To be honest, at the time of his death, on March 24, 1980, I was not that aware of Archbishop Romero. In fact, it was about twenty years later when I met someone who had been with him that day, that I realized the importance of his death. Bishop Romero had delivered a sermon in which he called on Salvadoran soldiers, as Christians, to obey God’s higher order and to stop carrying out the government’s repression and violations of basic human rights. Romero spent the next day in a recollection organized by Opus Dei. That evening, Romero celebrated Mass at a small chapel at the Hospital de la Divina Providencia. Romero finished his sermon, stepped away from the lectern, and took a few steps to stand at the center of the altar. As Romero finished speaking, a red car came to a stop on the street in front of the chapel. A gunman emerged from the vehicle, stepped to the door of the chapel, and fired one, or possibly two, shots. Romero was struck in the heart, and the vehicle sped off. Archbishop Romero died at the Chapel. He was shot and killed while saying Mass. The archbishop was buried in the Metropolitan Cathedral of San Salvador. The Funeral Mass on March 30, 1980, in San Salvador, was attended by more than 250,000 mourners from all over the world, perhaps the largest demonstration in Salvadoran history, or Latin America. During the funeral ceremony, smoke bombs exploded on the streets near the cathedral and subsequently there were rifle shots that came from surrounding buildings. Many people were killed by gunfire and in the stampede of people running away from the explosions and gunfire. Official sources reported 31 overall casualties, while journalists claimed that it might be high as 50 people who died. Oscar Romero was the Archbishop of San Salvador, who had spoken out against social injustice and violence amid the escalating conflict between the military government and the left-wing insurgents that led to the Salvadoran Civil War. Romero was declared a martyr by Pope Francis and canonized a saint on October 14, 2018. Romero had studied at the Gregorian University in Rome, where he was ordained a priest in 1942. In 1970, he was appointed an auxiliary bishop, and then in 1977, he was named the Archbishop of San Salvador. The progressive priests feared that his conservative reputation would negatively affect liberation theology’s commitment to the poor. Seen as a social conservative at the time of his appointment as archbishop, Romero was deeply affected by the murder of his friend and fellow priest Rutilio Grande. Thereafter he became an outspoken critic of the military government of El Salvador. Up to the end of his life, his spiritual life drew much from the spirituality of Opus Dei. In 2010, the United Nations General Assembly proclaimed March 24 as the “International Day for the Right to the Truth Concerning Gross Human Rights Violations and for the Dignity of Victims” in recognition of Romero’s role in defense of human rights. Bishop Romero actively denounced violations of the human rights of the most vulnerable people. He defended the principles of protecting lives, promoting human dignity, and opposing all forms of violence. Latin American church groups often proclaim Romero as an unofficial patron saint of the Americas and El Salvador. Romero preached that the most profound social revolution is the serious, supernatural, interior reform of an individual Christian. He did not believe that there was a church for the rich and the poor, but only one church. No one has ever been prosecuted for the assassination, or confessed to it to police. Have you ever heard of Archbishop Oscar Romero?
The Miracle on Ice
The “Miracle on Ice” was an ice hockey game at the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, New York, between the host USA and the Soviet Union on February 22, 1980. Although the Soviet Union was a four-time defending gold medalist and heavily favored, the United States upset them and won 4–3. In a twist of fate, the game was not aired in real time but on a tape delay. ABC wanted to broadcast it live on primetime, 8:00 PM EST. However, the IIHF declined the request. Thus, ABC decided not to broadcast the game live for the American audience and tape delayed it for broadcast during its primetime block of Olympics coverage. Before the game aired, ABC’s Olympics host Jim McKay openly stated that the game had already occurred, but that they had promised not to spoil its results. To this day, some who watched the game on television in the United States still believe that it was live. I somehow knew that the Americans had won and still watched it anyway. This small 8,500 arena was packed. Al Michaels got the job as play-by-play announcer for ice hockey at Lake Placid because he was the only member of ABC’s broadcasting team who had previously called the sport. Michaels was named “Sportscaster of the Year” in 1980 for his coverage of this event. Michaels then spent 26 more years covering sports for ABC before moving to NBC to call Sunday Night Football alongside John Madden and then Cris Collinsworth, after Madden retired. The Soviet team consisted of professional players with significant experience in international play. By contrast, the United States team, led by head coach Herb Brooks, was composed of amateur players, with only four players with minimal minor-league experience. USA head coach Herb Brooks had held tryouts in Colorado Springs in the summer of 1979. Of the 20 players who eventually made the final Olympic roster, Buzz Schneider was the only one returning from the 1976 Olympic team, 13 of these 20 eventually played in the NHL. The American players were the youngest team in the tournament and in U.S. national team history. Both the Soviet and USA teams were unbeaten before they met in the semi-finals. Finishing the first period tied at 2–2, and the Soviets leading 3–2 following the second, the USA team scored two more goals to take their first lead midway in the third and final period, then held on and won 4–3. Two days later, the USA team won the gold medal by beating Finland in their final game. After the gold medal-securing victory over Finland, the players received a congratulatory phone call from President Jimmy Carter. The Soviet Union took the silver medal by beating Sweden. However, this American victory became one of the most iconic moments of the Olympic Games and in American sports. Equally well-known was the television call of the final seconds of the game by Al Michaels for ABC, in which he declared, “Do you believe in miracles? YES!” In 1999, Sports Illustrated named the “Miracle on Ice” the top sports moment of the 20th century. In 2008, the International Ice Hockey Federation named the “Miracle on Ice” as the top international ice hockey story of the past 100 years. “The Miracle on Ice” launched the careers of several players and made broadcaster Al Michaels famous. Team captain Mike Eruzione did not play any high-level ice hockey after the 1980 Olympics, as he felt that he had accomplished all of his hockey goals with this gold medal win. Herb Brooks, the team coach, coached several NHL teams following the Olympics, with mixed results. A whole series of movies have been made about this game, “Miracle on Ice (1981),” “Do you Believe in Miracles (2001),” “Miracle (2004),” and “Of Miracles and Men (2015).” Do you like ice hockey?
The 1980s Reagan era Reaganomics
In his first term as President, Reagan implemented his “Reaganomics,” which involved economic deregulation and cuts in both taxes and government spending during a period of stagflation. He said that government was not the solution to our problem, but that government was the problem. Reagan advocated a laissez-faire philosophy. He promoted reforms that included monetarism and supply-side economics. He lifted federal oil and gasoline price controls in 1981. He also signed the Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981 to dramatically lower federal income tax rates and require exemptions and brackets to be indexed for inflation starting in 1985. Amid growing concerns about the mounting federal debt, Reagan signed the Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 1982, one of the eleven times Reagan raised taxes. This bill doubled the federal cigarette tax, rescinded a portion of the corporate tax cuts from the 1981 tax bill, and a third of the 1981 cut overall. Reagan defended his preservation of cuts on individual income tax rates. By 1983, the amount of federal tax had fallen for all or most taxpayers, but it most strongly affected the wealthy. The Tax Reform Act of 1986 reduced the number of tax brackets and top tax rate, and almost doubled personal exemptions. To Reagan, the tax cuts would not have increased the deficit as long as there was enough economic growth and spending cuts. This theoretical relationship had been illustrated with the controversial Arthur Laffer (1940-) curve. Critics labeled this “trickle-down economics,” the belief that tax policies that benefit the wealthy will spread to the poor. Milton Friedman (1912-2006) argued that these policies invigorated America’s economy and contributed to the economic boom of the 1990s. In 1983, the recession ended. Reagan nominated Paul Volcker (1927-2019) to a second term in fear of damaging confidence in the economic recovery. However, he appointed Alan Greenspan (1926- ) to succeed Volcker in 1987. Greenspan raised interest rates in another attempt to curb inflation, setting off the Black Monday stock market crash, although the markets eventually recovered. By 1989, the unemployment rate was at 5.3%. The inflation rate dropped from 12% during the 1980 election to under 5% in 1989. Likewise, the interest rate dropped from 15% to under 10%. Yet, not all shared equally in the economic recovery, and both economic inequality and the number of homeless individuals increased during the 1980s. Critics have contended that most of the jobs created during this decade paid the minimum wage. In 1981, Reagan approved a plan for cuts to Social Security. He later backed off these plans due to public backlash. He then created the Greenspan Commission to keep Social Security financially secure, and in 1983 he signed amendments to raise both the program’s payroll taxes and retirement age for benefits. He had signed the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1981 to cut funding for federal assistance such as food stamps, unemployment benefits, subsidized housing, and the Aid to Families with Dependent Children. He discontinued the Comprehensive Employment and Training Act. On the other side, defense spending doubled between 1981 and 1985. Reagan sought to loosen federal regulation of economic activities, and he appointed key officials who shared this agenda. The Reagan administration eliminated almost half of the federal regulations that had existed in 1981. These deficits were exacerbated by the early 1980s recession, which cut into federal revenue. The national debt tripled between the fiscal years of 1980 and 1989, and the national debt as a percentage of the gross domestic product rose from 33 percent in 1981 to 53 percent by 1989. During his time in office, Reagan never fulfilled his 1980 campaign promise of submitting a balanced budget. Have you ever heard of Reaganomics?
President Ronald Reagan (1911-2004)
Ronald Reagan was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989, usually known as the Reagan era. Ronald Reagan was raised in small towns in northern Illinois, and graduated from Dixon High School and then Eureka College in 1932. He worked as a sports broadcaster on several regional radio stations in Des Moines, Iowa. In 1936, while traveling with the Chicago Cubs to their spring training in California, Reagan took a movie screen test that led to a seven-year contract with Warner Bros. Reagan made thirty films, before beginning military service in April 1942. Throughout his military service, Reagan produced over 400 training films. In his most famous film, he portrayed Notre Dame running back George Gipp (1895-1920) in Knute Rockne, All American in 1940. I remember seeing this movie a few years later, when the dying Gipp told Rockne to win one for the Gipper, that became a famous line for Reagan. Thus, as a well-known film actor, he served twice as the president of the Screen Actors Guild from 1947 to 1952 and from 1959 to 1960. In 1940, Reagan married Jane Wyman, one of his co-stars. They had two biological daughters: Maureen in 1941, and Christine in 1947, and adopted one son, Michael, in 1945. Wyman filed to divorce Reagan in 1948. In 1949, Reagan met Nancy Davis and they married in 1952. They had two children, Patti in 1952, and Ron in 1958. During the 1950s, Reagan worked in television and introduced “General Electric Theater” every Sunday night, my fondest memory of Reagan as a kid. For me, GE and Ronald Reagan were synonymous. Reagan began as a Democrat, viewing Franklin D. Roosevelt as a true hero. However, he began shifting to the right when he supported the presidential campaigns of Dwight Eisenhower in 1952 and Richard Nixon in 1960. During the 1964 Republican Convention he gave his famous “A Time for Choosing” speech. In January 1966, Reagan announced his candidacy for the California governorship, repeating his stances on individual freedom and the role of government. His opponent was the incumbent governor Pat Brown, who attempted to label Reagan as an extremist. Reagan portrayed himself as a political outsider, since he was not a lawyer, like most politicians. He said that Brown was responsible for the Watts riots and lenient on crime. Reagan won the governorship with 57% of the vote. After challenging and losing to incumbent president Gerald Ford in the 1976 Republican presidential primaries, Reagan won the Republican nomination and then a landslide victory over incumbent Democratic president Jimmy Carter in the 1980 presidential election, carrying 44 states. Evangelical Protestants became an increasingly important voting bloc on social issues, like abortion and gay rights, who supported Reagan. Reagan also won the backing of Reagan Democrats, because he focused much of his campaign on attacks against Carter’s foreign policy. Reagan stated his belief in states’ rights to reach out to Wallace-inclined voters. Reagan asked if they were better off than they were four years ago. However, he won the popular vote by a narrower margin, receiving nearly 51% to Carter’s 41% and Anderson’s 7%. In the United States Congress, Republicans won a majority of seats in the Senate for the first time since 1952, while Democrats retained the House of Representatives. In the 1984 presidential election, he defeated former Carter Vice President Walter Mondale in another big landslide victory, 525-13, as he carried 49 states, just like Nixon had done in 1972, while the popular vote was 59%-41%. Alzheimer’s disease hindered Reagan’s post-presidency that led to his death in 2004 at the age of 93. What do you know about President Ronald Reagan?
1980 presidential election
In 1980, President Jimmy Carter was running for reelection as a second term president. In July of 1979, Carter had given his “lack of confidence in America” speech. The rising oil prices and the Iran hostage situation only added to his problems. In November of 1979, both Ronald Reagan, the former Republican Governor of California, and Senator Ted Kennedy, the Democratic Senator from Massachusetts, had declared that they were going to run for President. Some of the Carter reelection campaign was based primarily on attacking Ronald Reagan, frequently pointing out and mocking Reagan’s proclivity for gaffes, using his age and perceived lack of connection to his native California voter base against him. Later, the campaign used similar rhetoric as that of Lyndon Johnson’s 1964 presidential campaign against Barry Goldwater, portraying Reagan as a warmonger who could not be trusted with the nuclear arsenal. Along with Reagan and Kennedy, Carter was opposed by centrist John B. Anderson, who had previously contested the Republican presidential primaries, and upon losing to Reagan, reentered the race as an independent. Anderson advertised himself as a more liberal alternative to Reagan’s conservatism. As the campaign went on, Anderson’s polling numbers dropped and his base was gradually pulled to Carter or Reagan. Carter had to run against his own “stagflation” ridden economy, while the hostage crisis in Iran dominated the news every week. He was attacked by conservatives for failing to “prevent Soviet gains” in less-developed countries, as pro-Soviet governments had taken power in countries including Angola, Ethiopia, Nicaragua, and Afghanistan. His brother, Billy Carter, caused a controversy due to his association with Muammar Gaddafi’s regime in Libya. He alienated liberal college students, who were expected to be his base, by reinstating registration for the military draft. On October 28, Carter and Reagan participated in the sole presidential debate of the election cycle in which they were both present, due to Carter refusing to participate in debates that included Anderson. Though initially trailing Carter by several points, Reagan experienced a surge in polling after the debate. This was in part influenced by Reagan deploying the phrase “There you go again,” which became the election’s defining phrase. Reagan defeated Carter in a landslide, winning 489 electoral votes. The Senate went Republican for the first time since 1952. In his concession speech, Carter admitted that he was hurt by the outcome of the election but pledged “a very fine transition period” with President-elect Reagan. Do you remember the election of 1980?
John B. Anderson (1922-2017)
John B Anderson was an American politician who served in the US House of Representatives, representing Illinois’s 16th congressional district from 1961 to 1981. He graduated as the valedictorian of his class at Rockford Central High School and from the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign in 1942. A member of the Republican Party, he also served as the Chairman of the House Republican Conference from 1969 until 1979. Initially one of the most conservative members of the Republican House caucus, Anderson’s views moderated during the 1960s, particularly regarding social issues. Originally, Anderson introduced a constitutional amendment to attempt to “recognize the law and authority of Jesus Christ” over the United States three times. Anderson was also supportive of Barry Goldwater’s candidacy for president in 1964 because Goldwater was a “honest, sincere man.” However, Anderson voted in favor of the Civil Rights Acts of 1964 and 1968, as well as the 24th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. He strongly criticized the Vietnam War as well as President Richard Nixon’s actions during the Watergate scandal. Anderson entered the 1980 Republican presidential primaries, introducing his signature campaign proposal of raising the gas tax while cutting social security taxes. He established himself as a contender for the nomination in the early primaries, but eventually dropped out of the Republican race, choosing to pursue an independent campaign for president, because the Republican platform failed to endorse the Equal Rights Amendment. Without any campaigning, he was running at 22% nationally in a three-way race. He qualified for every ballot, raised a great deal of money, and rose in the polls to as high as 26%. However, in the summer of 1980, he had an overseas campaign tour that was a huge error. By the third week of August, he was in the 13–15% range in the polls. In late August, he named Patrick Lucey, the former two-term Democratic Governor of Wisconsin and Ambassador to Mexico, as his running mate with a 317-page comprehensive platform, under the banner of the National Unity Party. Carter said that he would not appear on stage with Anderson, and sat out the first presidential debate, which hurt President Carter. Reagan and Anderson had a debate in Baltimore on September 21, 1980. Anderson did well, and polls showed he won a modest debate victory over Reagan, but Reagan was seen as a reasonable candidate who carried himself well in the debate. In the following weeks, Anderson slowly faded out of the picture with his support dropping from 16% to 10% in the first half of October. By the end of the month, Reagan debated Carter alone without Anderson. Anderson’s support continued to fade down to 5%. In the end, Anderson finished with 6.6% of the vote. Most of Anderson’s support came from those Liberal Republicans who were suspicious of Reagan’s conservative record. Anderson did not carry a single precinct in the country. He won support among Democrats who became disillusioned with Carter, as well as Rockefeller Republicans, independents, liberal intellectuals, and college students. I voted for him. Since that time, I have made sure that I always voted for the Democratic candidate rather than an independent. After the election, he resumed his legal career and helped found an organization that advocates for electoral reform, including an instant-runoff voting system. Anderson served as a visiting professor at numerous universities and was on the boards of several organizations. He endorsed Green Party candidate Ralph Nader in 2000. He often referred to his candidacy as “a campaign of ideas,” which I found attractive. Have you ever heard about John Anderson?
The Republican convention in 1980
There were three main candidates for the Republican nomination for President in 1980. Former Governor Ronald Reagan of California, Former CIA director George H. W. Bush of Texas, and U.S. Congressman John B. Anderson of Illinois. Many others were in but withdrew, including Senate Minority Leader Howard Baker of Tennessee, Former Governor John Connally of Texas, U.S. Congressman Phil Crane of Illinois, U.S. Senator Bob Dole of Kansas, former Minnesota Governor Harold Stassen, Senator Larry Pressler of South Dakota, and Senator Lowell Weicker of Connecticut. Others who declined to run included former Astronaut Frank Borman of Indiana, RNC Chairman Bill Brock of Tennessee, Senator John Danforth of Missouri, Governor Pete du Pont of Delaware, Representative Jack Kemp of New York, Former NATO Commander Alexander Haig of Pennsylvania, Senator John Heinz of Pennsylvania, Senator Charles Mathias of Maryland, Senator Chuck Percy of Illinois, Former Commerce Secretary Elliot Richardson of Massachusetts, Former FBI Director William Ruckelshaus of Indiana, Former Treasury Secretary Bill Simon of New Jersey, Governor Jim Thompson of Illinois, and Former President Gerald Ford of Michigan. Anderson made a big impact at the January 5, 1980, Republican candidates’ debate in Des Moines, Iowa. However, he finished with 4% in Iowa and 10% in New Hampshire. Anderson was declared the winner in both Massachusetts and Vermont by the AP, but he lost to George Bush in Vermont and Reagan in Massachusetts when the count was complete. Anderson also lost to Reagan in Illinois, 48%-37%. Anderson finished third in both Connecticut with 22% and Wisconsin with 27% of the vote. The 1980 Republican National Convention convened at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, Michigan, from July 14 to July 17, 1980. The Republican National Convention nominated retired Hollywood actor and former Governor Ronald Reagan of California for President and former Representative George H. W. Bush of Texas for Vice President. Reagan ran on the theme “Let’s Make America Great Again.” Does that sound familiar? Reagan received 97% of the votes and Anderson got 2% and Bush 1%. After former president Gerald Ford could not reach an agreement to become his Vice President, George Bush accepted the nomination as the Vice-President, as Reagan himself announced it to the convention. However, Bush got only 93% of the VP vote, as Jesse Helms, Jack Kemp, Phil Crane, and James R. Thompson received the rest of the votes? Do you remember the Republican Convention of 1980?
Senator Ted Kennedy (1932-2009)
The strange case of the Kennedy family revolved around Ted Kennedy as the younger brother of President John F. Kennedy and U.S. attorney general and U.S. senator Robert F. Kennedy. After attending Harvard University and earning his law degree from the University of Virginia, Kennedy began his career as an assistant district attorney in Suffolk County, Massachusetts. He won a November 1962 special election in Massachusetts to fill the vacant seat previously held by his brother John, who had taken office as the U.S. President. He was elected to a full six-year term in 1964 and was re-elected seven more times. The Chappaquiddick incident in 1969 resulted in the death of his automobile passenger, Mary Jo Kopechne. He pleaded guilty to a charge of leaving the scene of an accident and received a two-month suspended sentence. That incident and its aftermath hindered his chances of becoming president. He ran in 1980 in the Democratic primary campaign for president, but lost to the incumbent president, Jimmy Carter. However, Ted Kennedy was known for his oratorical skills. His 1968 eulogy for his brother Robert and his 1980 rallying cry for modern American liberalism were among his best-known speeches. After his brothers’ assassinations, Ted Kennedy had been asked to take his brother Robert’s place at the 1968 Democratic National Convention, but he refused. He ran for Senate Majority Whip in 1969, with many thinking that he was going to use this as a platform for the 1972 race. However, then came the notorious Chappaquiddick incident that killed Mary Jo Kopechne. Kennedy subsequently refused to run for president in 1972 and 1976. Many of his supporters suspected that Chappaquiddick had destroyed any ability he had to win on a national level. Despite this, in the summer of 1979, Kennedy consulted with his extended family, and that fall, he let it leak out that because of Carter’s failings, 1980 might indeed be the year he would try for the nomination. Gallup had him beating the president by over two to one, but Carter remained confident, famously claiming at a June White House gathering of Congressmen that if Kennedy ran against him in the primary, he would “whip his ass.” Kennedy’s official announcement was scheduled for early November. A television interview with Roger Mudd of CBS a few days before his announcement went badly, because he could not clearly answer why he was running for President. The rally around the flag after the Iran hostages meant that Carter was able to win the primaries. Momentum built for Ted Kennedy after Carter’s attempt to rescue the hostages on April 25 ended in disaster and drew further skepticism towards Carter’s leadership ability. Kennedy refused to drop out, and the 1980 Democratic National Convention was one of the nastiest on record. On the penultimate day, Kennedy conceded the nomination and called for a more liberal party platform in the “Dream Shall Never Die” speech, considered by many as the best speech of his career, and one of the best political speeches of the 20th Century. However, Kennedy for the most part ignored Carter. Thus, Ted Kennedy remained the senior senator from Massachusetts from 1962-2009, until his death. He was the second-most senior member of the Senate when he died and ranked fifth in U.S. history for length of continuous service as a senator. What do you remember about Senator Ted Kennedy?
The Democratic Primary in 1980
President Jimmy Carter in 1980 was being attacked from the liberal wing of the Democratic Party, as Ted Kennedy wanted to replace him as president. After Kennedy announced his candidacy in November 1979, questions about Kennedy’s activities during his presidential bid were a frequent subject of Carter’s press conferences during the Democratic presidential primaries. Senator Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts won 12 contests and received more than seven million votes nationwide, enough for him to refuse to concede the nomination until the second day of the convention. Despite winning key states such as California and New York, Kennedy surprised his supporters by running a weak campaign. This was the last primary election in which an incumbent president’s party nomination was still contested going into the convention. Jimmy Carter would be the last incumbent president to lose a primary. However, Carter won most of the primaries and secured his renomination, even though Kennedy had mobilized the liberal wing of the Democratic Party against Carter so that they gave him weak support in the fall election. Carter won 37 states to Kennedy’s 13 states with 10 million votes to 7 million for Kennedy, 51%-37%. Thus, incumbent President Jimmy Carter was again selected as the nominee through a series of primary elections and caucuses, culminating in the 1980 Democratic National Convention, held from August 11 to 14, 1980, in New York City. At that time, Iran was experiencing a major uprising that severely damaged its oil infrastructure and greatly weakened its capability to produce oil. President Carter’s approval ratings were very low, about 28%. Although Hugh Carey and William Proxmire decided not to run, Senator Edward M. Kennedy finally made his long-expected run at the presidency. Carter and Vice President Mondale were formally nominated at the 1980 Democratic National Convention in New York City. Carter delivered a speech notable for its tribute to the late Hubert Humphrey, whom he initially called “Hubert Horatio Hornblower.” Kennedy, on the other hand made his famous “The Dream Shall Never Die” speech, in which he criticized Reagan, but he did not endorse Carter. Do you remember Kennedy running for President in 1980?
Insurance broker versus Insurance agent
I was going to be an insurance agent, and not a broker. Insurance agents represent the insurers, while brokers represent the client. However, Insurance agents can complete insurance sales or bind coverage, while brokers cannot. Brokers search for policies from multiple different carriers, but an agent must sell policies from one or more of the insurance providers that they represent. Agents explain the different insurance options and leave the decision up to the client, at which point they can then help facilitate a completed transaction and bind coverage to the client. Brokers typically play more of an advisory role in finding coverage than agents, because brokers have a responsibility to represent the best interests of the client. Brokers examine several policies and recommend certain coverages from different companies, but then must turn to an agent or an insurance provider to have a selected policy bound to a client. However, both brokers and agents must be licensed. Would you prefer an insurance agent or an insurance broker?
Gene Finnegan Remembers Living Eighty Wonderful Years 