An Interview with Alphavest Advisory Board Member and Insurance expert, Ann Kimball Gustafson, CIC, CPRIA

What makes a Perfect Day? A perfect week, month, or year? In this time, knowing that you have someone who seeks to work on your behalf, especially in the insurance industry, is the start of a good answer! Confidence that your most valuable assets are properly covered, and that you’re not wasting dollars with unnecessarily high premiums, is a part of that good answer, too.

Ann Kimball Gustafson is a member of the Alphavest Advisory Board. Beyond that, she has known company CEO/Managing member Cokie Cox for years. “You can’t support someone and work together unless you believe in what that person is doing,” says Cokie. “I believe in what Ann Kimball is doing–especially in today’s world where insurance can get a bad wrap. Not unlike the investment industry, knowledgeable and trustworthy insurance professionals are a special and rare commodity.” Ann Kimball (“AK” Cokie calls her in a sister-like fashion) has helped Cokie personally, as well as numerous Alphavest clients over the years, navigate insurance renewals and evaluate current coverages or voids in coverage. Often times she advises clients to stay put with existing coverage, offering confidence and peace that they’re in the right place and not under-insured or paying too much.

A part of Our Alphavest Team

The function of the Advisory Board at Alphavest is to offer client perspective and feedback on the effectiveness and value of the many facets– investments, planning, business consulting–of Alphavest and Perfect Day Enterprises. “Our Advisory Board members are made up of clients and non-clients, alike, who are businesspeople, entrepreneurs, and local leaders. This way, we get inside and outside perspective and ideas on how we can continually grow in our desire to serve our clients better.” The members are diverse, but they have one very important thing in common: They are people who believe in our mission to financially empower and serve others. “Ann Kimball, authentically to her core is customer focused, and impressively candid in her feedback of the firm–THAT makes her a vital member of our board,” Cokie shared with a smile.

Gustafason has worked in the insurance industry for over 20 years- and from the beginning, she has had the betterment of her clients in mind. “You can always sell, but the real key to success in this field and any area is keeping the main thing, the main thing.

I do a lot of research and make sure that what I bring to my clients is the best coverage they can get at the very best price.”

In the current industry climate, this can be especially difficult. There have been massive changes in the insurance industry. Costs have risen and, in some cases, coverage is difficult to get on property that once was seen as a high-end asset.

“I apply some ‘Perfect Day-ness’ to every situation and study what is best. I never just pull up a rate sheet. I actually ‘put my eyes’ on the client’s needs before offering a solution. That’s an Alphavest-Cokie thing, too! It’s a value-added moment that I would not change for anything.”

Ann Kimball added, “People count. They want to know how they can have the best and save some money as well. I have a personal goal to prepare my clients for success—to teach them how to make the best decision possible. This includes providing knowledge and listening to all the needs they have—not just a few, but all.”

Ann Kimball Gustafson’s Mission

“Most importantly, in working with clients, I think about what I would want my parents and loved ones to experience. How would I want them to be treated? Questions like that go through my mind and “the best” really dictates how I work with people.”

Ann Kimball’s career began with State Farm where she was a company representative. Later, she accepted a “great” opportunity with PURE Insurance where she was one of the first sales representatives for this fast-growing company.

“When I joined the team at PURE, we were only in Florida and South Carolina. I was part of a team that was motivated by growth, and it was fun. Plus, it was a true success story.

By the time I left the PURE, I was a director, and the company had grown beyond all expectations.”

Located in Charleston, South Carolina

Today, PURE is in all 50 states. “I’m grateful for my time with PURE and all that I learned. As life unfolded, I realized I wanted to be more centralized in my home state of South Carolina and particularly, Charleston. That’s my home and where my family is located.”

Currently, Ann Kimball is a successful Private Client/Personal Lines Team Leader with Southeastern Insurance Solutions. She also is a Certified Insurance Counselor. Like Cokie, she is a graduate of Clemson University and has no hesitation in saying that at her house, “We bleed orange!”

When it comes to Alphavest, she “bleeds” the colors of hope for the future. “My personal goal includes learning, growth, teaching others, and continuing education for myself. The more I learn and give, the more I have to offer my clients- that’s a goal worth reaching!”

Q1 each year is a great time for “financial housekeeping.” Reach out to Ann Kimball via LinkedIN or email her @ [email protected] and request an insurance review. It will be a New Year’s initiative you will not regret. Protect yourself, your hard earned assets and perhaps your 2024 insurance budget.