Meet Cath

Following is an interview of Cath, who heads up the team of specialists and experts at Cath Shaw Insure

When did you first hear that you should work with people to get their affairs in order?

When I took the SAT in high school, I took a brief “what should I be when I grow up?” test. The results that came back was that I should be a mortician! I was horrified and ignored that advice. Now, years later, I work with people talking about their final times and planning for it. Go figure.

Cath, we see that you’ve had other kinds of jobs like heading up a marketing firm and running a garden center. How does that prepare you for your work with insurance and estate planning?

This all allows me to relate to a variety of people in a variety of circumstances. I’ve worked on the estates of garbage collectors and multimillionaires that have real estate across the globe. As my Mom used to say, “They all put their pants on, one leg at a time.”

In addition, my previous pursuits gave me a solid understanding of how hard it is to meet the pubic and serve them well.

What is the most favorite part of your work?

When someone comes to us with a tricky scenario, I love getting a team together to address the task. I recently worked with a man with real estate in Arizona he needed to sell as part of getting his affairs in order. I made a few calls and got him the help he needed. For other folks, it is answering a set of parameters having to do with health issues, or how best to get tax-free retirement. We have people that address all those things and they are great to work with.

What kind of training did you do to transition into this job?

There were months of study and a very long and involved exam to take. I made darn sure to pass that exam the first time, because I was NOT taking it again! Each quarter of a year, we do a few solid days of continuing ed classes. The profession requires 24 hours of continuing ed beyond all of that every two years. For the specialty of estate planning, we have a weekly training session. Recently, I’ve been asked to help train others, which is a great honor and testament to how much I’ve learned!

That said, all that training and such does not replace experience in life. Relating to people as they plan for the subsequent generations takes care and finesse. It isn’t easy work and someone that isn’t dedicated will fall on their face.

What advice do you have for people getting into this line of work?

I would advise them to hang on to or get a sense of humor immediately. If you can’t laugh about some of the pickles we all get ourselves in, then it will be a hard job for you. The other advice I would give is that you’d better be ready for hard work. I do 12 hour days routinely and often work on the weekends as well. It isn’t for someone to do casually—it takes determination and grit.