Employee Spotlight : Abbie Bonney

Interview with Abbie Bonney, Regional Vice President Alaska, Commercial Services Manager, Client Executive

How would you describe your role at PS&F?

I’ve been at PS&F for nearly eight years, serving as client service manager in the last four—a role that I thoroughly enjoyed. I am thrilled to be stepping into my new role as regional vice president, where I focus on the client experience and client service team, operations, and strategizing the future of the Alaska team. I work with our teams, coaching them to provide exceptional service to their clients. I teach them how to become great insurance advisors and professionals. I also mentor our employees on their career paths—whatever their goal is, I help them reach their full potential.

What excites you about your new position?

I’m looking forward to getting to know more people at PS&F and impacting their careers. I’m excited to get to know our clients and their operations and spend more time with them. I’m also thrilled to attend more industry events and visit clients’ operations more often.

My objective is to look at where we are right now as PS&F Alaska and consider where we might be in 3-5 years and what we need to accomplish to achieve those goals. Setting different milestones, working with our Account Executive team, working with Todd Wheeler, the sales leader for Alaska, and Christina Michelsohn, who will be assuming the Client Services Manager role for our team, and looking at what we’re envisioning from a growth standpoint. To me, the exciting thing is planning ahead. Obviously, nothing goes according to plan 100% of the time, but looking ahead, strategizing, and being proactive rather than reactive tend to create a little bit more stability for everybody.

I also want to establish a form of leadership training for up-and-coming supervisors in PS&F, where I can help coach and teach different perspectives on employee questions; how to build a culture of gratitude, and how to be kind but hold people accountable.

What inspired you to start a career in insurance?

I had just moved to Seattle and had no idea what I was going to do. I had college degrees and rent that needed to be paid, so I responded to a posting for an administrative assistant. It was answering phones and filing – I thought, “I’ve done that before, and I can do that until I figure out what I really want to do.”

The job was for an insurance agency, and four months in, I was fully licensed and promoted to commercial lines manager. In an office with six people, you can rise through the ranks pretty quickly. I also learned about the industry in the owner’s daily insurance classes. He would draw pictures, and we’d have to describe the process of deciding on coverages to insure whatever he’d drawn. It was a really straightforward way to learn and truly understand the ins and outs.
I loved it and stayed there for three years. Then my husband got a job in Anchorage close to his family, and we moved up here.

Tell me a little bit about the Alaska insurance market. Are there any industries you specialize in?

Alaska’s economic landscape makes it hard to specialize in any one industry. Our clients can be very entrepreneurial. We might have a contractor who one day decides to buy some property and suddenly has real estate rental exposures to consider. Obviously, we work with construction companies a lot, but I also work with social service organizations, Alaska Native corporations, trucking companies, and government entities.

It’s exciting, and everyone in our office specializes in their book of clients more than anything. We have regular Zoom chats among our account managers to brainstorm complex problems and discuss solutions. That open line of communication is crucial and allows us to learn from each other, stay up to date on trends and innovations, and then use that knowledge to our clients’ advantage.

Where did you grow up?

A small town in Eastern Washington called Okanogan. Only a few people have visited, and most were on their way to the Canadian border.

My parents had an apple orchard and later grew cherries too. My dad was a crop duster (or aerial applicator, if you want to get technical) and flew a biplane, spraying all the crops in the area. It allowed us to do something not many could – we flew everywhere. We’d fly the Cessna to visit family or wherever.

Now, as a parent and risk manager, I don’t know why my mom was okay with it. She had her own pilot’s license, which is why I think she allowed it—she felt more comfortable and in control that way. But sometimes, my dad would sneak us up in his two-seater and do loop de loops.

It was an excellent place to grow up; everyone knew everyone. We worked hard growing up out there. We had animals, helped with cherry harvests in the summer (apples were during the school year), and drove the tractor and forklift around—anything that needed to be done. We all chipped in.

What is something your coworkers would be surprised to learn about you?

I earned three college degrees in four years—finance, general management, and human resources. I had to take one more class to finish, and it pushed me over the edge to get the third degree.

Tell us about your family.

I have Sam, who’s three; Owen, who’s nine; and my husband, Jack, whose age I’ll leave undisclosed (laughs). Jack and I met at college; we’ve been married for quite a while.
Our boys are both brilliant. The things that come out of their mouths never cease to amaze me. The other day, Owen told me his toy was on a “precipice.”

We talk a lot about the PS&F difference. How do you make a difference?

It’s the extra step that doesn’t need to be done but leads to an amazing experience. That’s why clients come to Parker, Smith & Feek—there are the necessary steps to finish the job, and then there’s all the extra effort because it’s the right thing to do and makes for a better insurance program.

That goes for both clients and staff, too. In our office, we genuinely care for one another. You don’t get that in every workplace. Here, we all know that if you’re out sick, the rest of your team is backing you up, asking if you need anything, and maybe nudging you to go and take a break or grab lunch. I aim to meet with every associate in the Alaska office once a month, which has been especially important with teammates across multiple states, to connect on what people are working on and the challenges they’re facing. Sometimes I’ll drop off cookies at teammates’ houses because they live nearby.

We genuinely care here —whether it’s for clients or coworkers.

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