Bill Sim, Life in a small town in Arizona
Date: 2/27/2007Contact: Joan Barrett/800-690-0070
Bill Sim dreamed of Arizona while growing up in Massachusetts after poring over his grandmother’s editions of Arizona Highways Magazine. After graduating from Salem State College, Bill was offered a local position with Liberty Mutual as a trainee in the claims department. Without hesitation, Bill entered the training program and has been in the insurance industry ever since. Bill credits Liberty Mutual with a good education in the claims arena, and is grateful for the quality start he received there.
He and his wife, Evie, moved to Arizona in 1976 before they had acquired much baggage- (no house, no kids- just their stuff), in the U-Haul behind their car. They arrived in Phoenix and Bill remembers the horse pastures and citrus groves and cotton fields- all later victims of urbanization in the fast growing area.
Shortly after they arrived in their new home, Bill began work with an independent adjusting firm, and then held several positions with local insurers, where he handled a broad variety of claims as a multi-line adjuster, including business and personal auto, general liability, trucking, homeowners and business property losses.
After 16 years in Phoenix, Bill and Evie moved to Prescott. He then took a position as Northern Arizona Branch Manager/Adjuster for Arizona All-Claims and became a road warrior from his office at home. His territory extended from the Colorado River to the Utah and New Mexico borders, including the Navajo Indian Reservation. Bill later worked for another W.R. Berkley subsidiary from his home, handling interstate trucking losses and rental association claims.
As the insurance industry shrunk even further, the unit was disbanded and Bill went to Carl Warren, where he again handles the Northern Arizona territory. One of the few remaining multi-line adjusters for self-insureds; municipalities, transportation entities and other large clients, Bill kept at his multi-line training and wouldn’t have it any other way. “When you think you know everything about this business, then you’re in trouble”, he states “the more I learn, the more I know I have to learn.” Bill says: “I don’t spend as much time on the road now, field assignments are rarer. I’ll have to go out into the field now and again, but it’s not like it was. The advancing technologies available to the claims professional make it easier than ever to handle most routine claims from your desk.”
Bill and his wife have raised two boys while in Prescott and say that the boys thrived in the good environment of a smaller community. He and his family enjoy the temperate climate and love to get outdoors and hike when they aren’t visiting art shows or he isn’t acting as the off-ice official’s crew chief for the Prescott Valley Hockey Club. Bill is a goal judge and helps supervise 14 to 16 people who run the scoreboard, time clock and track the statistics for the games. His wife, Evie, is a part-time librarian with Prescott Public Library and a member of the Society of Decorative Tole Painters. The Sims love to travel. Art shows and craft shops are a frequent destination.
When Bill arrived in Arizona, he joined the Arizona Insurance Claims Association and has remained a supporter. Now he tries to attend meetings as often as possible and supports the goals of bringing education and information to the adjusting community. “It is always worth my time to attend.” Bill stated. “I need to pay attention to the changes in the industry and like the interaction with my peers.”