About Rick Pumo

From an early age, I recall asking my father (an IBM HR manager) a myriad of “what if” questions. “What if I break an arm?” “What if you get really sick, Dad?”. The answers were always similar. “We are an IBM family. Whatever happens, the company health plan will take care of us.”

The questions culminated with the ultimate tragic scenario – “What if you die and we aren’t part of an IBM family?” (my first introduction to the concept of life insurance) . My father explained that there was plenty of money in the policy to care for the family after he was gone, but that if he died while “on the job”, the policy paid 3X the benefit. “So,” my father explained, “if you find that I’ve passed away in my sleep, it’s probably worth your while to dress me up in my business suit, put me in the car, and roll it down the hill during the morning rush hour.” And while we took the joke in good humor, we also saw the pride he held for the benefits that served us – benefits he would eventually help to shape later in his career. He retired from IBM after 29 years of service.

It became very clear to me that the loyalty he showed his company was the direct result of the dedication his company showed towards our family. I have been interested in HR and employee benefits ever since. After receiving my BA from the University of Wisconsin – Madison with a double emphasis in Human Resource Management and Risk Management, I began a career at IBM as well. That opened the door to a number of opportunities and, after 18 years of business management experience, eventually afforded me the chance to open my own health insurance brokerage.

My brokerage is unique in its ability to assist employers in engaging and inspiring their employees. It is unique in its ability to help employees select the best care for themselves and their families.There is a better way to guide our employees through the current chaos of this broken healthcare market. I consider it my honor and my great opportunity to be part of their solution.