Inside Zach Mosby’s unexpected career shift: trading the pulpit for policies and premiums.
People arrive in insurance from all kinds of places, but for Zach Mosby, the road was especially unconventional. Before joining Orr & Associates in Austin, Texas, he taught English in South Korea and China, then spent years serving as a pastor. But when the church he served disbanded, Mosby found himself asking the same question many face at a career crossroads: What now?
The answer came from across the hallway.
In the same building where his church office had been, Orr & Associates operated under Landen Goodnight. The two had crossed paths casually but, one day, Goodnight invited him to lunch. During that conversation, he offered a bit of perspective — and a proposal:
“You know, insurance is something that I don’t think anybody intentionally sets out to do, but so many somehow find their way into it. Do you think this could be you?”
Insurance was never on Mosby’s radar — but sometimes, the right door opens when another one closes. And the timing was right. Though Mosby didn’t have an insurance background, what he did have was curiosity, drive and a genuine desire to serve others.
He said yes — and never looked back.
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Learning the ropes
Mosby joined Orr & Associates as a commission-only agent, starting out with no book of business and zero experience in the industry. Like many new producers, he began with cold calls and quoting worksheets. But unlike many, he had a mentor by his side guiding him every step of the way.
“Landen took me under his wing and mentored me for the first two, three years and truly set me on a path to success,” Mosby says with a smile.
If Goodnight didn’t have the answer, his advice was simple: “Call your Arrowhead underwriter.”
“I was probably calling Arrowhead’s underwriter every five minutes,” Mosby jokes. “She was very helpful, answering my questions and walking me through processes.”
Over time, that persistence paid off. Mosby built confidence and industry knowledge, eventually earning a leadership role at Orr & Associates where he now mentors others just starting out. “Now I get to see so many others realize that dream of being an independent agent, supported by a company that believes in your vision and your success.”
Quoting with purpose and transparency
Today, Orr & Associates is one of Arrowhead’s most successful distribution relationships. They’ve written over $100 million in premium and rank among the top 100 brokers in the United States. “They’re our workers’ compensation program’s number one independent agency that’s not a part of a larger conglomerate,” says Kristal McGowan-Carvalho, Arrowhead business development specialist. “They have the most policies on the books with us, and the highest premium amount as well.”
According to Mosby, the agency’s success is grounded in four key values: communication, transparency, honesty and good product knowledge.
“We typically don’t get just one quote. We get at least a couple of options, present those options to the customer and let them choose,” Mosby says. “So often, brokers will just flip a renewal and won’t share the research they did, assuming they did research other options. So, the customer doesn’t know if their agent is really looking out for them.”
That approach builds trust — and it’s become a key differentiator for Orr & Associates. “We’re a bit more transparent with our customers. We try to help them realize that we’re going beyond just getting them a quote,” Mosby adds. “The more time I spend with a customer, the greater our success. But many agents don’t want to do that – they’d rather ‘turn and burn.’”
Showing clients what’s possible
Mosby still remembers one client story that illustrates why the work matters.
A Southern California contractor had been repeatedly told that he had no other workers’ compensation coverage options, despite having clean loss runs. His premiums remained stubbornly high while his longtime agent insisted that switching carriers was impossible. Until he called Orr & Associates. “When we talked with this contractor, he didn’t believe us at first until we presented a much better quote to him from Arrowhead,” Mosby says.
And it helped that he was able to deliver a quote quickly. “Your Quick Quote feature, in my opinion, was the best thing that you guys have ever made because it allowed us to put something in front of the customer without necessarily having to go through the process of getting loss runs, etc. ahead of time,” Mosby continues. “So, we were able to present the quote to this contractor quickly.”
In the end, Mosby saved this client $50,000 and, in the process, helped him understand what he was paying for and why. “He told me, ‘I’ve never understood insurance all these years until I talked to you. You’re the first agent that’s taken the time to explain what I have and what I’m doing and how to do it well,’” Mosby recalls.
“You gain a customer for life when you do that,” he says. “Just think about what $50K means to a small business owner. It’s a game changer. Many of these small business owners that we work with are just trying to make ends meet.”
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Building relationships where others won’t
Mosby knows many of his clients come to insurance with skepticism — maybe even frustration. They’re short on time, low on support and don’t know who to trust. That’s why he takes his role seriously. “As brokers, if we could change that dynamic — if we could help them — then it would allow them to feel like they have more support and resources,” Mosby says. “I get calls from clients who just want to talk through a certain business process with me, not necessarily involving their policy.”
He spends significant time supporting clients through audits as well. “That’s another point of difference for our agency, in that we try our best to help our clients through that process when so many agents won’t,” Mosby says. “They see it as a waste of their time. But a lot of business owners just don’t understand the process.”
He has helped clients navigate dozens of tough audits because he sees value in the relationship, not just the transaction. “It’s time well spent,” he says. “I have so many stories of people coming back to me and thanking me for helping them through really difficult audits, even audits that I wouldn’t even get paid on. But through that process I built trust because they were stuck and couldn’t get anyone to help them.”
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Reframing insurance as an asset
Most people view insurance as something they have to deal with — not something that adds value. Mosby sees his job as an opportunity to reframe that mindset. “Most of the time customers see insurance as a necessary evil. They don’t like it. It’s a hassle. It’s costing them money they don’t want to spend,” he says. “But if we can make the insurance process more transparent, more educational, more helpful, then something that’s been an annoyance becomes an asset. That’s when you know you’re building a solid relationship.”
It’s a slower approach, sure. But in a world of fast quotes and faster exits, it’s the relationships that make people stay. And it’s what has shaped Orr & Associates into a high-performing, client-focused agency — one that leads with service and succeeds through trust.
This material has been prepared for general informational purposes and is not intended to be applied to any reader’s particular circumstances.
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