Jeff Derouen
I like to build things, figure out problems, and help people. In the insurance industry that’s a good thing, because there’s always something to put together, a fire to put out even if you are proactive, and because insurance can be complex there’s always someone needing help.
I attribute my work ethics to two people my father Jimmy DeRouen and my mentor in the insurance business John Darryl D’Avy.
My Story
My dad, who was in the construction business all his life, taught me that if you problem solve before you start a project you can prevent 90% of the complications before they ever occur. He also taught me that when you do have a problem you need to look at it from every angle before you begin fixing it to make sure that your solution will work. Dad also had two quotes from John Ruskin that I still use today, because they apply as much to the insurance business as they do to the construction industry;
“It’s unwise to pay too much, but it’s worse to pay too little. When you pay too much, you lose a little money - that’s all. When you pay too little, you sometimes lose everything, because the thing you bought was incapable of doing the thing it was bought to do.” The second quote is that “Quality is never an accident. It is always the result of intelligent effort.”
Insurance will cost what it costs, because it must be capable of doing what it was bought to do when it’s needed. With that said, a good agent needs to find out their client’s needs and expectations, and they must have the knowledge to look for the components that meet their needs at the best possible price.
Much of my 26 years in the insurance business was under my mentor John Darryl D’Avy at Insurance Resource Group. Darryl tough me that the insurance business is always changing, that you must be able to change with it, and that you always need to be looking for ways to add value to what you offer as an agent.
Darryl’s unexpected passing in 2025 led to me transitioning over to Coastal Group Benefits as a broker where I am today.
While my primary focus at Coastal Group Benefits is group medical and ancillary benefits, I am also certified to write life, Medicare, and Healthcare.gov policies.
I have been married to my wife Dawn for over 30 years and have three daughters. I have served as an Iberia Parish Election Commissioner since 2024. I am a past president of the New Iberia Jaycees and previously served on the boards of the New Iberia Chamber of Commerce and the Boys and Girls Club. I graduated from the University of Southwest Louisiana and am a member of Delta Tau Delta Fraternity, Epsilon Kappa Chapter at LSU.