TOP 100 MAGAZINE

Jason M. Kreider
CFEd®, RFC®, NCCM

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Growing up, Jason Kreider idolized his father, a businessman with a successful career in insurance-based financial planning. His mother, a classically trained musician, and his father divorced very early in Jason’s life. Remarrying, both his mother and his stepfather helped raise him into the man he is today. During Jason’s limited time together with this father on the weekends, he learned a lot about insurance through listening to important discussions at his father’s clients’ kitchen tables.

 

Although a serious accident put a damper on his college years, Jason persevered. He began working part-time in his father's agency, M.K. Financial Management, Inc., but decided it was best to learn from a competitor. He went to work as a temp for the largest insurance brokerage general agency in the country at the time and steadily climbed the corporate ladder. Two decades later, he continues to work with the same relationships that helped to jumpstart his career. "We've worked together on many large cases, one recently a $135 million case—the largest they've ever had," he says.

 

In 2015, Jason's father passed away, and he became the executor of his father's estate and officer of his business. He saw this not as a rite of passage, but as rising to the occasion to help his loved ones while honoring his father’s legacy. "I realized the importance of what happens to families after a traumatic event," he says. To continue the path his father started, Jason established Kreider Financial Management, LLC, in October 2015 and two years later, acquired his father’s life and fixed annuity books of business. He later added KinG Brokerage, where he focuses on the brokerage side.

 

We had the opportunity to talk with Jason and discuss the lasting impact his father's life and death have had on him, how he has returned to his brokerage roots, and why he jokingly views himself as the “Bob Ross of insurance.”

 

How has your father influenced you?

 

My father knew how to serve his clients well and many remember him as a charismatic and personable man. Behind the scenes though, his abrupt illness caught him unprepared.  After his passing, we had to turn the mess into something good. I am no better or different from anyone who faced hardships, but overcoming those obstacles and building a niche for myself has been a blessing. I learned a lot from my father about running a business and how to talk to clients, whether about everyday things or significant events. I strive daily to maintain the same high standards he set, so I treat each client like family; it is my golden rule, and I do not compromise on my morals or faith. I don't have anything without a customer's trust.

 

Tell us a bit more about KinG Brokerage. What makes it unique?

 

We are a boutique insurance brokerage general agency and typically compete against large companies, serving the public and other financial professionals nationwide. We specialize in impaired risk underwriting, complex case design, and retirement planning. We take great pride in being strong and deep enough to provide advisors with top pay and all the concepts they need to serve their clients. Myself and my team, which includes my wife, create brokerage development platforms and have built a niche by serving advisors in a secondary or tertiary capacity. For example, if you have an advisor who sells auto and home insurance but doesn't know much about business succession, he will hire us. We don't advertise much because we work in a capacity behind the scenes. As they grow, many agents allow my company to create a brand for themselves by referring business.

 

Your sister, who is autistic, has also had an enormous impact on your life.

 

My passion for this business was ignited by growing up with her. I saw how the world handled people like her. It was a humility that overwhelmed me, and she was always my source of accountability. Because of my sister, we have ties to building playgrounds in local communities and I am proud to be an advocate for a playground designed in my hometown earlier this year.

 

Why are you called the Bob Ross of insurance?

 

Selling insurance can be monotonous, so I view every case as an art form. It is a transactional-based business, but I see it from a relationship-based perspective. My chief role is the guy with the vision and I’m fortunate to work with a talented group of people that help run the business.

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Jason M. Kreider
CFEd®, RFC®, NCCM

Owner, Managing Member — KinG Brokerage, Kreider Insurance Group

Website: www.kingbrokerage.net   

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jason-m-kreider-rfc%C2%AE-05722863/