“Looking back for a moment, I’m amazed and greatly thankful for my life experiences and the health I enjoy still today. I stumbled into the group business in 1957. After helping my Dad and a couple brothers complete the hay bailing season………”
I’ve met a lot of interesting people in the insurance industry over the years and Paul is no exception. I learned a lot from Paul and his partner Bill Ebaugh. Recently I reached out to Paul for an actuarial work project and learned he was set to retire in 2027 at age 90.
With Paul’s permission, below is his response to my congratulatory note on his planned retirement where he looks back on his life experiences:
Thanks for your retirement well-wishes, Bill. Looking back for a moment, I’m amazed and greatly thankful for my life experiences and the health I enjoy still today.
I stumbled into the group business in 1957. After helping my Dad and a couple brothers complete the hay bailing season, I learned that the Equitable Life Assurance Society in NYC was fully reimbursing tuition fees for college students earning a grade of C or better. So deciding to finish up my last two college years in night school, I bought a Greyhound ticket to NYC, walked about 10 blocks to the Equitable Home Office and applied for a job. On that particular day, there happened to be a need in Equitable’s Group Dept for an underwriting trainee and two days later, I was on my way.
When I first started with Equitable’s group dept, it took a VP’s signoff to get a Surg Schedule max greater than $300. In 1969 or thereabouts with the then-fledgling John Alden, $5000 was the most common Major Med lifetime max that we saw, with $10,000 occasionally. I wanted us to make a bold move by offering a Major Med plan with a “sexy” $50,000 lifetime max with a $10,000 annual cap. We didn’t do it because our reinsurer felt it excessive for the time and John Alden was unwilling to retain the entire risk. If I hadn’t lived it, there’s no way I’d believe anyone telling me that story today.
I can say without reservation that I have enjoyed every day of it . . . the constantly evolving developments in the group business and a terrific number of compatriots met along the way. One of course was Bill Ebaugh whom I first met in 1962 or 63 when I had moved to Phoenix Mutual’s Home Office in Hartford and he had hired in as their LA group sales manager. A lot of the “Connecticut Yankees” kept their hands on their wallets around anyone from LA or San Fran but Bill & I became good friends almost instantly, a friendship that endured through that day in 2018 when you & I were there in Reno to bid him farewell.
It’s been a great ride. I know how you feel saying you’ll retire “when I assume room temperature.” That of course is the Ebaugh way and I’m sure you’ll know when the time is right for yourself. In the meantime, thanks for being our good friend.
ABOUT PAUL J. KOVACIC, CLU
Co-founder & President of Sierra-Berkshire, Paul has 40+ years in Group Life Health, Dental & Disability field, including 15+ years with Phoenix Life & John Alden Life. 8 years in TPA management. 25+ years consulting experience, with emphasis on program development, operations & results analysis. Paul has a strong background in underwriting, product & rate development, reserving, loss expense analysis, administration, claims & sales management, contract writing and regulatory compliance. 10 years Stop Loss underwriting experience.