For years I’ve opined privately on how I dislike insurance. I need insurance for my house, my cars, my motorcycle, my health, my teeth, my eyes… it feels like I pay all this money into a system that only cares about taking my money – and more of it every year.

Then in the last six weeks – seriously, six weeks to the day – I’ve had two car/deer accidents. Besides the thought that “if it wasn’t for bad luck, I’d have no luck at all,” I’ve started thinking about the lessons I’ve learned from the interactions with the same industry I’ve whined about, and others involved in my accident recovery. I’ve come to the conclusion that customer service, while it’s not complicated to execute, it seems to elude so many.

Fortunately for me, the players in this adventure have all stepped up and taught me the lessons with what they’ve done well.