Cynthia Westbrook

I got into insurance in January 2003 at a small independent agency in Mathis, Texas. I started out writing personal auto and homeowners policies. As the agency grew, so did my job: first small business accounts, then the agency's biggest clients.

The work has since taken me through Beeville, San Marcos, Corpus Christi, and Seguin, and finally to La Vernia, where my family and I have put down roots.

Somewhere along the way I ended up working in just about every corner of the business. In Corpus Christi I worked for a Farmers agent and handled commercial accounts, a lot of them in hospitality. That's also where I earned my life and health license, and where I saw for the first time what a life policy actually does for a family after the worst happens. I spent three years after that with BDI, an independent agency in Seguin, and then more than eight years with WoodmenLife.

I kept adding to my licenses as I went. I hold my Series 6 and Series 63, which lets me help on the retirement side as well: annuities, mutual funds, and the planning that goes with them.

Twenty-three years is long enough to build a real book of clients, and many of mine still call me first. They are the biggest reason I finally did what I had been talking about for years and opened my own agency.

Here is what pushed me to do it. Everywhere I worked, I could only help with part of the picture. When I was writing home and auto, I couldn't do anything about a client's life insurance. When I was doing life and health, I had to send people somewhere else for their house, their truck, and their business. I got tired of saying "I can't help you with that." Westbrook Heritage exists so I don't have to say it anymore. I want to be able to help a family from their first house and first car, through building a business, and on into retirement.

A few things you can count on. I won't recommend something just because I can sell it. If what you already have is better, I'll tell you, and you can keep it. And I'll explain your coverage until you actually understand it, because the words I never want to hear after a claim are "You never told me that."

You'll see us around town. Little League Opening Day, National Night Out, football games on Friday nights. Being an insurance agency in a town this size means being part of the town, not just doing business in it.

Outside of work, it's family. My husband and I have raised four kids, two girls and two boys. They're most of the reason protecting families is personal for me.