Ep. 14 Armed Forces Insurance with Lori Simmons, VP and Chief Growth Officer

Welcome to the "Militarily Speaking" podcast with Tom McLean and Jodi Vickery.In this episode of “Militarily Speaking,” Tom, Jodi, and guest Lori Simmons discuss Armed Forces Insurance. They discuss who and what AFI will insure, and then dive into the philanthropic endeavors that AFI is involved in, including the Military Spouse of the Year program which AFI now runs.“Militarily Speaking” is a podcast produced by Armed Forces Bank that is dedicated to the military lifestyle and all the things that makes military community who they are. Ep. 14 — Armed Forces Insurance with Lori Simmons, VP and Chief Growth Officer Introducing Lori Simmons, VP and Chief Growth Officer at AFIJodi opens the episode by welcoming Lori Simmons from Armed Forces Insurance (AFI) and giving a bit of her background.Lori is the Chief Growth Officer of AFI and President of the AFI Foundation.She also plays an integral role in the AFI Military Spouse of the Year program.Jodi continues to list out a number of other accolades about Lori.What does Armed Forces Insurance Cover?Jodi then asks Lori to provide a high-level overview of AFI’s products and services that they provide for the military and their families.She notes that AFI exclusively serves the military and those who serve the military, and later lists the qualifications of who is able to use their services.She adds that they are primarily property insurers, insuring cars, homes, and personal property.Jodi follows up by asking what their most popular products are and how people can get a personal quote for insurance.Lori says their most popular product is home owners insurance, with auto and renter insurance coming after.She adds that they offer commercial insurance for military and spouse owned businesses and services.She discusses how veteran run businesses are underserved in this area, and what they are doing to help, by shopping insurance rates for you.To get a quote, you can visit their website (www.afi.org) to get a real time price on homeowners insurance, and a fast response time for other inquiries.Lori says for renters insurance, you can get proof of insurance to get a quote, see the price, change your coverages to suit your needs, make your payment, and get proof of insurance within minutes.Tom asks Lori to discuss more about the renters insurance and about what extra it covers compared to other insurers.Lori says that it is the best coverage on the market for the price, and discusses some of the items it covers such as firearms, and government issued equipment.She tells the group a story of customers who were covered when their neighbors weren’t because they didn’t use AFI.AFI’s Philanthropic EndeavorsTom then asks her about some of the other services that AFI offers and ways that they give back to the military community.Lori says that AFI is also committed to providing services that are not insurance related, but are still valuable, oftentimes coming directly from the military community.Tom adds that Armed Forces Bank has a similar mindset in that they too want to be a source of information to help educate the military.Lori talks about AFI’s involvement with Snowball Express, which Tom notes you can hear more about in the previous episode of Militarily Speaking.She then discusses their involvement with the Military Warrior Support Foundation.Lori continues by sharing details about the AFI Affinity Program.Jodi asks her to discuss the Armed Forces Insurance Foundation, and how it is distinguished from AFI, and how they work together.Lori says the Armed Forces Insurance Foundation is a non-profit that was set up to deliver information and resources to military families to promote better financial decisions. She continues by discussing what the foundation does for military families through educational opportunities, seminars, and workshops.Tom says he was excited when Lori took over the Military Spouse of the Year program, and then asks her to discuss about the program.Lori regales her personal history as a military spouse, and AFI’s involvement with the event.She says that after being a sponsor of the program for a number of years, they decided to take ownership of the program to take it to the next level.She then discusses how the program has impacted military spouses, especially the winners.She adds that everyone that is in the running are nominated, and to nominate someone you can go to msoy.afi.org.She says that there can be winners from every base, and then eventually one national winner.Military MinuteJodi introduces the Military Minute segment of the show, beginning by closing out last episode’s Military Minute.Last episode’s Military Minute: In Forest Gump, what was the first lesson does Lt. Dan told Forest and Bubba regarding GI gear that can mean the difference between a dead grunt and a live grunt?Answer: SocksThis week’s Military Minute question: Does AFI insure classic and antique cars?Watch for Facebook and Instagram posts about this episode.Answer with the correct answer and you plus a charity of your choice can each win $50.Tom closes the episode by asking listeners to out to www.afbank.com and subscribe to the show, as well as leave a rating and comment on your favorite podcast platform such as Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Join us to hear how to better navigate your finances, military life, and the crossroads of the two.Visit www.afbank.com