Eric Bilodeau

Meet HSI Instructor Eric Bilodeau

Eric Bilodeau is the Director of Training and teaches a variety of in-person and virtual Property and Casualty programs for Hartford School of Insurance (HSI), including Commercial Lines Producer School, Commercial Lines Account Manager School, Personal Lines School and Small Business Coverage Specialist Program.

Bilodeau joined HSI in 2015, bringing with him more than 25 years of experience in commercial lines and personal lines insurance. He previously held numerous roles at leading carriers including claims adjustor, sales executive, underwriter, underwriting manager, and more. He obtained his Certified Insurance Counselors (CIC) certification from the National Alliance for Insurance (NAI) in 2007.

With experience in many facets of the industry, including extensive management experience, the common thread for Bilodeau has been his love of teaching.

“What I liked most about management was the teaching part, for example the ability to mentor and help develop new underwriters,” said Bilodeau, “The desire to teach is something that’s important to me and at the core of who I am.”

Building a Solid Foundation

Early on in his career, Bilodeau worked as a claims adjustor, an experience that shaped his career for decades to come.

“Claims gave me a solid understanding of how to analyze a policy and read policy language – something that I’ve carried with me in all of my roles since,” Bilodeau. “When I moved to sales it wasn’t just about selling products, there was a whole risk management component that I could bring to the table.”

His claims experience and ability to analyze coverage enabled him to provide additional value to customers, including explaining what their exposures were and the potential solutions.

A foundation in claims prepared him for later roles selling policies both direct to consumers and through agents, underwriting and more, creating a mosaic that enabled Bilodeau to see the complete picture of the interaction between carrier, agent and consumer.

“I understand how hard it is to write a policy, and how hard it is to get someone to buy a policy,” said Bilodeau. “It’s not just about the product or price – it’s about all of the additional value you bring.”

Walking a Mile in Your Shoes

People buy from people they trust and people they believe, and Bilodeau’s experience has taught him another way to facilitate trust – attitude.

“If you are passionate, your customers will feel it,” said Bilodeau. “If you love to sell and are excited to help someone by providing them protection from the unknown, they’ll recognize your passion and you’ll sell more.”

His experience includes nearly a decade of selling commercial-focused policies directly to consumers as a captive agent, and also as a carrier sales rep working with independent agents in the Carolinas. The products he worked with the most include commercial auto policies, workers comp and business owner’s policies (BOPs).

“I’ve been in the shoes of an agent and understand what it takes to sell a policy,” said Bilodeau. “It can be especially difficult over the phone where you have a very limited amount of time to build a relationship with a customer.”

Besides their families, the things people invest their time and money in, for example a startup business, are of paramount importance to them, said Bilodeau. His direct experience with consumers enabled him to educate agents he worked with on the importance of understanding those motivations and providing solutions to their exposures.

Bilodeau resides in Canton, CT and is married with two children. His spends much of his free time with his family and has extended family all over the country.

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