Hunter McHugh

Young Agent Award Winner: Hunter McHugh

Agency: McHugh Insurance Group Wilmington, DE

Position: President

Age: 31

Years in Industry: 10

Q. How did you get your start in the insurance industry?

A. My start in the insurance industry came on a whim. When I was about three weeks away from graduating college, my entrepreneurship professor said that he met a gentleman from an insurance company that he thought I should meet with. I had already accepted a banking internship, but I sat down with him anyway. I learned about all of the different opportunities that come with a career in insurance – the lifestyle, flexibility, and upward mobility. It was intriguing enough that I sent back the onboarding check I had received from the bank and decided to pursue a career in insurance.

I started out as a sales rep for a direct writer. I received a few promotions and held a couple management positions. Eventually, I found that certain challenges that come with working as a captive agent were restricting my ability to do the best I could for my clients. Plus, I was traveling a lot and didn’t have much flexibility. I started to think, “Well maybe I wouldn’t have to do that in the independent space, and maybe there will be more opportunity there.”

After almost seven years as a direct writer, I started to peel back the onion and see what the independent side of things looked like. In doing so, I came to believe that the grass was greener. Here I am three years later, and thank goodness it really was.

Q. What’s your favorite part of your job?

A. What I enjoy the most is the relationships — not just the relationships we have with our clients and the people that we work with on a daily basis, but the ones we have with the community as well.

As an agency owner, I enjoy having the ability to be agile, to change our approach and processes to make sure we’re always putting our clients first. Maybe that means pursuing different value-added pieces or figuring out how we can make the insurance-buying process more valuable.

To take steps in the right direction, to ultimately improve our clients’ lives, improve their businesses, and improve the community is extremely rewarding. It’s something that I didn’t necessarily know when I began working in insurance would be such an important piece to me, but it absolutely has been.

Q. What advice would you share with someone just starting out in the industry?

A. The absolute best advice that I received is that you’ve got to commit at least two years without considering any other career opportunities. You need to commit yourself to going all in to improve yourself and learn as much as you can about the industry and the opportunities it presents. Insurance is a relationship game, and it’s impossible to build really good, foundational relationships

in less than two years. There’s also so much to learn, so much to wrap your head around, that if you don’t allow yourself that time, you will truly never feel like you know what you’re doing.

Q. How does it feel to receive this award?

A. It’s honestly shocking. I was honored last year to be selected as an IA&B Young Agent Mover and Shaker, and I never thought I would be able to achieve this just three years into the independent insurance space.

I am extremely grateful to my family, my team, IA&B, and everybody who has supported me. It is extremely validating to be recognized for all of the work I’ve put in to get to this point.