Forty Under 40: Stuart Baber
by January 1, 2014 12:00 am 737 views
When Stuart Baber was 16, his father made a career change — from minister to insurance executive.
“That was about the time I started paying attention to how you make a living, and he was successful at it,” Baber recalled. “I thought maybe it was something I could do.”
Baber was right. Since joining Farm Bureau in 2007, he has placed more than $70 million in life insurance coverage. In 2013, he ranked 20th out of the 4,000 agents who contract with Southern Farm Bureau Life Insurance Co. with $18 million in death benefit in force.
“My main motivation is building relationships and knowing people and taking care of them; that’s all our deal is,” Baber said.
Baber graduated from the University of Arkansas in 2006. He was a licensed real estate agent and worked for Dallas Real Estate Services in Fayetteville for one year before turning to insurance.
A native of Marion, Baber aspires to reach a management position with the state.
“Somebody has to be that next guy, it might as well be me,” he said.
Baber, married with one son and a daughter due in December, is president-elect of the Arkansas state board of the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors (NAIFA), a trade group that includes about 500 members in the state. He was also the inaugural chairman of the Fayetteville Future Fund.