess and identify the needs of her clients, while matching those needs to different available insurance solutions. Whether it’s a small business with modest needs or a large corporation, Ann-Marie does her best to provide the best possible coverage at the lowest possible cost.
Ann-Marie is an invaluable resource to the Inszone team who is willing to go the extra mile to help the company reach its goals. She is collaborative, talented, reliable and strives to build great relationships with her colleagues and clients. Her work ethics, tenacity, and professionalism truly demonstrate the Inszone core values.
When asked to share some words about Ann-Marie, Norma Villafranca, who is one of Inszone’s Commercial Sales Team Managers and Ann-Marie’s direct supervisor, said, “Ann-Marie is the person we can always count on, she’s reliable and helpful. The hard work and talent she brings to the table always exceeds my expectations. Thanks for all you do, we really appreciate your hard work and dedication. I look forward to working with you for many more years!”
To get to know Ann-Marie a little better, we asked her a couple of question about herself and her time in the insurance world. Here’s what she had to say:
Q: Tell us about your start in the insurance industry?
A: I started out in the insurance industry in 1998 by answering an ad in my daily newspaper. I was with State Farm for four years selling Personal and Commercial Lines as well as Life & Health. On the financial side, I did auto loans and lines of credit. After a short stint with Farmers, I went to SCA Insurance who was later purchased by HUB International for a total of ten years, continuing to write all lines with a heavy basis in commercial. I came to Schaefer Agency from the suggestion of my Liberty Mutual Marketing Rep in April of 2011 and started working for Inszone in December 2020.
Q: What has been one of your proudest moments in the insurance world?
A: It is hard to narrow it down to one item but something that really sticks out is when I quoted an extremely difficult client for commercial insurance in the early days when I really was still learning the ins and outs. They kept coming back to me with a series of questions to which I didn’t know the answers and had to find out. Three months later, they wanted to issue the policy and I wasn’t sure I wanted to do it anymore. Now, 16 years later, I still insure them and am so grateful for everything they have taught me.
Q: If you were not in insurance, what would you like to be doing?
A: If I wasn’t in the insurance industry, I would be a landscape architect. I have always loved creating plans and designs!
Q: What is your career goal?
A: My career goal is just to do what I think I have been put on this earth to do, which is to help people in whatever way I can, especially with their insurance needs.
Q: If you could sit down with your younger self, what is one piece of advice you would share?
A: If I could sit down with my younger self, the main thing I would stress is that life is shorter than you think and though it is important to see the big picture, it is more important to make the most of each day because we do not get those back.
Q: What’s something you do outside of work that would surprise your co-workers and clients?
A: A couple of things people don’t know about me outside Colorado is that I own and operate a somewhat successful (still working on it!) Greenhouse/Landscape Design business that I plan on doing full-time once I retire from the insurance industry.
Q: What quote keeps you inspired in your day-to-day life?
A: “A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.” – Winston Churchill
Juan Cruz
