Insurance Town

This episode is live from the Santa Monica Peir at Insurance Fest 2026. Sponsors:Canopy Connect -Making it easier for agencies to collect insurance information directly from clients and prospects, helping speed up the quoting process and improve the customer experience.Bind AI-  An AI-powered digital teammate built to help insurance professionals automate repetitive work, increase efficiency, and give their teams more time to focus on the human side of the business. V!VA-  Helping insurance agencies scale with trained virtual professionals who can support service, operations, marketing, and more giving your team additional capacity without sacrificing the customer experience. 

This week in Insurance Town, Mayor sits down with longtime friend and fellow insurance leader Heath Barnett, co-owner of Legacy, for a conversation about growth, culture, ownership, and building a business people actually want to be part of.Heath Barnett is an insurance agency leader and co-owner of Legacy. After beginning his career in the captive insurance world, Heath transitioned into the independent channel and helped build Legacy into a multi-state insurance organization.His leadership philosophy centers on developing people, creating opportunities for ownership, giving local leaders autonomy, and building an organization where professional success doesn’t have to come at the expense of family and the things that matter most.Heath’s story starts in Memphis, Texas, where he grew up around agriculture, small-town relationships, and a family Farmers agency. After working alongside his grandfather and eventually purchasing the agency, Heath began seeing opportunities beyond the captive model. That journey ultimately led him into the independent insurance world and to what has become Legacy—an organization that has grown to roughly 250 people across multiple states.But this episode isn’t simply about getting bigger.It’s about how you grow without losing who you are.Heath and Mayor talk about the importance of training agents to understand what they are actually selling instead of competing on price alone. They dig into what the captive world can teach independent agencies about carrier training and development, why Legacy intentionally recruits coaches and teachers, and why the right culture can become one of the strongest recruiting and retention tools an agency has.They also get into ownership, succession planning, producer autonomy, burnout, family priorities, faith, and creating an organization where people have the opportunity to build something of their own.If you’re an agency owner thinking about growth, recruiting, producer development, culture, or succession, there are plenty of nuggets in this one.Episode Timestamps00:00 – Welcome to Insurance Town03:21 – Meet Heath Barnett09:27 – Leaving the captive model for the independent channel10:34 – Rebuilding culture in the independent insurance world15:43 – What Farmers got right about training and support18:26 – Stop selling price and start understanding the product21:54 – Why Legacy recruits coaches and teachers29:19 – Burnout, family priorities, and faith at work32:53 – The original vision for Legacy’s growth36:54 – Why producers choose the Legacy model41:41 – Ownership, succession, and protecting an agent’s book43:42 – Why Legacy moved beyond the traditional last-name agency model44:53 – Connecting with Heath Barnett and Legacy45:45 – Legacy’s growing multi-state footprint46:02 – What could be next for Legacy49:19 – Texas football, Texas Tech, and the Longhorns51:15 – Closing thoughtsLearn more about Legacy at legacyinsurance1.com.Proud Partners of Insurance TownCanopy ConnectStop chasing down declaration pages and PDFs. Canopy Connect helps insurance professionals collect verified insurance information directly from prospects and clients in seconds, creating a faster and easier experience for everyone involved.Bind AIFormerly 1Fort, Bind AI is helping insurance organizations put AI to work as a digital teammate—supporting workflows, increasing capacity, and helping teams spend more time on the work that requires human judgment and relationships.V!VA Virtual SolutionsV!VA helps insurance agencies build effective virtual teams by focusing on more than simply placing a VA. Their approach centers on processes, training, accountability, and helping agencies create measurable return on their investment.Insurance Town listeners can receive $1,000 off when getting started with V!VA Virtual Solutions.Thank you to our partners for supporting Insurance Town and helping us continue bringing real conversations, practical ideas, and stories from people doing the work across the insurance industry.One change I particularly like here is positioning the episode around the question, “How do you grow without losing who you are?” That feels very on-brand for Insurance Town and gives the entire episode a stronger through-line.

in this weeks episode, Heath Shearon sits down with Rob Lopez, CEO of V!VA, for a wide-ranging conversation about insurance, outsourcing, virtual assistants, and AI. Rob shares how his path from broadcast journalism and sports radio led him back into the insurance world, and why his focus has always been on building real departments not just filling seats.They also dig into what makes V!VA different: process-driven onboarding, bilingual support, nearshore staffing in El Salvador, and a consultative approach that helps agencies document workflows before adding talent.https://vivateams.com/insurancetownTimestamps00:00 – Welcome, sponsors, and introducing Rob Lopez from V!VA03:33 – Why Rob stays present in the industry05:32 – Rob’s early life as an Allstate kid06:30 – Broadcast journalism, the Houston Rockets, and a career shift07:26 – The first life insurance claim that changed Rob’s perspective07:55 – Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Wilma08:44 – Distribution work, aggregators, and building agency networks09:35 – Why aggregator margins eventually hurt the value proposition10:29 – Rob’s sports talk and media background12:30 – Why catastrophe work mattered more than commissions14:53 – Rob’s father and front-line catastrophe response17:37 – Delivering a claim check and overcoming fear at the kitchen table18:43 – Why showing up during claims builds trust20:40 – Heath and Rob discuss the mission behind insurance22:32 – How Rob entered the virtual assistant space23:43 – Hiring for impact, not headcount24:39 – The story behind V!VA’s first hire27:18 – How that first hire became part of V!VA’s origin story29:13 – The evolution from “VA” to trained insurance team members30:13 – Why checklists and SOPs are essential32:03 – Using virtual assistants to document workflows33:27 – Why Rob is willing to say no to the wrong client fit36:01 – Cheap labor versus true partnership37:26 – Building departments instead of relying on one person41:06 – Why turnover is inevitable without documented processes42:31 – The impact of losing a virtual assistant44:21 – V!VA’s systems and strategy review process45:48 – Quarterly check-ins and role alignment47:12 – Virtual assistants, licensed agents, and career growth49:17 – Why nearshore support can be effective for insurance agencies51:06 – AI versus humans in the agency53:30 – V!VA Front Desk and AI-powered communication55:22 – AI for after-hours lead capture56:48 – Cost savings, payroll, and E&O coverage60:04 – How to contact Rob and access the Insurance Town offer61:26 – The $1,000 setup credit for Insurance Town listenersSponsors: Canopy Connect - get dec pages , gather information , meet your clients where they are Get a discount using my code !! 1fort.ai- it is AI for insurance agencies , save time, be more efficient and win more deals with 1 Fort AIViva - see why more people are going to viva for near shore talent. And get a massive discount for being a listener of the show

In this weeks episode the Mayor talks with Dave Rose, an agency operator at Bolt and former Liberty Mutual and Travelers leader, about what independent agents can learn from captive carriers, how connected distribution works, and how agencies can start using AI without overhauling everything. Dave brings a practical, operator’s perspective from both the agency side and the tech side, with a focus on real-world implementation rather than hype.In this episode, they cover the process discipline of captive agencies, the power of referrals and centers of influence in the independent channel, and why AI adoption is more about solving specific pain points than chasing tools. They also preview Dave’s ITC session on building an AI-first agency plan in 30, 60, and 90 days.Timestamps00:00 — Intro, sponsors, and welcome to Dave Rose 08:24 — What Bolt does as a connected distribution platform 10:25 — What Dave learned moving from captive to independent 12:40 — Why independent agency success depends on knowledge, not just choice 15:03 — Centers of influence and building referral pipelines 17:05 — Why branding and marketing matter in the independent channel 19:19 — Why Dave wanted to be both an agency operator and technology builder 20:16 — How Bolt tests technology from the agency side first 23:04 — Why AI vendors all sound similar and what actually matters 24:57 — Advice for technology vendors: think through the agency lens 27:00 — The difference between insurance-first technology and tech-first insurance 28:17 — ITC and the growing role of agents at the conference 29:36 — A real example of an agency owner unsure where to begin with AI 31:18 — Why the industry is still early in its AI journey 34:13 — Three AI myths Dave wants to challenge 36:02 — Why AI should support, not replace, relationship-driven work 38:36 — Dave’s ITC session: practical next steps for agencies 41:26 — Agent Day at ITC and the value-first approach 42:23 — Session title: The AI First Agency: Your 30-, 60-, and 90-Day Plan in 15 Minutes 46:03 — The origins of Bolt and its connected distribution mission 47:28 — How Bolt connects lead generation, quoting, binding, and servicing 49:31 — Who should talk to Bolt and who benefits most 51:29 — How to reach Dave and Bolt 52:40 — Why ITC is worth attending for independent agents 54:58 — Why ITC works because of its concentration of knowledge and conversationSponsors:Canopy Connect1fortVivaIf you have not registered for ITC Vegas. Go check it out and use discount code : 1AGSPKSNB for $200 off

This week in insurance town Heath Shearon sits down with Martin Mashalov, co-founder of Gridpull, to unpack why buying more leads is not the same as getting more business. They dig into how appetite matching, renewal timing, and trigger-based prospecting can help agencies spend producer time more efficiently and improve conversion rates.Martin explains how his background in applied math and insurance analytics led him to build tools for finding better prospects, not just more prospects. The conversation stays practical throughout, with examples from restaurants, commercial real estate, and new business triggers.00:00 - Welcome to the episode and the lead buying problem  05:22 - Why insurance complexity pulled him toward technology  09:55 - Modeling insurer risk and learning the agency and brokerage chain  12:04 - How lead buying became a prospecting problem  14:39 - Why volume alone does not fix lead performance  18:39 - What “appetite” means for agencies and carriers  20:29 - Restaurant examples and carrier appetite edge cases  27:17 - New business triggers as a smarter prospecting strategy  28:21 - Permits, hiring, and licensing as insurance signals  31:38 - Trigger stacking for stronger prospecting profiles  33:20 - Why Gridpull was built around a real workflow problem  34:08 - Where AI fits and where it should stay out of the way  39:30 - How Gridpull organizes renewals, contacts, and follow-up  42:43 - Using existing books of business for cross-sell opportunities  44:10 - Early conversion rate and revenue gains from Gridpool  47:40 - How Gridpull supports agencies beyond just software  48:13 - Contact options and demo availability  49:22 - Free trial, credits, and privacy considerations  Sponsors :CANOPY CONNECT1 FortVIVA