Like many of his industry colleagues and competitors, Ken Finch didn’t set his sights on an insurance career at an early age. He credits his childhood neighbor, who offered him a summer job, for introducing him to the industry that would become his career.
Working a hot summer construction job in Raleigh, NC, Ken came home one afternoon exhausted, grimy and grumpy. Watching him drag across the yard, Ken’s neighbor offered him a job that had “inside office work and air conditioning.” Thinking it was just a joke, Ken took him up on his offer and was quickly introduced to the insurance agency business. The rest is now history.
That summer job was enough to get Ken Finch interested in an insurance career, and following graduation from Atlantic Christian College, he started his first job as a crop/hail underwriter for the NC Farm Bureau. Over the years he was a commercial underwriter and agent, which led him to his first job in an independent insurance agency in eastern North Carolina.
After sales management positions with BB&T Insurance in Charlotte and Greenville, in 2004 Ken moved to his current position as President of Countybanc Insurance Services in Greenwood, SC. Formerly known as Dantzler Insurance, Countybanc Insurance changed the name in 1998 to more closely connect the agency to its parent organization. The agency offers all lines of insurance in three locations (Greenwood, Greenville and Lexington) and works closely with its banking parent that also offers a full array of financial services to customers.
Countybanc Insurance has built a reputation of providing personal service and custom insurance products while building a loyal customer base – all of which blend in well with the Trusted Choice® brand for independent insurance agents. Trusted Choice® is part of their agency culture and compliments the public message that Countybanc Insurance portrays.
Insurance education and training is also important to him, as evidenced by all the industry designations that Ken has personally earned: Chartered Property & Casualty Underwriter (CPCU), Certified Risk Manager (CRM), Certified Insurance Counselor (CIC) and Accredited Advisor of Insurance (AAI). He encourages and supports similar designation training by his staff. Likewise, Ken has a strong passion about being involved – both in his personal and professional lives. He encourages others to “find a passion” and “find a career, not just a job.”
It is that kind of dedication and passion that led Ken to win the 2001 Leadership Award from the Greenville Association of Insurance Women and the 2012 Associate of the Year from the Greenwood Homebuilders Association.
Of course, involvement with IIABSC has been a “natural” for Ken. He was elected to the Board of Directors in 2007, which later led to officer positions. He has chaired the IIABSC InsurPac committee and helped continue the streak of nine consecutive Eagle Awards for South Carolina.
Ken enjoys golf, but he LOVES fishing. Annual fishing trips to the NC Outer Banks are sacred to him. His real love is surf fishing, although he has been known to fish offshore if you twist his arm. His love of fishing has also led him to another passion and hobby: building custom fishing rods. It has almost become a second business to Ken, and he is committed for several fishing rods to friends and family before Christmas.
But Ken’s ultimate passion and love is his family – wife Dorothy and son Carter. Married to his college sweetheart for 32 years, Ken will tell you that nothing in his life is better, or more important, than the family time they share together. That time includes keeping up with Carter, who is finishing a baseball career and earning his degree at Covenant College in Lookout Mountain, Ga.
As Ken takes over the Chairmanship of IIABSC, don’t be surprised if he challenges you to “get involved” or “find your passion” and remember he is only encouraging you to do something that he himself started many years ago.