He’s Building Success in Palm Beach County—Here’s How

On this episode of Chapman On Air, host Mia Rae Stephens sits down with Tim Carley, Managing Principal & Agent, leading Chapman Insurance Group’s expansion into Palm Beach County.

Tim didn’t follow the typical insurance path. He began his career in a service-oriented role, gaining experience in understanding and helping people with their needs. Later, he transitioned into the insurance industry, where he learned how to provide practical solutions for clients. Now, he’s bringing that same mindset to Palm Beach, helping people protect what matters most.

Mia and Tim discuss how having a trusted advocate across the table changes everything—and why a different kind of insurance agent matters for your home, auto, flood, or business coverage.

This episode marks Chapman Insurance Group’s official introduction to Palm Beach County. Discover why we were named The Face of Insurance in SWFL and how we’re bringing the same energy, expertise, and client-first approach to your community.

Tune in and find out how Chapman Insurance Group can be the advocate you need for all things insurance.

 Prefer video? Watch the full episode here: https://youtu.be/5UtgXXzVOd0

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:05

Today on Chapman on Air, we're introducing someone who's about to play a major role in our next chapter here at Chapman Insurance Group. When you expand into a new market, especially one as competitive and fast growing as Palm Beach County, you need someone with experience, intuition, grit, and a deep understanding of people, most importantly. And that's exactly who we have here with us today. Tim Carly is stepping in to lead our Palm Beach County office, bringing the Chapman name to a whole new community and building something from the ground up with the same standard of excellence we're known for here in Southwest Florida. Today, we're getting to know Tim, his story, his drive, and why he's the person we trust to take Chapman Insurance Group into this new chapter. Welcome, Tim.

SPEAKER_00 0:52

That was a heck of an intro. I don't think we need to do more. We made it up more.

SPEAKER_01 0:56

I made it all up.

SPEAKER_00 0:57

Like on a high note with that.

SPEAKER_01 0:59

Yeah, did it sound good?

SPEAKER_00 1:00

It sounded great. Like I never felt better about myself.

SPEAKER_01 1:03

Yeah, so welcome.

SPEAKER_00 1:05

Thank you. Happy to be here, happy to be a part of the Chapman family. It's been about six weeks or so since I started and just been getting immersed in Chapman culture over here. Been driving over about once a week from the East Coast over here to the West Coast and couldn't be happier about it. Really excited about what we're doing in Palm Beach and uh just to get to know the company. Yeah. Yeah, very excited.

SPEAKER_01 1:26

We are too. So before we talk about the new office, let's talk about you. Yeah. You're in the hot sea. What's the story that brought you into this industry?

SPEAKER_00 1:35

Into this industry. Okay. So um let's see, I uh right out of high school in college in 2000, I got involved in uh Christian outreach ministry called Young Life. Kind of dove headfirst into it and went on staff in 2000, and I didn't go off staff until 2022. So all that, I grew up in the Georgia, uh, Atlanta area. And so I was on staff with Young Life for a really, really long time, um, 22 years. And my last assignment with them was in Palm Beach County. And so moved to Palm Beach County in 2013, down from Atlanta with that ministry. And uh come 2022, I just kind of felt like uh my time was coming to a close. There was a little bit of burnout there, just kind of something that I really found my identity in and just wasn't really loving what I was doing anymore. Um, insurance was kind of the last thing on my list, on my mind. I never thought, like, oh, I want to go sell insurance.

SPEAKER_01 2:33

That wasn't your dream when you were a little boy.

SPEAKER_00 2:36

It's uh as exciting as insurance is, yeah, I uh it just never occurred to me. And um, so I got introduced to uh a guy who owned another agency, friend of a friend. He introduced me, and that guy was looking for uh some business development skills in his agency and for some help and leadership. It was a really, really fast growing agency. They did a lot of online uh search engine optimization, that's how they got all their leads and all their marketing. And so I came in to kind of help put hands and feet to some of that marketing locally, and so I spent about six or eight months doing that with them. Uh, and then kind of the needs of the agency grew, and so I came internal to help with leadership, and so I was doing carrier relations stuff, I was doing recruiting, I was doing some HR stuff, I was doing some training stuff, and I was helping out with customer service. I was, I was doing a lot of stuff. So uh kind of got to know the industry over those three years, and then earlier this year, kind of found myself in a place where I was like, hey, I think I would like to do something on my own. Um, Brian, Chapman, and I had struck up a friendship through through that. Uh we were in the same network, both of those agencies, my previous agency and Chapman Insurance Group. And so I called him actually for some advice, and then in that phone call, pitched him on the idea of opening up a Palm Beach office on Benoits to me. Um, part of Chapman's 10-year vision was to open up on the East Coast. And uh he and I just started to work on it from there, and that was early August. And by uh September, I was I was hired and went off to the races.

SPEAKER_01 4:14

The ball was rolling.

SPEAKER_00 4:15

Yeah, so that's how I ended up that was more than you asked for. That's how I ended up in insurance and how I ended up here at Chapman.

SPEAKER_01 4:22

Yeah, no, I love it. I love I love hearing, I think everybody wants to hear that story.

unknown 4:26

It's a great story.

SPEAKER_01 4:27

Everybody who doesn't want to know the story of Tim Carly. 100% getting into Times. Yeah, okay. We're gonna get we have to keep it up there with the intro. Let's go. So, what's something that you learned early on in your career outside of insurance that still guides how you show up professionally today?

SPEAKER_00 4:43

I think you might be able to relate to this. Like, um well, maybe not this part. I'm just gonna say it. We'll figure out if you relate, but if not. Uh I was I was like uh uh class clown type. I know you probably can't tell.

SPEAKER_01 4:57

But um I don't relate to that.

SPEAKER_00 4:59

Well, here's here's what you might relate to is the uh but the teachers didn't they all liked me, right? So like I was a C student that was every teacher's like favorite student. Okay. So I would participate in the class, I would make the teacher laugh, I'd make people laugh around me, and I'd get in trouble a lot, but it was just like little trouble. Um and that eventually translated to beyond the academic circles, it was like, oh, this is a this is an actual skill, to be able to walk into a room and to be able to meet someone you've never met before and then put them at ease. And then before you know it, you're deep into a conversation with this person. Um and so I really honed that skill over my 20 years in ministry, doing everything from fundraising to um going into a high school cafeteria to meet strange, you know, high school kids that I didn't know, to coaching a sport I never coached before, to whatever I was doing, uh that skill set of kind of trusting that the relationship is gonna be the key to everything has kind of gotten me to where it's gotten me. And um where I am now, that's a skill that I still trust, and it's a skill that I lead with, and I found that it just helps me out in kind of any situation, especially in a networking or a marketing kind of situation, which is what my main role as we break into a new market is gonna be is gonna be business development. To be able to walk into a room filled with realtors or a room, you know, I was at a found myself at these boardrooms with the uh with the carriers, these million-dollar carriers, and here I am just, you know, imposter syndromes like through the roof. But it's just like at the end of the day, people just want to be able to have a conversation with someone. And so relationship management is really what I would say is my only true expertise, but it's something that um has carried me kind of through my entire career.

SPEAKER_01 6:46

I love that. Yeah. It's like it makes me think of the quote, no one is you and that is your power. Sometimes that is literally yeah, write it down. Not one. Coming up with all sorts of great things today. But no, it's true. I think sometimes people focus in on what they're not good at instead of taking a step back and seeing what they are good at. Everybody has a skill, if they even if they haven't uncovered it yet.

SPEAKER_00 7:08

Well, and I think in our industry too, like there's a big need for subject matter expertise. There's a big need for people who know exactly you know the difference between this policy and that policy and the difference of of how it all is going to play out, especially if you're a producer and you're writing that business. There's a high need for your subject matter expertise. But I think on the front end, there's another subject matter expertise of how do you how do we get that business in the first place? So I think essentially we're selling the same insurance that the independent agent next door to us is selling and the same that he's selling. The the product's not different anywhere you go. So what sets us apart in Chapman is our people. And that's what I really, really love. And that's what I kind of gravitate towards because the policy is going to look the same no matter who writes it, but you're kind of selling yourself or you're selling you as a person, not necessarily the insurance person.

SPEAKER_01 7:57

It's all about relationships.

SPEAKER_00 7:58

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 7:58

All of it. I mean, I think most things in this world are is about relationships, whether you realize it or not. But yeah, yeah, the the people, the heart behind the people, them actually doing that extra work to place you in the with the right policy, right? Because that that's a thing too, right? There's we all have access. Well, I'm gonna say this, pat ourselves on the back. Chapman has access to more carriers than any other agency in Florida.

SPEAKER_00 8:24

Really?

SPEAKER_01 8:25

So yes.

SPEAKER_00 8:25

That's exciting.

SPEAKER_01 8:26

Yeah. Did you not know that?

SPEAKER_00 8:27

I should probably know that.

SPEAKER_01 8:28

Let's remind you. Chapman has access to yes, then you knew this. All right. That's why you're here. Than any other agency. We also have an in-house claims department.

SPEAKER_00 8:39

So there's lots of things that set Chapman apart, but I think at the end of the day, um the biggest thing is who's on the other end of the phone or who's in the office. You know, there's still people that like to walk in and get their business done that way. We learned that. And you know, I did the other side of things at my last agency where it was all um, you know, internet-driven ads. And so you never really saw these people face to face. It was a very kind of transactional relationship on the phone, but the product that you're selling is still very, very personal. I mean, we're insuring people's largest assets, their homes and their cars, sometimes their boats, whatever it may be. Uh, but these are the largest purchases they've made in their lives. And so, especially we're we're really sensitive to it here in the southwest of you know what a storm can do. I know you especially, because you've you've uh experienced it personally, what a storm can do to a home and how much that can really devastate people. And if they don't have a good insurance agent to kind of see them through, then you're just kind of left blind, which is where our in-house claims department, as you mentioned, was born out of is wanting to be able to be that next level care and service for the customer. And I think that's what kind of keeps people coming back to Chapman. It's not necessarily, yes, we have better products, we probably have a better process, whatever it may be. We have better billboards, better marketing.

SPEAKER_01 10:02

Well, thank you.

SPEAKER_00 10:03

All those things, but it's that we're gonna take care of the people in a better way. Yeah, we don't just wipe our hands once they have the policy, which is easy to do because I mean the the policy, we're the broker, the policy is held by somebody else, held by a carrier. So really you deal with them for your claims, but being that intermediary is really just kind of a place where someone can go and get their questions answered.

SPEAKER_01 10:26

And it's amazing when you truly do care about the people that you do business with, what can come from tragedy or calamity, right? So we talk about the hurricanes of 2022, Hurricane Ian, a horrible time for Southwest Florida, very devastating time. And uh Brian referred to it earlier as a speed bump, but that speed bump didn't slow us down. Actually, we we flew over that speed bump, right? And what did we do? We we decided to start an in-house claims department. So something so horrible, something wonderful was born out of that because nobody else has that. Nobody else can say that. We take care of our people, like they are our people. When you are a client of Chapman, you are our person. We are together. We are together in this, come what may. And I think that's uh incredible right now, where most people are thinking about profit. We are truly putting people over profit.

SPEAKER_00 11:16

Well, and so one of the things that I love about it, so I I kind of learned all this stuff kind of anecdotally through getting to know Brian over the last few years, but now that I'm in and I've gone through a lot of our culture training and that sort of thing, but the the uh creating steadfast fans. Like, so like that I love that idea of not only does somebody um they're they're great customers of ours, but they're they're fans of Chapman Insurance Group, which means that they're actually they're probably gonna market for us. They're gonna tell their neighbors about the experience that they have, they're gonna they're gonna post about it or they're gonna give a good review or whatever. So creating those fans, and then that actually keeps, you know, if you think about it from a uh a performer or an athlete standpoint, right? If you think about keeping the fans happy, like that means we have to continue to perform at a really high level to create those steadfast fans. And so I really love that kind of approach to our business and I really gravitate towards it. Because again, what's gonna set us apart? It's not necessarily gonna be that we're cheaper or that we have better this, better that. We might have all those things, but it's gonna be that we put them first.

SPEAKER_01 12:21

Yeah, and speaking about price, like sometimes for someone who's not fully aware of all the ins and outs of insurance, they might think they have a cheaper policy somewhere else. It's not the same policy though, right? It's stripped down. And so when you don't take the time, which is what we do, to explain to our clients what they're getting, they the choice is theirs at the end of the day, what policy they want to go with. But we make sure that they understand what they're getting involved in. We like to quote, right, not reckless, because we know it's going to affect them later on down the lake. It's easier to just give it the cheapest policy without an explanation. In the short run. But then, like you said, we're creating steadfast fans. That's it's that continuity that comes from treating people right and looking out for their best interest because when a storm rolls in, which it will, it has, and it will continue to roll in life in Florida all the time. All the time. And yes, you're right. And in life are who is standing by their side.

SPEAKER_00 13:14

Right.

SPEAKER_01 13:15

When they are looking around to figure out who's going to help them, they've they've got a chapman at Chapman. They know them by their name. Hopefully, all their lines of insurance are with them. They do not have to scramble. If they forgot the number, they'll probably see our bus rolling by and they'll get reminded of exactly where to call or or where to go in. And it makes a world of difference, not just for them in that moment, but then that investment we're making. It's an extremely big investment to have an in-house claims department. It's an extremely big investment to tell our team to spend more time with people. Right. It's not about numbers, it's about doing it right. That's a big investment. But in the future, that investment pays off because our biggest referral source or our biggest source of business comes from referrals. It comes from existing clients, which is a testament to the work that we're doing here.

SPEAKER_00 14:05

Yeah, we agree.

SPEAKER_01 14:06

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 14:07

Yeah, it's it's you know, underinsuring somebody is really dangerous. So like I I we're all price-driven, right? Like I don't want to spend too much money on my car insurance. But what I really don't want to have happen is if I get in a car accident, that's my fault. Yeah. And I don't have enough insurance to cover the damage that was done to my car or or to pay for you know the damage I did to somebody else. Or what I really don't want to have happen is a deductible be so high that I can't even really come out of pocket to meet it. But that high deductible kept my monthly payment lower or whatever it is. And so I think that insurance is one of those things that uh you can kind of pick and choose your level of risk that you're comfortable with, but everybody's comfortable with more risk, you know, when they're not facing down a storm or a flame or whatever it is. And we uh we were set up at the Fort Myers boat show yesterday, you and me and a few other uh salespeople and one of our carriers, and just the conversations we had with people there, and I mean these people are out there to look at boats, like they're maybe they're in the market for boats or they're just out there having a good time. But literally everybody in Southwest Florida has a claims story. But if it didn't happen to them, it happened to their neighbors.

SPEAKER_01 15:22

Yep.

SPEAKER_00 15:22

Right. And so like everybody here has an opinion about insurance. Everybody has an opinion about insurance everywhere, but especially in places that have been affected by storms. Now, on the East Coast, we've been fortunate enough to not have too many huge, devastating storms. We've had some storms come through for sure, but a lot of people on my side of the coast uh would vacation quite a bit in the Bahamas. You know, it's uh it's if you have a boat, it takes you two hours to drive to the Bahamas from from Jupiter. And uh so a few years ago, Dorian destroyed the Bahamas. Dorian hung out over the Bahamas, cast for hurricane, hung out over the Bahamas for like a day for like 24 hours and devastated the Bahamas. And so um it it they just do a lot of damage. Yeah, and so underinsuring somebody can be a really, really dangerous thing. And so I'd much rather pay an extra $500 to a thousand dollars a year and know that I'm covered when uh when something happens.

SPEAKER_01 16:20

Yeah, and then don't destroy your whole life, right? You can ruin your whole like financial future by making the wrong decision in that moment. So we like to make sure that people know what they're getting into and just explain it to them.

SPEAKER_00 16:31

Yeah, of course.

SPEAKER_01 16:32

Explain it to them. So before we wrap up, I just want to hear a little bit about your vision for Palm Beach County. I'm gonna hear a little bit more about you, what sets you apart.

SPEAKER_00 16:41

Sure, man. So vision for Palm Beach County, I think would be to carry the Chapman culture uh from here over there. So I think Palm Beach County is one of those places uh with West Palm Beach, with Miami just down the road, with Fort Lauderdale, with Jupiter. Uh, you can kind of get enamored with Palm Beach County of, you know, kind of the celebrities that are around, like, oh, you know, Michael Jordan owns that restaurant, and you know, Tiger Woods is that restaurant. So you can kind of get enamored with this kind of Southeast Florida uh vibe, but it's really filled with a bunch of middle class people who are just trying to survive. So that makes up most of what Palm Beach County is. Uh and there's definitely tons of affluence over there, same as it is on this coast. Most of the people are blue-collar, not blue-collar, but right there in the middle, middle class families just trying to survive.

SPEAKER_01 17:30

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 17:30

And so what I'd love to do is take a genuine uh product that we have and then our genuine culture and establish it in a place that maybe uh is a little bit too used to frills and kind of pomp and circumstance and that sort of thing, and just be kind of a different voice in that arena. Um, where I'm gonna be entering into is is to uh real estate associations, to networking groups, to mortgage brokers, lots and lots and lots of money changing hands in real estate over there, and to be able to be kind of a piece of that puzzle, or to be able to put people at ease with the policy that they're buying to ensure the house that's now $1.5 million that five years ago was $700,000, you know, that everything's going through the roof. So now you need an insurance policy to help keep that house, you know, help keep that going. And so my vision for Palm Beach County is to do what we've done over here, which is establish a really, really good, solid reputation that people can count on and to grow the business. Um Palm Beach, Broward, and Dade County have more people than the rest of the state combined, so it's the most population-dense part of Florida, is in those three counties. Palm Beach County is the largest landmass county, I believe, and the third largest population county. Dade and Broward or Broward and Dade are the other two. So there's so much room to grow over there. Yeah. Um Chapman Insurance Group, we're gonna get something established in northern Palm Beach County, and it's it's gonna work. I know it will. And then we're gonna be looking to expand, I think. I'd love to copy what's happening over here, over there, to have a group of offices that are all within about an hour of each other that are that are kind of establishing uh a good reputation on on that coast. And it'll come. Yeah, that's my vision for it. And it's gonna start with I just hired my first salesperson. Um Brian just uh you know got an offer accepted on an office space over there for us. So I mean, we're starting. Yeah, you're gonna you're gonna come help me paint it, the Chapman colors, right?

SPEAKER_01 19:36

I'm gonna give you the swatches.

SPEAKER_00 19:38

You're not gonna I thought Is there pizza? The marketing VP, like that's part of my job? Yeah. You paint.

SPEAKER_01 19:44

I'm losing track of what's part of my job these things.

SPEAKER_00 19:47

So I d I just want to establish what you guys have here and establish it over there. Absolutely. And take the take the reputation, take the culture, take it all with me from here to over there.

SPEAKER_01 19:57

Yeah. Well, we are extremely excited. The moment I met you, I knew this guy. He he is Brian knows what he's doing. He knows what he's doing. This is the guy for the job. Um I we're gonna have you back on podcasts as we grow. We're gonna check back in on those goals that you just set out and see if we've accomplished them. It's fun to sit here two years ago. Brian and I were talking about some goals and we've accomplished them. So it's nice to have that recap and go, yeah, that thing we talked about two years ago, it's it's happened. So yeah, you're we'll be doing the same with you.

SPEAKER_00 20:28

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_01 20:29

And ask you a few questions before we wrap up here.

SPEAKER_00 20:31

Sure.

SPEAKER_01 20:31

Rapid fire, rapid fire. Let's find the extra, extra hard questions. Where did I put them?

SPEAKER_00 20:38

If it's one of my if it's my login for applied epic, I don't know it.

SPEAKER_01 20:42

One, two, three, four.

unknown 20:44

Probably.

SPEAKER_01 20:46

All right.

SPEAKER_00 20:47

Okay, I'm ready.

SPEAKER_01 20:48

I love asking people this question. How do you start your day? What gets you pumped up? How do you know you're gonna have a successful day? If you're gonna have the most successful day, what are you doing in the morning?

SPEAKER_00 20:57

Uh if I'm gonna have the most successful day, it's up by 5 a.m. Oof. It's you've lost me. It's uh it's some prayer time and then the gym by 5 30. I haven't eaten or drinking anything yet, maybe a little bit of water. Um, and it's either I do a lift or I do um kind of a three-mile loop in my neighborhood with uh I wear like a weight vest and I take my my dog or the rucking thing. Yeah. Um, so it's gotta start with exercise. So I gotta sweat it out first, get that done and over with. Um, and then it's home by like 6 37, and then I'm helping my wife and my three kids get out the door, heading to school. She teaches, they all go, she teaches at the school that they all go to.

SPEAKER_01 21:42

Oh, I love that.

SPEAKER_00 21:43

Um, and then they're out the door, and then I am I'm moving. I'm I'm out the door, not far behind them, 7 30, 8 o'clock. I'm heading to a meeting or I'm heading to uh coffee shop to get some work done. Um because I'm adding off soon to my new office to get some work done. But I gotta go be with people. If my day is too much alone time, I'm not gonna get a whole lot done. I know that that sounds that might be. Oh no.

SPEAKER_01 22:09

Sometimes I'll wrap up at the office and go sit a coffee shop just to have people around. Yeah, it gets the juices flowing.

SPEAKER_00 22:16

And and I do my best work across the table from somebody. So I really need to be around people to work well.

SPEAKER_01 22:22

No, I hear you. I know a lot of people are doing virtual podcasts now. I can't do it.

SPEAKER_00 22:26

Can't do it.

SPEAKER_01 22:26

Can't do it. I want to see I want to see people, I want to feel that energy. Like I definitely vibe off of that. Um okay, a few questions. A leadership trait you admire most in others. Wow. I told you I gave you my hardest question.

SPEAKER_00 22:39

A leadership trait I admire most in others. Uh I would say the ability to make hard personnel decisions and still be able to maintain and do it well.

SPEAKER_01 22:54

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 22:54

Uh so like if if you had to let somebody go that just was underperforming, but you would they're they're a part of your your company, but like it's just the right decision's time for them to move on. I found myself um trying to make every excuse in order to keep that person to to avoid that conversation sometimes. I I've gotten better at it, but it's definitely a trait that I admire. I also and then on the on the flip side of that, like some people can rip the band-aid a little too quickly. Um so it's kind of that sweet spot because I really do think it doesn't matter what your business is, at the end of the day, you need people to run the business and you need people to uh perform their best. Yeah. And so when people are underperforming and you have to make those tough decisions, I really admire someone who can do that well.

SPEAKER_01 23:40

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 23:41

And not not waste too much time, not make too many excuses, but also not pull the string too early.

SPEAKER_01 23:47

Yeah, that's a great answer. Thank you. I love it. I think sometimes people will hold on to a team member because they don't want to hurt their feelings or it's hard. It's not an easy thing to do. But if that person is not a right fit for your organization, it also means that your organization is not a right fit for that person. And you might be holding them back from doing something that works much better for them and they they can live a life that they enjoy.

SPEAKER_00 24:11

Which when you're letting somebody go sounds like an excuse. Right. When you say, like, hey, I don't want to hold you back. I want to hold you back from what's next for you. And and unfortunately, most of us have been on the receiving end of those conversations when they're not going well, right? Um you could there's a way to do it and a way to do it well. And because it's not you it's genuinely, yeah. It's not you, it's me. But you can do it in a genuine way because you really are holding them back. Because at the end of the day, if they're not the right fit, then they're wasting their time sitting there when they could be off doing something else, possibly making more money or at least making a better impact. Um so yeah, it that's a tough one. Personnel is a tough one.

SPEAKER_01 24:47

Yeah. Well, that was a great answer. Um, I'm gonna leave it right there because I know we're gonna have you back. And I am so excited, so excited for what's to come in Palm Beach County. So excited to have you leading the charge over there. You're gonna come visit. I'm definitely coming, not to paint.

SPEAKER_00 25:02

Not to paint, but just to come hang out.

SPEAKER_01 25:04

I'll watch the people painting.

SPEAKER_00 25:05

Sure, yeah. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 25:06

But there will be pizza, right?

SPEAKER_00 25:09

Yeah, whatever you want.

SPEAKER_01 25:10

There's no painting party without pizza.

SPEAKER_00 25:11

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 25:12

Um, yeah, no, I'm looking forward to that.

SPEAKER_00 25:14

That'll be great.

SPEAKER_01 25:14

And I'm looking forward to sitting back down here and hearing the progress.

SPEAKER_00 25:17

Episode two.

SPEAKER_01 25:18

Episode two. Coming soon. Yes. You heard it here first. Thank you so much, Ted. Absolutely. All right. Awesome.