Staff Writer
HOULTON — Morgan Hutchinson is only 18 years old and apparently setting herself on a fast track to career success in the very competitive insurance industry. Following in the footsteps of both parents, she says she chose to embark on that particular career path right out of high school by studying to become a licensed property and casualty specialist.
Houlton Pioneer Times photo/Elna Seabrooks
CAREER WOMAN — Eighteen-year-old Morgan Hutchinson, a recently-licensed MetLife agent, says she is excited about her job quoting rates and selling insurance.
“A lot of kids don’t want to go to college or don’t have the money to go to college and to look into opportunities like this is great. It’s a career opportunity to start right out of high school,” she says of the option she chose.
“I started studying for the test before I actually turned 18,” Hutchinson continued, saying she ordered a book that was “about 500 pages and a CD-ROM” with practice tests to prepare for the comprehensive licensing exam she passed in Bangor last December. “I re-read that book about 100 times,” she recalled about the hard work spent on achieving her goal adding “it’s worth it once you get it.”
Hutchinson says: “It means I can actively sell you auto and homeowner’s insurance.” And, she says she loves working with the public, exuding real enthusiasm about her job of quoting rates and selling insurance. Although she has dealt mostly with car insurance, she says it’s a very competitive business and sometimes she is amazed at how much money she can save customers, especially if the agency packages the homeowner’s policy with auto coverage as well.
“I think what’s most interesting is just how much money you can save people. Some people will be with their company for years and years and we’ll do a quote and, in some cases, we’ll save people $1,000 a year.” Although that may not be the case for everyone, Hutchinson does say it takes about five minutes for a free quote and “either we’re going to be able to save you money, or we’re not going to be able to help you, but at least you’ll know.” She added that for teen drivers “the rates are really competitive.”
“My mother has worked in insurance basically my whole life and my father recently got licensed last year …. And, it was just a great career opportunity and something that I wanted to share with my father,” she continued.
Her father, Alex Hutchinson, opened the MetLife Auto and Home office in March offering a range of products from homeowner policies to auto, snowmobile, ATV and motorcycle insurance. Now that his daughter has joined the office he says, quite naturally, that he is “very proud of her and it’s a long hard test” that she passed. He added that working with her and seeing her make the grade has been an excellent experience. Her mother works at another agency in Houlton.
In addition to potential clients who respond to advertising, Hutchinson meets customers who drive by, see signs for the relatively new office (formerly the Houlton Photo Lab), and stop in to get information or quotes. “I’ve had quite a few jobs and all of them were basically dealing with the public. So, I love it,” she says of the professional demands and social skills required when interacting with others in her work.
The office is located at 1 Kendall Street across from the Houlton Water Company office just off Market Square. The hours are Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and also by special appointment.
