Closer Look: Tim Dunleavy

Internship Changed ABD’s Dunleavy’s Mind; Now He Changes Minds of Peers

Tim Dunleavy, vice president of ABD in San Mateo, Calif., finds he has a lot of explaining to do to his peers about his choice of a career in insurance.

“The typical reaction from my peer group is a dull one, with the assumption that I go door-to-door trying to sell my friends a life insurance policy they don’t want/need,” the 29-year-old said. “Once I explain that we work to protect the executives of some of the coolest technology companies in the country, their initial preconception quickly changes.”

Dunleavy’s been changing young minds since he got into the business at age 21 through an internship in New York with Liberty International Underwriters in the summer of 2011. It was an experience that sold him on insurance.

Prior to joining ABD, he was a middle-market technology underwriter for The Hartford.

Among ABD’s specialties are technology and life sciences companies. He estimates roughly a quarter of the customers he’s initially dealing with are junior financial executives in their early 20s and 30s with whom he’s able to relate.

“Our role is to get slower moving, old-school insurance companies up to speed and comfortable with our clients, who are looking five years out,” he said.

Had he not gone into a career in insurance? “I would have worked to become a district attorney like my dad,” he replied. “Or I would have pursued a career coaching basketball.”

Besides explaining insurance to peers and catering to tech clients, he spends a lot of time on social media. “I am on LinkedIn constantly monitoring not only prospective clients, but our own clients as well,” he said. “It is a great way to keep up with everything happening with the hyper-growth companies we support.”