EMPLOYEE SPOTLIGHT
Lessons from the Hog Farm
An interview with Shane Humphrey
Shane Humphrey, Business Risk Advisor at Hummel Group, brings his experience from farm life, the classroom, and the basketball court to the agribusiness industry.
Tell us what you do at Hummel and what you did before joining us last year.
I help clients protect their assets, their businesses, and their employees. Prior to Hummel Group, I was a teacher at Lake Center Christian School in Hartville, a girls varsity basketball coach, and a pastor. I also worked for a custom cabinet shop, where I learned how to design, build, and sell cabinets. I was helping to run the business by the end of my time there.
What brought you to this area?
I went to Malone College to play basketball. I didn’t pick a major until the end of my freshman year, when I decided to join the school’s Bible and theology program. I was able to bring this knowledge to my first job as a high school Bible teacher.
What was growing up like for you?
I grew up on a hog farm in Ashland County for the first 10 years of my life. My parents had a plot of land, about 40 acres. My grandparents were right beside us, and my aunt had nearby land too. We had a barn, shops, fields, animals, woods, and a river going through it. I thought that’s how everybody grew up.
Eventually, my family transitioned to taking on full-time jobs but kept the farm going as a side thing. My father still raises grass-fed Red Angus as a hobby.
What principles did you take away from living on a hog farm?
The first is the work ethic. Nothing is easy on a farm, especially a smaller family farm. I saw everybody working hard, sometimes around the clock. The work never stops, especially when it’s harvesting or planting time.
Then there’s the responsibility, taking ownership of something and being self-sufficient. Because of the small margins on a small family farm, you can’t really hire out. It’s like that old saying of being a jack of all trades/master of none. It creates that desire within you to be proficient at a number of things. If something’s broken, or if there’s a problem, it’s not going to take care of itself. You have to figure it out or know who to ask for help. Take ownership and pride to get the job done.
The third lesson I really needed to learn—because it did not come natural to me—is when you do something, do it right the first time. When I was young, if I was doing something that was not fun or interesting to me, I just wanted to blow through it so I could go shoot hoops. My dad and grandpa would have me do a job again if I didn’t do it right the first time. They gave me an appreciation of taking pride in your work. Don’t waste your time or other people’s time, but be a good steward of whatever task you’ve been given, whatever resources you’ve been given, and do your best.
What is life like for you outside of Hummel?
Life outside of Hummel is my family. That life is very full. I have a 14-year-old son and two daughters, who are 12 and 8. Between church and sports and friends, and kids activities, it is very busy, but I wouldn’t change it for anything. During the summer, we incorporate the kids into our you-pick flower farm, Home Again Flowers, which my wife and I started seven years ago. It’s a hobby farm with about half an acre of flowers in Hartville. When we do have any free time, my wife and I go for walks. That’s our time to connect and work on our relationship.
How did you end up at Hummel?
When I hit a crossroads at the cabinet shop, I knew I needed to make a career change, but I did not initially see how my experience could relate to insurance. This changed when Hummel Principal Matthew Yost presented the concept of being a trusted advisor to business owners.
I’ll make a comparison with why I liked coaching basketball. I loved the strategy involved and being able to, as an assistant coach, sit back and take it all in. Then during halftime, the coach would ask what I observed—because he’s in the game and couldn’t see it all. I would share my input, and that input could have a huge effect on the outcome of the game.
Similar to teachers who have to break down complex terms in ways their students can understand, advisors need to take complex concepts and break them down into layman terms. We help clients become empowered by making the things they need to know less complicated. That’s what I enjoyed about being a teacher and coach and what I enjoy in this role.
Do you have an example?
I recently alerted a company that their property was underinsured; it was only insured at actual cost value. I let them know that if they had a major loss from, say, a fire, the actual cash value would be the replacement cost minus depreciation, and they would not be made whole. Instead, they would only get a percentage of what they would need to rebuild that plant and would have to self-fund the rest. This was a legacy issue, as the insurance had been set up that way before the owner inherited the property from her father. They appreciated me explaining the exposure.
More specific to the agribusiness space is how we talk about insuring grain bins. There have only been a handful of insurance companies that have entertained this in recent years. We are putting in a lot of extra work on the front end with the client to create a comprehensive statement of values that will give the underwriter the information they need to come back with competitive terms. They understand what’s being covered, from the age and capacity to construction occupancy protection exposure. They have more information to take that risk. When you’re able to give the underwriter all the information they want, they can come in and more aggressively, competitively rate their policy, which saves the insured on premium. And we’ve been able to also increase coverage.
Are there other benefits for clients?
Peace of mind. They realize they will be made whole in the case of a significant loss. They realize this based on the different hypotheticals we’ve presented. While they may have to pay a higher premium than they have been in the case of loss, they will actually be insured properly. It removes a lot of the question marks. Any of the confusion and uncertainty that might have existed are gone.
We are transparent and gain their trust. Understanding more clearly how they are insured gives them more confidence in planning for the future.
Shane Humphrey is a business risk advisor at Hummel, specializing in agriculture businesses. He can be reached at 800-860-1060.
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