It’s A People Business and I Like People – Retiring Insurance Agent Reflects on Career

By Lura Roti

A farm kid from Hills, Minnesota, Curt Soehl began his career as a Sioux Falls Firefighter and is retiring as the Production Manager for Farmers Union Insurance. Reflecting on the two careers he’s loved, Soehl had this to say.

“The insurance business is a people business, and I like people. And I like helping people,” Soehl said. “As a firefighter we help people by saving them from an emergency and in the insurance world, we help people recover from catastrophes.”

Although, he admits there is a bit more of an adrenaline rush in firefighting. “There is nothing like kicking in a front door and going into a basement when the fire is rolling over you. You have 2-feet of visibility, and you pull someone out of the fire.”

He added that it’s also very rewarding when as an insurance agent he has had the honor of delivering a claims check to someone after a disaster or a death benefit to the surviving spouse.

Soehl joined Farmers Union Insurance team in 2007 after serving 20 years with the Sioux Falls Fire Department. He said he’d always had an interest in risk management. But it was his desire to spend more time with his family that led him to leave his fire crew.

His oldest daughter, Alison, was a high school senior when he took early retirement from the fire department. He was a Captain.

“I looked at our kids’ schedule and thought, “I cannot continue to miss out on so many activities,’” Soehl explained.

Soehl added that over time the mental strain of firefighting began to weigh on him and his wife, Tammi. “Not returning home is an occupational hazard when you work as a firefighter. Each time you leave for work, there is the real possibility you may not return home.”

The couple has a son, Matthew, and two daughters, Alison and Amanda, and eight grandchildren.

Captain, coach & production manager

Throughout his career and family life, Soehl has developed a knack for helping others achieve. When he served as Fire Station Captain, he was responsible for the crew, the truck, assessing the emergency and guiding strategy.

When his children were growing up, he coached their sports teams: football, hockey, baseball, softball. In fact, when his daughters, Alison and Amanda were playing softball for Mount Marty University, the team was short an assistant coach, so Soehl would make the more than an hour drive each evening.

“It is so rewarding when the skill an athlete has been working on finally clicks.”

He says the same about working with new agents in his role as Farmers Union Insurance Production Manager. “I recruit, hire, train and coach. I always tell agents that we will be on this journey together. I am the guy who drives to their office one day to kick butt, and the next day to encourage them.”

When it comes to hiring, Soehl understands the vital role agents play in their clients’ lives and said he always took his time to find the right people to serve. “One year I did 75 interviews and did not hire anyone.”

As for the agents he has hired, Soehl said he is proud of the work they do helping their clients manage risk and serving in their communities.

“All of our agents are involved in their communities,” he said.

Soehl said while listening to Doug Sombke, South Dakota Farmers Union President, during State Convention he was inspired to take his service to others to the next level. In 2018, Soehl ran for Sioux Falls City Council and won. He was re-elected in 2022 for another four-year term.

In retirement, Soehl is eager to spend more time with his grandchildren and at the family’s lake home.