When you first walk in to Mike Crise’s office, it’s obvious that this is not just any old insurance services office. There are no cubicles or folding tables stacked high with brochures. You can’t see the coffee pot or the copy machine. This feels like a home … a very comfortable and inviting home … complete with plasma TV, overstuffed leather furniture, and an executive conference room that would make any attorney proud. Making clients feel at home is the goal of the Mike Crise Agency. He doesn’t want to write a quick and easy home and auto insurance policy for his clients. He wants to get to know them, understand their needs and dreams, and save them valuable time and money achieving those dreams. Apparently he’s doing exactly that, because 90 percent of his clients come from referrals.
The first thing Mike does when he sits down with a potential client is listen to what the critical needs are, what the client’s priorities are, and what the goals are for the future. He then creates a “Financial Blueprint” that outlines the priorities to achieve these goals, in order of importance. “One of the most common exposures we find is that clients don’t have enough disability protection. Your greatest asset is your earning ability. If you are disabled, this has the potential to be a devastating event, and yet people leave themselves open to risk in that area,” Mike explains. The Financial Blueprint will list critical needs, including asset protection and risk exposure. Goals for the future often include paying for a child’s college education and saving for retirement. Mike specializes in annuities, and other savings plans to help his clients plan for these future events. After discussing this financial blueprint, Mike and his staff create a “comprehensive” binder with all the essential information in it: a summary of the client’s current position, recommendations on how to better that position, and ways that the Mike Crise Agency can implement those recommendations and still save the client money. “We take a holistic approach to our clients’ needs,” says Mr. Crise. “We look at ways to provide more value and savings on their insurance policies and use the savings to help fund future needs or a child's educational needs.”
When asked what makes the Mike Crise Agency different from other insurance agencies, most of his clients will tell you they received much more service than they expected. His office is not a high volume agency, because his top priority is getting to know his clients and their needs on a personal basis. He spends a lot of time listening to his clients to discover their needs. After discovering that many of his clients have teenage drivers, he began offering a video program in his office called “Y.E.S.” (You’re Essential to Safety) to educate young drivers and their parents on driver safety and insurance cost issues. Youthful drivers who complete the video course and maintain the program’s requirements have proven to be more responsible drivers. His agency is a local, one-stop-shop for insurance, including auto, home, life, disability, health and commercial.
With an MBA in finance and years of experience in the industry, Mike Crise and his staff bring to the marketplace a solid base of knowledge in insurance, and complex, executive strategies. “We we work with CPA’s, estate planning attorneys and professional money managers to achieve our client’s asset protection goals,” he says.
Being a local resident in