Licensed Insurance Counselor, Strategic Advisor/Producer
About Tom
- B.A. Michigan State University, 1987
- M.B.A. Purdue University, 2014
- Licensed in Property & Casualty, Life & Health and Counselors -License since 1989
- Earned Chartered Life Underwriter Designation (CLU) in 1996
- Earned Certified Insurance Counselor Designation (CIC) in 1997
- Earned Chartered Financial Consultant Designation (ChFC), in 2000
- Earned Chartered Property and Casualty Underwriter -Designation (CPCU) in 2000
- Director of Insurance and Risk Management at Olivet College, and Michigan Association of Independent Agents Professional -Development Council and CIC/CISR Task Force.
Beginning in 1989, Tom created a scratch insurance agency with Farmers Insurance Group, advising clients on appropriate policies and coverage to protect their families. In 1997, he took his experience as a successful business owner to guide and mentor other individuals as a District Manager for Farmers Insurance Group in West Michigan. In 2006, in addition to his position with Farmers, Tom became an instructor for Kaplan University, teaching property and casualty, life, accident and health, and continuing education courses. In 2010, he opted to get back into sales as an independent insurance agent while continuing to teach at Kaplan. 2015 brought new opportunities as a tenure-track professor at Olivet College. Olivet College has a well-respected Risk Management and Insurance degree program to which Tom brought his expertise. In 2016, Tom became the Director of The Risk Management and Insurance Center at Olivet College while continuing to teach courses. In 2024, he accepted a faculty position in the Eli Broad College of Business at Michigan State University and is currently the Director of the Minor in Insurance and Risk Management.
A member of Big I Michigan, he serves as an advisor to the Technical Committee and the Education Committee. Tom was appointed to the Michigan Auto Insurance Placement Facility’s Board of Governors by the State of Michigan’s Director of Insurance and served from 2017 to 2019. Continuing his engagement, in 2019 Tom became an Educational Consultant with the Risk and Insurance Education Alliance, providing course content design and exam construction expertise. Seeing the need for quality insurance pre-licensing instruction, Tom co-founded the Michigan School of Insurance in 2021. The Michigan School of Insurance achieved the highest first-time pass rate for the Property and Casualty exam of any provider in 2022, 2023, and 2024.
In service to his community, Tom was elected to the Belding Area Schools Board of Education in 2001 until 2015 where he was Board President for 12 years. He was also elected to the Ionia Intermediate School District Board of Education in 2005 until 2015 where he was president for 7 years.
To demonstrate his dedication to continued education and professionalism, Tom has earned professional designations from the American College, The National Alliance and the Insurance Institute of America. He has earned the Chartered Property and Casualty Underwriter (CPCU), Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU), Chartered Financial Consultant (ChFC), Associate in Risk Management (ARM), and Certified Insurance Counselor (CIC) designations.
Tom holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Telecommunications from Michigan State University and a Masters of Business Administration from Kaplan University.
