This week, we talk to Anna Riebel at The District Edina's own State Farm office, where she tells us which animal she would like to be reincarnated as, we talk about supply chain issues and insurance terminology while sipping on sidecars, because — auto insurance, naturally.
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Transcript
Gregory: Welcome, everybody. Welcome to Drink in the Style, brought to you by HabitationFurnishing + Design and The District Edina, where all of your high end furniture dreams come true. I'm your host, Gregory. Rich. I'm gonna help you kill your afternoon with some booze and conversation tonight. Our theme is, I'm calling it, "Security." We are being joined by the owner of the State Farm Office, located at The District Edina, Miss Anna Riebel. Anna, how are you? Anna: I'm doing great. Thank you for having me.
Gregory: It's an absolute pleasure. Now, from an insurance perspective on Drink in the Style, I should let you know that I will pay for an Uber if you would like to go. (laughs)
Anna: I appreciate it.
Gregory: I appreciate it. Requirements. Uh, indeed. All right. Yeah, no, we're gonna have a great conversation, ladies and gentlemen, and again, it's insurance, but don't worry. Anna is amazing. And this is actually gonna be a really useful conversation, I think. And we're gonna make it fun because we are also joined by a new individual in the cocktological chair. If you will. Miss Magen Theis is with us. Magen, how are you?
Magen: I'm great. How are you?
Gregory: Absolutely fantastic. Thank you. Magen is actually a new member of the Habitation team. She is the high end furniture design showroom support person, started literally this week and I made her come in.
Magen: Just throwing me in. Yeah.
Gregory: Exactly.
Magen: Sink or swim. You got this?
Gregory: What about the size of it? No question. Yeah. Uh, so Magen is gonna be doing our cocktail, and what are we drinking tonight?
Magen: Sidecar.
Gregory: We are drinking the sidecar. Did you like that, Anna?
Anna: Yeah. Auto Insurance. I get it.
Gregory: I love it. Excellent. I shouldn't tell anyone, but sidecar with, a mysterious number and symbol is my default password for low security sites.
Magen: Everybody hack Greg, right now.
Gregory: Try to figure out the other ones, but otherwise sidecar is an easy way in (laughs). Um, (laughs) all right. So, Magen? What is in a sidecar?
Magen: Okay, so we got some Brandy, here, and then some orange liquor and excuse me, but we have lemonade because we didn't have any fresh lemon. (laughs)
Gregory: In a pinch sometimes, you know, maybe it's absolutely creative. Yes. Yeah. Now the Brandy that we've brought in is, uh, from Spain, I believe. Correct? Yes. And what is the name again?
Magen: Um, how do you even say that? Lustau.
Gregory: Lustau, I believe, uh, yeah, it's, it's interesting. There is so much good wine these days coming out of Spain that, uh, like these riojas, there's one called Latitude 24 or something, which is so tasty and some like 15 bucks a bottle or something. And they're also doing all these Spanish whites. So it's, it's really worth looking into, it's kind of the new trend in wines and I figured would work for Brandy, too. Definitely. So Johnson, why don't you hit us up with some mixing music and Magen, you can tell us how we put this together.
Magen: Okay. So I got an ounce of Brandy.
Gregory: And by the way, you can also use cognac. Okay. But essentially Brandy and cognac are the same thing, except one is from France. Kind of like sparkling wine versus champagne. Okay.
Magen: Okay. I did not know that, okay. Then, we got three fourths of an ounce of orange liquor.
Gregory: And we are using Cointreau, correct?
Magen: Sure are.
Gregory: Excellent. Always have to have Cointreau on hand.
Magen: And then we're doing a little splash of lemonade. Preferably use real lemon.
Gregory: We're gonna sugar it up for you, Anna.
Anna: Can't wait.
Magen: All right. Add some ice.
Gregory: Okay.
Magen: Shake it up real good.
Gregory: So, we do have this in the shaker as opposed to stirring in a Yari or something like that. I do love that sound.
Magen: Yeah.
Gregory: Okay. Working nicely now.
Magen: And you pour.
Gregory: All right. And we are pouring this over rocks in a rocks glass, or an Old Fashioned glass, I think some people call it, and now we would normally, of course, also garnish this with a little lemon, but I don't know. Let's say it's supply chain problems.
Anna: Yeah, that sounds good. That sounds good.
Gregory: (laughs) Thank you. All right. This is, so, those who haven't seen it, a sidecar is a really pretty kind of orange sunset-like color. I don't know why they call it a sidecar, but…
Anna: I don't. Yeah.
Gregory: Yeah. Something like that. All right. So we're all mixed up. And now we're gonna give it a try, uh, Johnson. Don't forget the all important swallowing music. Indeed. Give it a try folks. Okay. Okay. It's sweet. It's too sweet for my palette, probably because of the lemonade. So, I think next time we mix this up for segment two or three, we're gonna try it without the lemonade altogether. Anna, what do you think?
Magen: I mean, I like sweet, so I am real into it because of the sweet probably, but I would also like to taste what a normal sidecar tastes like.
Gregory: Agreed, agreed. And we're also on the second round. We're going to… perhaps we'll do a little adaptation where we use a little bit of salt. Are you familiar with using atomizer salt on your cocktails?
Magen: No, but that sounds delicious.
Gregory: In a moment, we'll spritz a little bit on top. Okay. And tell me what your thoughts are. Okay. But before that, let's do our random question. Can't wait this time. It is okay. Are you prepared?
Anna: I am. I thought on this one for a long time, here.
Gregory: All right. Anna, if you were reincarnated as an animal, what animal would it be?
Anna: Okay. We're gonna, we're gonna talk about a couple animals mostly because there is one that I would like to achieve, and then there is one that I probably have at the current moment. Okay. Because I feel like incarnation, you have to earn…
Gregory: Absolutely true.
Anna: You know, you have to earn certain animals, depending on how you do in this life. Right. So the animal that I would like to earn is Golden Retriever.
Gregory: Really? That is so wholesome.
Anna: It is. It is. But I, you know, I was thinking of kind of peak animal life. Right. And I feel like I want to be loved and so, like a domesticated Golden Retriever, you know, I'm a mellow person, anyways. And I feel like you get all the respect from a loving family.
Magen: True. Right?
Gregory: Like that. What, what else? One do you wanna earn?
Magen: It's so… loyalty. Love.
Anna: Yeah.
Magen: Yeah. Sweet.
Anna: Yeah. And I mean, treats…
Gregory: You know, you don't have belly rubs.
Anna: Don't have to hunt.
Gregory: I wouldn't mind a belly rub. I mean, if I could drop on the floor right now and somebody would come over and rub my belly. Right. I would be down for that in a heartbeat. Anna: It's an easy life, I think.
Gregory: Unquestionably.
Anna: So that's kind of what I want to strive for.
Gregory: That's a brilliant answer actually. Yeah. That is, that is brilliant
Anna: Answer. Well, I did think on it a little bit.
Gregory: What were some of the other animals you consider?
Anna: Okay. So, I mean, this is a terrible animal to choose, but it is my favorite animal. I love a sloth (laughs) Now, hold up, hold up. Oh, there's something that does not, uh, preview my personality at all. Okay. So just hold up on that.
Magen: Claiming that energy.
Anna: No, I am not. I am not, but I mean they're, they're cute. They're real cute.
Gregory: They are cute. They always got that smile.
Anna: Yeah. And they are just relaxing all day. (laughs) They barely move. I mean, I also think that's probably a good life. They live in nice climates.
Gregory: I suppose, you know, did you know that sloths have to come outta their trees when they, when they poop?
Anna: I did not know that stuff.
Gregory: That is apparently the most. I haven't thought dangerous. This is, I have a, I have a certain amount of sloth knowledge for whatever reason. Okay. Does the surprise you in any way? No, no. Yeah, no. Apparently the only time the sloth will get outta the tree was that was when it has to climb down and it has to poop and it has to poop on the ground for some reason. Okay. And that is when the majority of sloths get eaten by somebody.
Magen: How long does this take?
Gregory: It's a sloth. I would think it's a, it's a drawn out process.
Anna: I would, I would imagine.
Gregory: I'm gonna go with the lab with the, uh, with the Labrador. Was it a Labrador or golden?
Anna: Uh, Golden. A Golden. Yeah. Either way. Although, you know, Labrador get a little more outside time. Yeah. Yeah. And they're a little bit more energetic. So I mean, okay, fine. If either dog, either dog and honestly dogs in general probably are just like a good choice.
Gregory: I agree. I agree. Sloth though. (laughs) (laughs) I mean okay.
Anna: Yeah, to be honest, probably like my goal obviously is to be serving others and earning that dog life. Right, but I'm probably like, I hope that I'm above insect level, right? Like that's…
Gregory: That's not a goal, please. Not a dumb beetle please. Not a dumb beetle. It's like…
Anna: Or at least a good insect, like a ladybug or I don't know, like a bumblebee or something. I
Gregory: Mean, the nice thing about being an insect, I would bet is that, you know, if it sucks, it doesn't last that long, you probably just move right along on the whole way. But that's interesting.
Anna: If you do a good job, you know, being that insect maybe or some…
Gregory: If you're the queen of the hive though, that could be kind of cool though. Commanding all of your…
Anna: I didn’t even think of that. Oh, it's like a worker bee or something, but the queen bee would be nice.
Gregory: Oh, interesting. All the bees just running… that is an interesting trio of potential animals. Yeah. Sloth, dog or queen bee, right? Yep. All right. Well, we'll see how well you turn out in the next life.
Anna: (laughs) okay. Great.
Gregory: Great. It is the best part about Buddhism, by the way, and reincarnation in general, it's a sliding scale. Not everybody is held to the same, uh, requirements as everyone else. So, you are suddenly doing, you know, what do you deserve? Karma. I love that. All right. We should take a quick break. When we come back, we are going to be talking about insurance, but seriously folks, I'm gonna grill Anna. I'm gonna try to make her, I don't know, panic and flee. So this is worth it.
Anna: Can't wait.
Gregory: All right. This is Drink in the Style on AM950. We'll be back in just a moment… welcome back, ladies and gentlemen, to Drink in the Style. I'm your host, Gregory Rich, and we're talking with Anna Riebel from State Farm. Oh, by the way, we're listening to Desi Arnez’s “Babalu” album. Everybody remembers Desi Arnez, I hope. Were you a fan of “I Love Lucy?”
Magen: I mean, I'm gonna be honest. I was not alive when it came out.
Gregory: Neither was I, neither was I.
Anna: We did watch a lot of cable growing up and I loved that show. I was on TV Land all the time, so I grew up watching it, and then I would go to my grandparents' house and we would go to the library and rent episodes on disc.
Gregory: Okay. Okay. And that…
Anna: My grandpa, I have so, so many good memories of him, but one of my favorite is watching a certain episode of, “I Love Lucy” and I've never seen him laugh that hard.
Gregory: That's fabulous. What was the episode?
Anna: It's called, “The Ballet.” Okay. And so she, uh, Lucy always is trying to join, Desi. Okay. Right. To, um…
Gregory: Go down to the club. ‘Cause she was not supposed to go down to the club. Right. Right. Which, by the way, if Lucy didn't realize that there was more it to that, then she was making a very big mistake.
Anna: So, in this episode there are two holes to be filled in a show. Okay. One is a ballet ballerina, but it was kind of a solo ballerina. So, she has to learn ballet and obviously she's terrible at it. So, that's a really fun kind of clip if you ever wanna see “I love Lucy,” but there's another one where it's a bit less comedian.
Gregory: Really? Okay.
Anna: Yes. That's the other hole in the show. Right. Okay. So she's trying to learn how to do that, and that is super funny. (laughs) So, there's two really, really funny clips from that episode that I think are worth a watch.
Gregory: I can only imagine Lucille Ball doing a cabaret or trying to do the ballerina thing.
Anna: I mean, it's great physical comedy.
Gregory: Which again, she was amazing at. Magen were you an “I Love Lucy” fan?
Magen: I'm like a baby. I've never seen the show.
Gregory: I knew you were gonna say that. I almost didn't ask Anna because of that. Yeah. I thought we shouldn't have (laughs). I thought it would just put you on the spot. I'm old enough that it was on. We, you know, I grew up when we had three TV stations and you know, you basically had that choice and it was, I believe in the afternoon. I don't remember, but okay. It was a great show. I can still hear the theme song. All right. So, let's talk instead about insurance (laughs) back to it, overall. All right. So, um, so we'll start with this. Look, Drink in the Style listeners are very sophisticated. I mean, you know, these are people who are drinking fine cocktails. We know what's happening, but everybody has a certain gap in their knowledge that they don't like to acknowledge, necessarily. So, we're gonna start with some really basic insurance terms. I'm gonna rapid fire, Anna, and then I want you to describe what each of these terms are, and then we'll start the conversation once that's cleared up. Are you ready?
Anna: I am so ready.
Gregory: All right. Brett, put 15 seconds on. I'm just kidding. Yes. Let's do that. See how many we get in the lightning round. Yeah, exactly. Oh, all right. No, whammies no, whammies no. All right. And here we go. You ready? First: “Deductible.”
Anna: Awesome. Okay. So deductible is a fee that you end up paying to your insurance company when you turn in a claim. This is only for certain claims, so for cars, it's usually when you have damage to your car, whether it's damage that you caused or damage that you didn't cause, that's comprehensive or collision and then for your home it's… most claims except for liability claims, usually.
Gregory: Okay, “deductible…” “Premium.”
Anna: “Premium.” That is the amount of money you pay to your insurance company. It can be monthly. It can be two times a year, semi-annual. It could be annual.
Gregory: And premium goes up when deductible goes down, correct?
Anna: Yes. So, that is a really good point to make because a lot of people have very low deductibles on their homes, and they're paying the insurance company a lot of money to not use their insurance…
Gregory: Which is again, okay, well, we'll get into that in a second. Ready. (laughs) “Policy.”
Anna: … “policy.” So, I think the definition of that denotes that I should also bring up “quote.” So, “quote” and “policy” are very different. Okay. “Quote” is like a test run. “Policy” is the actual policy that you have that is covering your car, home life insurance, you know, health insurance. Right. Okay. So that is the actual coverage you have. You can read through the policy and see what coverage you have.
Gregory: Okay. Uh, “umbrella policy.”
Anna: Oh, “umbrella.” So, “umbrella” is liability coverage. And it's… I like to call it a “back-up liability coverage.” So, that covers everything. That's why it's called an umbrella. So, if you have cars-home, it's also covering your boat. It's covering your ATV, your motor home, whatever liable things you have. I also like to call it, “your lawsuit protection.”
Gregory: Mm-hmm.
Anna: Because if you end up getting sued personally, that is your backup coverage. Once the liability on your… let's say, car or home runs out.
Gregory: So, is an umbrella policy something that you can have as your primary insurance? Or is it always something that goes along with a different policy?
Anna: Yeah, it usually goes along with a different policy. At State Farm, you have to have some sort of auto and some sort of fire, so that'd be home, renter’s, whatever it might be. The interesting thing about the umbrella though, is the coverage itself can be used alone. So, yes. So, if you get sued personally, and it is not involving your car or your home and your property there, you can still use the umbrella.
Gregory: Fascinating. Okay. You mentioned this before: “liability.”
Anna: So, “liability” is very, very similar obviously to the “umbrella.” The umbrella is coverage that you have, it comes in millions. For the umbrella liability, you are liable for certain actions. It's always against others. It is not any… coverage for yourself ever.
Gregory: Okay.
Anna: Um, but it's protecting you for the losses that you have to pay out.
Gregory: Fabulous. “Penguin liability.”
Anna: “Penguin liability.”
Gregory: (laughs) I dunno that I've ever heard of that, but, sorry. It's the only one I could come up with, off the cuff. All right. So, if you don't have penguin liability, you're doing okay. Yeah. Great. And if someone tries to sell you “penguin liability…”
Anna: I have a lot of questions. Is it… do you have a penguin that…
Gregory: You're trying to…
Anna: Trying to get insurance on? Or is it like a very specific type of liability? I need to look this…
Gregory: I have a penguin and he is a terrible driver. Yeah. I don't… you've gotta guess I'm gonna cover it. I don't know all, no. All right. So, that covers some of the basics, mm-hmm. The table is now set. State Farm writes tons of types of policies. What type of policy do you guys work most with?
Anna: So, State Farm is number one in the country for auto and home. Right? That is obviously the most common insurance that we write in our office and in the agencies across the country. A lot of people don't know we have life insurance. Right. So, that is a very common one that people don't even understand that State Farm writes.
Gregory: Life insurance. Yeah. Should we talk about life insurance? Just a bit. Let's do it. All right. Tell me, so you've got “term” and you've got “whole life,” correct? Yeah, yeah. Yep. What's the difference between those two?
Anna: So “term,” I like to call it, “temporary,” right? Okay. So, it lasts 10, 20, 30 years. Let's say when that policy is over or that time period is over, the policy usually ends. Now, you can pay to extend that, but it's not fixed anymore. That premium goes up every year, dramatically.
Gregory: So, you're covered during that term, should you die?
Anna: Exactly, exactly.
Gregory: As opposed to “whole life.” Yes. And how does that…
Anna: Work? That pays out anytime you die. So, whether it's tomorrow – knock on whatnot.
Gregory: (laughs) I hope not, but you never…
Anna: Or, or at 95 years old, mm-hmm, that policy is there.
Gregory: And isn't there some kind of potential payout at the end of the policy? If you don't use it, or I guess ultimately everyone will use it. It's life insurance. Right? So, yeah. I mean that's… if I achieve immortality, can I turn that in for a few bucks?
Anna: So, that's a difference, honestly, between “whole life” and “term.” Is that because it's lasting your entire life, there's privileges that you have with that whole life policy that you don't have with term? I like to think of term as renting life insurance versus whole, you're buying it. So, when you have, let's say, turn it over to homes. When you own a home, you have different privileges than renting. And one of it is that you can sell that home, right? So, you can sell your life policy and get the money back. You cannot do that with term.
Gregory: Really… How do you sell your life insurance policy? So…
Anna: It has a cash value to it. Okay. That’s the “whole life” policies, okay. That you can sell at any point. And obviously the longer it lasts, the more, hypothetically, the cash value is that you can sell at any time.
Gregory: And when you say, “sell,” you're saying, turn it back to the insurance company.
Anna: Correct. And they will give you money for…
Gregory: Any guess or what, how much do you usually get versus what you would have paid out or have paid in?
Anna: So, depending on how much you have paid in, obviously the more because the cash value grows, the death benefit, the life insurance piece also grows most of the time, as long as markets are good and things like that. Right. So, the longer it lasts, the more it grows. Usually when I'm looking at whole life policies, it’s for about a 20-year period. So, you've had this policy up for 20 years, the amount you've paid in is equal to that cash value. Once that passes the 20 years, you get more than you paid in because of that growth, that interest. Right. Now, if you have really big policies, it's a shorter time period. You'll see that in 15, maybe 10 years, if it's a bigger one, but, you know, it really depends on how much you have paid in and then how the markets are doing and, you know, State Farm is gonna invest that money very conservatively, but they're going to try to grow it because that's how their business grows as well. And that growth's called “dividends.”
Gregory: Over a 20-year period, it's almost certain, past performance does not indicate future returns. Yeah. However, the market, of course, will almost always have gone up over that 20-year period.
Anna: At State Farm, we're hitting our hundredth year in June. So, this month, which is really exciting. State Farm’s life policies have never seen no growth.
Gregory: Okay. That's fascinating though. So, with a whole life policy, you are essentially… whatever you're putting in is almost like an investment in the market with the guarantee of a death benefit, should you pass away?
Anna: Correct. And that's the privilege of that whole life, right? Because you have two options. And honestly, there's a third option. You can borrow from it as well. Right. Just like borrowing from your home mortgage, you can, you can borrow from that equity of your life insurance.
Gregory: I did not realize that.
Anna: So, there's a lot of cool things about that whole life policy that you can take advantage of.
Gregory: Wow. There it is. Well, we've already learned something about insurance, but that is so…
Anna: Exciting.
Gregory: No, that actually kind of is exciting, ‘cause that's a way to make an investment and still have…
Anna: Very conservative investment because we're guaranteeing this policy.
Gregory: That's fabulous. All right. Let's take a quick break, as we work our way out on the straw hat song. We'll be back in just a moment. Ladies and gentlemen, this is Drink in the Style on AM 950, the progressive voice of Minnesota… welcome back to Drink in the Style. Desi Arnez expressing his ability to go from casual to dramatic at the drop of a hat. I wonder what that's like.
Magen: I've never seen it from you.
Gregory: (laughs) Fair. Welcome back. As I said too, Drink in the Style, this could be Saturday night. It could be around 7:30. It could be Sunday night for all I know, around 5:00 or frankly, it could be 2:00 a.m. and you're listening to us as a podcast through Spotify or iTunes or any of those other ones. And if you are listening on iTunes, please do give us a five-star rating. And again, mom, seriously, come on. Does it cost that much for you to just give me a five-star rating? It's not that hard. Anyway, this is Gregory Rich. We're talking with Anna Riebel from State Farm Insurance. We are drinking sidecars, courtesy of Magen Theis, who is our in-house cocktologist. Magen you've done nice work on this.
Magen: Oh, thank you. Yeah, I've enjoyed it first.
Gregory: So, you were a… little known fact: Magen was a bartender for, what do you say? About two weeks?
Magen: Yeah. (laughs) When I was 18.
Gregory: When you were 18. What was your favorite drink to make?
Magen: I don't know. I couldn't taste them…
Gregory: Beer.
Magen: I guess. (laughs) That’s the easiest one. Yeah, exactly. No, they should never make an 18-year-old a bartender. If you can’t taste it. I know it's illegal, but I mean, if you technically can't taste it, how do you know when you're making a good drink? Yeah. I don't know. If not, you guess?
Gregory: Yeah, yeah. One hundred percent. Or, base it on the expression that the client makes (laughs) yeah. Or the tips that you're getting at the end. Yep. Yeah. Okay. All right. So we are talking with Anna, as I said, Riebel from State Farm. Let's talk about you, Anna for a little bit. You grew up in the Minneapolis area.
Anna: Yeah. Suburbs. So, I grew up in Elk River. Both of my parents actually work for State Farm, so I'm kind of in a State Farm family. I have two uncles who are also agents. My mom's worked for State Farm my entire life, so we kind of moved around in Minnesota until I was in seventh grade. And then we were located in Ramsey, Elk River.
Gregory: And your mom has a practice on the east side, your dad on the west side. Is that…
Anna: No. So, um, my mom's in Ramsey, Minnesota and my dad is in Maple Grove, Plymouth.
Gregory: Okay. So, around the dinner table, you guys talked insurance…
Anna: A little bit. Insurance is so exciting. (laughs)
Gregory: So exciting.
Anna: But I've heard the good stories, the funny stories, the serious stories throughout the years and it obviously impacted me, being that I'm working for State Farm now.
Gregory: Yeah, it's a fair point, but you know, insurance agents don't get a lot of kudos for what they do, but the minute there's a freaking disaster, they're literally your best friend.
Anna: Well, and honestly, we always say we're the second call, right? The first call is usually 9-11, right. The second call is the agent.
Gregory: Yeah. I guess that does make sense. Yep.
Anna: Yep. I mean, we're happy to be there. This is what we're trained for. This is where the professionals…
Gregory: And the importance of something like State Farm versus something like God forbid Geico or one of the online folks is that literally you've got someone who is local, someone who knows you, a neighbor who is able to get there and go to bat for you because – all due respect to State Farm – it's a business like any other and it is going to try to take advantage of its position. And you need someone who knows how that system works and someone who is prepared to manage it. Right.
Anna: And I'm a person. Right. So, I care about you. I love State Farm. 'm not trying to make the most money. I'm trying to make the right choices for you guys. So I, I want to educate, I want to have great conversations with the customers to make them make the right decisions.
Gregory: ‘Cause you have to know the person that you're talking to. You have to understand who they are in order to understand how to protect them.
Anna: Exactly. So, we're gonna get into some deep conversations. You're gonna share some stuff that maybe you've never shared before with an insurance person, but that's only so I know how to protect you.
Gregory: Mm-hmm, it makes absolute sense. Like when I told you about the tiara and the bustier that I wear on weekends yeah. Now, you know exactly to…
Anna: Protect exactly.
Gregory: (laughs) Exactly Brett. We can cancel it. We can edit that out, can't we? Absolutely not. Thanks, Wendy. You got my back. I appreciate that deeply. So, Anna, what would you do if you weren't doing insurance then?
Anna: So, I actually went to school for engineering. I went to the University of Minnesota in the Twin Cities, okay, for mechanical engineering. I am the oldest of four kids. So, I was gonna kind of buck the trend, the State Farm trend and do something else. I graduated high school in 2009, so right, kind of after the crisis of a lot of people not finding jobs and things like that. So, I could do math, I could do science. That made sense. And I was a woman. So, engineering was a really good choice at the time, to get a job.
Gregory: It makes all the sense in the world.
Anna: So, that's why I went into engineering. I didn't love the schooling of it, the learning of it, but you know, I got the degree and then worked in engineering. I had a great, great time in my career for about five years; loved the people I worked with, but didn't really see it as kind of an end goal and I really wanted to succeed on my own success or fail on my own success. So, then the other thing too, is that every job that I did, I didn't feel like I was giving back, right. So, I was looking for engineering jobs outside of what I was doing. And I was also just looking elsewhere in general. And I, for some reason, fell back on what both of my parents are doing and they've been big impacts in their communities. And I, I don't know why I kind of wrote that off.
Gregory: Well, your natural rebellion…
Anna: Yeah. Child kinda. So I, you know, I really strongly considered that and ended up making the decision to go back into State Farm, worked as a team member for an agent for a while, and really kind of discovered a love for it because you are working every day with people – everyday people, right? Working with people who just wanna save money or working with people who don't know anything about insurance and you're educating them and making them make the right decisions for their family.
Gregory: Which is, I mean, honestly, you'll cringe when I use the word, but “noble” is the right word, Americans in general, do not think about the future. It's just our nature. For whatever reason, it's written into our American DNA, we save less than almost every other country. We prepare less for retirement than almost any other Western country. Insurance is an important part of being able to sleep at night. It is knowing that, you know, no matter what happens, you're gonna be taken care of. You know, I mean, perfect example of the Range Rover that I had at the building that was sitting there for about a month and a half… somebody came in, somebody stole the catalytic converter, and then somebody came back ‘cause I couldn't move it anymore and stole the headlight and the grill and things. But normally, and up until a bit, I thought, well, I'm just outta luck. And then realized, well, hold on, this is theft. This is part of the car coverage. And suddenly, boom, it went from a complete and total loss to a reasonable compensation for what happened.
Anna: Well, and then the nice thing is, and a lot of people don't think this way, there's bigger assets, we can protect, right. So cars, obviously, they're a lot of money and right now they are a lot of money. Homes: a lot of money.
Gregory: Unquestionably, but…
Anna: Things like your unearned income.
Gregory: Right? Keep going.
Anna: So, the income you're going to make until you retire for young people, old people, you know, just multiply the years. That's a lot of money. Agreed. That's your biggest asset. A lot of people don't know that.
Gregory: Your earning potential. Correct.
Anna: We can protect that with insurance that is maybe, maybe if something happens to it, the biggest loss that you could ever have, whether you die, obviously that's gone forever. Or, you get disabled for a short period of time, long period or time forever. We can protect against that.
Gregory: So, you're talking about disability insurance, as an individual. Correct. Interesting. How does that work?
Anna: So, a lot of people think that you need to get injured on the job. That is not the case at all.
Gregory: Right? That's only if your insurer or your employer…
Anna: It's usually like a worker's comp then. Right. But disability is, you are either sick or injured and not able to do your job functions. So, you cannot get that income that happens to, I believe, like one in four people, right?
Gregory: Seriously, that many.
Anna: People over a lifetime, I've already used disability.
Gregory: Really?
Anna: Mm-hmm, mm-hmm. So, it's just that income not coming in. So, all of a sudden, that unearned income, that huge level is shrinking because you didn't have that protected. Now, sometimes you have that through work. There's a small protection, there. Sometimes, it's great. Sometimes, you don't have it at all. State Farm can help with that, but in general, just disability is how it works, where you get a percentage of your income. Well, while you're disabled, while you can't work, once you go back to work, obviously the policy ends.
Gregory: So, when you're meeting with a client, you are, as you were saying, going to sit down, you're gonna find out as much as you can about their general lifestyle, their ambitions as well; this way, maybe a financial advisor might. And you're gonna try to craft a holistic collection of policies that are going to cover all these eventualities.
Anna: Yeah. And I'm gonna ask, you know, what are you working towards, because if you lose that income, for instance, that's not gonna happen.
Gregory: Mm-hmm.
Anna: Or, that's gonna happen 10 years after you wanted it to happen.
Gregory: Agreed. I mean, yeah. I mean, it's the very nature of insurance. What about, I'm gonna ask you an uncomfortable question. Okay. What about premium increases after claims? I mean, generally speaking, there are those who might say that, you know, an insurance company is going to recoup its money after a claim, through additional fees, et cetera. Yep. Where do you land on that type of thing?
Anna: Yeah. And I mean, that makes sense. Business-wise, right? Mm-hmm, because, uh, they had to pay out, I'm sure, a lot more than they're taking back from you. So, I get it in a sense. The nice thing about those – they're called, “surcharges,” is that they're only temporary. So, they do not last forever. For cars, it's usually three years that they do last. Okay. And it's a small percentage, and it's still not anything usually towards what you actually got payout for.
Gregory: It's a fair point. If you stop and think about it, because there's always a concern about turning in any kind of a claim, because, you know, will they be basically recouping their money through surcharges or increased premiums? And you know, I mean, is that, are there insurers that one would worry more about than State Farm that tend…
Anna: I'm not gonna bad. Both. Anybody.
Gregory: (laughs) They tried really hard (laughs), so you…
Anna: And you did really well. You kinda hit it. You gotta hit it. No, I just, I know that State Farm's really, really solid about that. Right. We're number one for a reason.
Gregory: It is literally the most trusted name in insurance. That is... There's just no…
Anna: Question. It is. So, I mean, that's the only thing I'm gonna say.
Gregory: Fair. All right. I'm gonna make Anna do a shot. And then when we come back, I'm gonna ask her another awkward and inappropriate question. Can't wait – not really. Don't worry, but I am gonna try to make you have a shot. This is Drink in the Style. We're taking another break. When we come back, we're gonna do a little district plug. We're gonna talk a little bit about the building and we're gonna talk a little bit more about insurance. So I'll see you back here in just about three minutes. That is correct. Thank you, Johnson. See you guys, soon… This song, ladies, gentlemen, is Cuban Pete. He's the king of the rumba beat – this is actually a good entry to talk about the Spotify radio Drink in the Style playlist that Magen will be curating, starting this week, correct? Magen.
Magen: Sure am. (laughs) it's gonna be a surprise for everybody.
Gregory: It is, it always is. Welcome to Habitation Furnishing + Design. Thank you. (laughs) No, it's great guys. Check out Spotify. And soon there will be a Drink in the Style program playlist. I actually do have a Christmas playlist out there, but I don't think I've ever actually publicized it, ‘cause I created it and then forgot about it, probably because I was drinking.
Johnson: Well, I know you'll have some good songs on the Christmas playlist. I know of a couple songs in particular that you'll likely have on there.
Gregory: I love the boots. Yeah. It's that? That one. Yes. Yeah, yeah, yeah. That was, that was a good one. Remember when we had Brian Oak on the show and he did his Christmas playlist. I love Brian. Brian's a great guy. Absolutely great guy. All right. So this is Drink in the Style, Anna Riebel from State Farm is with us. We're enjoying sidecars, courtesy of Magen Theis, who's again, drawing on her history and background, deep background as a bartender for two weeks before she could legally drink. (laughs) Right. All right. So Anna, we got a few minutes. Not that much, but yeah. Let's start with this. What is the most important thing that people should think about when they're thinking insurance? So…
Anna: You know, obviously everybody wants to protect the home, the cars, the life insurance, whatever, but I really truly believe that you want somebody there beside you, helping. And that's your agent, right? Your agreed agent, the team members that work in that agency. They're the experts. They work with that every single day. They educate you. Obviously, we're not gonna push you into anything, but if you have questions, we're here for you. If you have claims, we're gonna come, do your house. You know, if it's terrible, like, we're here for you. That is our job. We care about you. Yeah. That is the most important…
Gregory: It's legit. I mean, it really, really is. I mean, we live in a country where everything is kind of manufactured, mass-produced. We are numbers, not people. Insurance is the type of thing. I mean, seriously, if you have substantial insurance and claim, that means that there was a massive impact on your life. And you have a choice. Do you want to call an 800-number where you are client, “3-6-7-5-4-2-3-B” and “B” stands for you missed a payment one day (laughs), or do you want to be able to call someone who's a member of the community, right?
Anna: Right, exactly. And we know your kids, we know what you do for your work. We know exactly who you are, and you know, the worst-case scenario is a fire, a death. We're gonna be by your side. That is our job. That is the most meaningful part of the reason we're a part of State Farm. So, that's what I'm here for. Yeah. And that's why I'm here.
Gregory: Yeah. I mean, seriously, it's one of the few things that we spend no time thinking about, but when the time comes, as you said, your call number two, you are so happy about not having to call 800-whatever, choose option three, choose option five, choose option seven. And then, you know, Richard from India is going to, you know, start managing your claim.
Anna: Exactly, exactly. And I'm so proud to be that person, honestly, whether or not it's, you know, we've talked about this, coverage, or even if you just have silly questions, I mean, we're here for whatever you need. And I'm thrilled to be that person.
Gregory: I can understand. So, let's do a plug. How do people get in touch with you?
Anna: Yeah, so we're here in Edina, obviously, the phone number – it's the best way to talk, talk on the phone, that is (612) 567-5052. I can also be reached by text at that number. And then email is anna@rieblinsurance.com.
Gregory: Perfect. And they can also just swing by The District anytime to come and see you. I mean, you've got a beautiful office on the Creek level. Right outside the outdoor seating area on the east end of the building mm-hmm and then you can talk with folks, maybe even take 'em up to the lounge or something, and help them protect themselves and their family. Exactly. From all types of ****.
Anna: Exactly.
Gregory: Exactly. I like to swear every now and then just keep Johnson on his toes. Anna: (laughs) Well, when it's really bad, that's exactly what it is. So…
Gregory: That's true. It's absolutely true. Yep. So, okay. So, let's talk about The District for a moment or two. Yeah, very quickly. What attracted you to the building?
Anna: So I love that it has a message, right? I love that it has a purpose to it. Of all the agencies I know of, and I love my parents, right? They are located in strip malls. Right. They have very, very nice locations, but they don't… the building they're in doesn't have kind of a, a message to it or a theme or anything. So they know the neighbors that have good relationships, but with the neighbors. But I love that we have this theme. So, I was very, very excited to open up my agency within The District.
Gregory: That's wonderful. And we're happy to have you in the space. And when summer comes – I guess you haven't been here during a summer…
Anna: I have not. I’m excited.
Gregory: When you approach, and you go over the little bridge and all the greenery and the bull, and then we've got the outdoor seating areas.
Anna: We've already sat there and it's very nice.
Gregory: Have you?
Anna: It was a little hot when we sat there, ‘cause it was like that 90 degree day, but it was very nice.
Gregory: Oh God, can you believe there was a 90-degree day before the summer?
Anna: One, so far. I've counted. (laughs)
Gregory: (laughs) You're tracking it every way you possibly can. And as far as, now that you're in the space, is that your favorite aspect to the building? Is the outdoor…?
Anna: No, I mean, there's so many, so many good aspects. Honestly. I love just the connections within the building. We've met so many fun people. I mean, I really appreciate that because I just don't know that any other space that I would've had would've had that. Right. So that is the biggest thing I'm most excited about with the building.
Gregory: Mm-hmm, I'm so glad to hear you say that. Yeah. That is the whole concept, is that kind of interaction and that kind of space mm-hmm, all right. Well, there it is, my friends, we have drunk our way through another episode on behalf of the high end furniture interior designers here at Habitation, as well as The District Edina. And of course, Anna Riebel from State Farm Insurance. I'd like to wish everybody good luck this coming week. And I will finish out with a quote from Robert Frost: “Don't ever take down a fence before knowing why it was put up.” Goodnight, everybody.