In short
- Bill Jurey worked a little over 20 years in manufacturing, ending in quality and process engineering.
- He has been licensed in life and health insurance since 2017 and helping people with Medicare since 2020.
- He educates first, starts every review with medications and doctors, and leaves the decision to you.
- His help costs clients nothing, because insurance companies pay licensed agents.
For a little over 20 years, I worked in manufacturing. I had different roles, and toward the end I was doing quality engineering and some process engineering. We were making widgets by the millions and sending them out the door.
It was steady work. It paid the bills. And somewhere along the way, it stopped meaning anything to me.
Why did I leave manufacturing?
I left because I didn't feel purpose in it anymore. Okay, I got a paycheck. But I didn't feel I was contributing. I felt like I needed to give back.
That's not an easy thing to admit when you've got a wife and two kids in school. A paycheck matters. But it wasn't enough anymore.
How did I get into insurance?
I got my life and health insurance license in 2017. An agency out of Omaha recruited me to sell life insurance, and I liked the people part right away. I enjoyed talking with people and helping them protect themselves and their wallets. I didn't enjoy the process that agency wanted me to follow, so I quit.
About a year and a half later, in 2019, I got the chance to open my own agency. I opened the doors on March 1, 2020.
You can probably guess what happened next. Around March 23, the city shut down. I'd just signed a multi-year lease, a couple thousand dollars a month, for a space I couldn't have anybody in. That agency lasted all of about six months. We won't talk about the losses. It hurt a lot. If you ever need advice on business timing, I'm not your guy.
How did I end up in Medicare?
A friend and my wife, in that order.
When the agency closed, my wife and I sat down with what savings we had left and asked the obvious question. Do I go back to manufacturing? Or do I find something where I can actually be of service?
Around that time, a friend of mine named Dana, who worked in Medicare, told me it was rewarding. She just said it was rewarding. She didn't say it was personally rewarding, financially rewarding, whatever. She just said it was rewarding.
Honestly, I didn't think much of it. I was in my mid-40s and didn't know anything about Medicare. Most people turning 65 don't either, so I'm not sure why I thought I would. My wife is a nurse and had worked in long-term care for about 15 years by then. She pushed me to call Dana back. So I did, and I've been helping people with Medicare since 2020.
My wife was right, which I'm told is a pattern.
Why do the people make this job different?
Because I get to spend my days at a table with people who've lived through a lot, and I get to be myself while I do it.
My secret is I enjoy people. That's what separates me. If you sit down with me for more than a half an hour, you've met Bill. I have a large personality and a huge voice, and I always try to be super approachable.
When I started out, I did a lot of home visits, and I still do some. You walk up and the yard is taken care of just right. There are family photos everywhere and a beautiful picture of the dog, who you find out passed away 10 years ago. You get a glimpse of who somebody is before you ever talk about a plan.
This work also gave me time back. I'm able to volunteer more. I help with my kids' youth groups, and I've told the youth counselors at our church, if you need anything, call me. I'll make time on my schedule. And I enjoy doing it. We've done summer mission trips, too, including inner-city Memphis a couple of years ago and a trip to Idaho with no cell service, which was great for everybody except my email.
What did manufacturing teach me that I still use?
Two things: look for the real problem, and do the math.
In quality work, the thing you see first is usually a symptom. People are the same way. Rarely, if somebody comes to you with a complaint, that complaint's not the actual problem. That's just what's at the top. The actual problem is something else. You've got to listen. You've got to pay attention.
And I'm a math guy. When a plan looks great on the screen, I want to see the details. The medication costs look great, but let's look down in here: MRIs are 40%. 40% of what? Do you know what an MRI costs? I got no clue, and neither does most anybody else. Medicare.gov is a great website to get started on, and I mean that. I just don't want you picking the shiny button without reading the fine print. I wrote more about how a local agent, Medicare.gov and a call center compare.
What does that mean if you sit down with me?
It means I'll educate first, and you'll decide.
- I explain how Medicare works first, even if you've seen it before. I'll draw pictures. I might pull out the whiteboard and do my best John Madden impersonation.
- We start with your medications and doctors, because that's where the money goes. More on that in why every review starts with your medications.
- It's not my decision. I can't say, we're gonna put you on this plan here, Bob. I lay out the options and the math, and you choose.
- My help costs you nothing. The insurance companies pay agents, so you don't. Here's how Medicare agents get paid.
- I call my clients every fall. Plan costs and coverage can change every year, so we look again before Open Enrollment.
And if I'm not the right fit, that's fine. I encourage everybody to find somebody that they trust to help them, even if it isn't me. Not everybody likes me, and that's okay too.
I'm in no hurry to retire. I want to retire someday, but I don't want to stop doing things, and I'd rather keep doing something I enjoy and I'm passionate about. If you're turning 65, or you just want somebody to explain the mail piling up on your counter, come sit down at my table. It's a Facebook Marketplace table with three chairs, so bring your spouse or one of the kids.
Frequently asked questions
Bill Jurey got his life and health insurance license in 2017 and has helped people with Medicare since 2020. Before insurance, he spent a little over 20 years in manufacturing, mostly in quality engineering and process engineering toward the end. He works from an office in Lincoln, Nebraska, and meets clients in person, by phone or by video.
After a career change and a new agency that closed during the 2020 shutdown, Bill was looking for work where he could be of service. A friend named Dana, who worked in Medicare, told him the work was rewarding, and his wife, a nurse, pushed him to call Dana back. He has been helping people with Medicare since 2020, and he's in no hurry to retire.
No. Bill's help costs you nothing. Licensed agents are paid by the insurance companies when a client enrolls, much like a car insurance agent is paid by the company and not by you. If an agent ever asks you to pay a fee for help choosing a Medicare plan, Bill's advice is to report them.
No. Bill explains how Medicare works, runs the numbers on your medications, doctors and budget, and lays out the options he can offer. The decision is yours. He also tells people plainly that it's fine to work with a different agent they trust, and that unbiased help is available from Medicare.gov, 1-800-MEDICARE and Nebraska SHIP.
Yes. Bill meets clients at his office in Lincoln, and he still does some home visits. He also meets by phone and video for people who can't make the trip. He prefers sitting down across a table when he can, because trust is easier to build in person, but he says plainly that phone and video work too.
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