Why Family Comes First, Both at Home and at the Office
When Corri Hose says she “fell into the insurance industry,” she means it was never part of a carefully mapped-out career plan.
Corri began her professional life in Colorado as a software tester in the information technology industry. She enjoyed the work, but when technology companies began leaving the area, she faced a difficult choice: move with the industry or find a new direction at home. With family nearby and a young daughter at home, Corri chose to stay.
After taking temporary assignments in several different industries, she landed at Wells Fargo Insurance Services. What began as another “temporary” job soon became a career that has now spanned nearly 25 years.
Learning the Business from the Ground Up
Corri began as a processor, reviewing policies from a wide range of insurance carriers and learning how each company approached its coverage and policy language. It was an intensive introduction to the industry, but it gave her a foundation she still relies on today.
“You were learning to read every policy that came across your desk,” she explains. “Every insurance company and every policy were different, so it really reinforced who did what and how the policy language worked.”
From there, Corri worked her way through three levels of account management. She earned her Certified Insurance Service Representative designation within her first year and established commercial lines as her primary area of expertise.
That early training also taught her that insurance is an industry in which there is always something new to learn. Every business presents a different set of operations, exposures, and questions. Even after decades in the field, Corri regularly encounters companies doing things she never realized were businesses at all.
“That’s part of what keeps it interesting,” she says. “You’re always learning, and you’re always kept on your toes.”
A Technical Perspective in a Changing Industry
Although Corri left the technology industry, she never completely left her technical background behind. Her experience testing software gives her a better understanding of what is happening behind the systems and applications people use every day. When a new program contains an error or a system does not work exactly as expected, she understands that developers are often improving it in real time while keeping it available to the people who depend on it.
That technical knowledge has become particularly valuable as cyber insurance continues to evolve.
“Cyber seems to be changing every day,” Corri says. “There are new coverages and new things we have to protect that we might not have known about before. We’re learning every day.”
Her ability to understand both the insurance implications and some of the technology operating beneath them gives Corri a useful perspective when helping commercial clients navigate an increasingly digital business environment.
Finding Her Way to Michigan—and to the GCB Family
Corri’s road to Michigan was nearly as unexpected as her path into insurance. Born in Germany, Corri grew up around the world while her father worked for the U.S. State Department and at American embassies. She graduated from the American School of Kuwait and spent relatively little of her childhood living in the United States. Her family roots, however, were always in Michigan, where she frequently spent summers and visited relatives.
Corri eventually settled in Colorado, where she lived for 23 years and raised her two children. Once her daughter had graduated from high school and her son had joined the Marine Corps, she began thinking about her next chapter.
A visit to Michigan for her grandmother’s 80th birthday in 2017 helped her make the decision. By that fall, Corri had relocated and accepted a position with a local independent insurance agency.
In January 2020, she joined Gompers, Cornish & Barr after what she describes as a window into what a career at our agency would look like. What convinced Corri to join the agency was the sense that she would be working with good people—an impression that has been reinforced throughout her time at GCB.
She especially points to Jim Barr and John Cornish, whom she describes as some of the best bosses she has worked for during her career. “They were both so welcoming, and so insistent that I join the team. To me, it felt like an invitation to become part of a family…and I’m so glad I took them up on that invitation!”
Family, First and Foremost
For Corri, one of the greatest differences between working for a large corporation and working at GCB is the closeness of the team. At a large company, employees may never meet the people handling their questions or making important decisions. At GCB, people know one another, understand what is happening in each other’s lives, and can turn to a colleague whenever they need advice or a second opinion.
The team has shared Friday happy hours, summer outings, and even virtual gatherings during the pandemic. More importantly, Corri says, they genuinely care about one another. “It’s like a little family,” she says. “Everybody knows everybody, and everybody knows about each other’s families. We can talk to each other and bounce ideas off each other when we need help.”
That emphasis on relationships also defines how Corri approaches her clients. She has worked with some GCB clients since the day she joined the agency, including business owners she has never met face to face…but feels like she knows on a personal level. In fact, years of telephone calls, emails, and shared problem-solving have allowed those relationships to grow.
“I would bend over backwards and do anything I could for them and their accounts,” she says. “The clients are what keep me coming back. I know I keep using that word…but they also feel like family to me!”
Corri appreciates the loyalty business owners often show to their insurance professionals, but she also recognizes that such loyalty must be earned. Commercial clients want someone who understands their businesses, responds when they need assistance, and treats their concerns as important.
For Corri, providing that kind of service is not simply part of the job. It is the reason the work continues to matter after nearly 25 years.
Personal Lines
Outside the office, Corri’s family is at the center of her life.
Her daughter, Carolyn, is an actress and model who recently moved from New York to Los Angeles in pursuit of additional acting opportunities.
Her son, Bjorn—named after tennis legend Björn Borg—recently completed his service in the Marine Corps and is now attending college full time in Colorado.
Corri also spends time with her father, who recently returned to Michigan from Colorado and celebrated his 86th birthday. The two share an interest in vintage and antique shopping and often search for new treasures together.
At home, Corri has two rescue cats, Darla and Sox, who are especially pleased that she works remotely and is therefore available to meet their demands for attention throughout the day.
Corri also enjoys sewing, crocheting, crafting, and other traditional hobbies, but her greatest passion outside of work is travel.
Having grown up overseas, she says it is difficult for her to stay in one place for too long. She and Carolyn traditionally take an international trip together each year, with Greece among their most recent destinations. Because Corri’s high school friends now live throughout the world, many trips also include reunions with people she has known since childhood.
“It doesn’t seem to matter whether I go to London or Toronto,” she says. “I’m always meeting up with a friend from high school because my friends live all over the world.”
From Germany, Nepal, Zambia, Kuwait, etc. to Colorado and Michigan, Corri’s journey has taken her through different countries, careers, and communities. But wherever she has found herself, the common thread has remained the same: building relationships, continuing to learn, and taking care of the people who count on her.
Because that’s what family does.