Encouraging healthy habits is no risk for Brad Havemeier

Brad Havemeier is no doctor, but he recommends you watch your diet, get enough sleep and exercise regularly. When he says it, you believe he genuinely cares about your health. That's because he possesses a humble, gracious demeanor, which also suits his position as CEO of Gulfshore Insurance, Inc.

EVAN WILLIAMS / FLORIDA WEEKLY Brad Havemeier But if you're one of his 10,000 clients in Southwest Florida — from a construction company that wants to purchase a group policy to a family looking for coverage — his recommendations make perfect sense from a business point of view.

Although he's in the insurance business, Mr. Havemeier doesn't write policies. Instead, he thinks about risk: How likely is it that you'll get sick? What's the chance you'll wreck the boat or collect workers compensation? Will you develop a life-threatening disease?

It is the job of his company to act as the middleman between clients and hundreds of insurers that offer their products. He has to keep both parties happy and recommend which kinds of insurance his clients need. To do this, Mr. Havemeier says, his team of salespeople and others diagnose clients' risks and figure out which insurance best fits them and how to get the lowest premiums.

"As an independent broker, we counsel

and advise on the risk-management concept," he says. "We look at ourselves as risk managers for select clients. We get beyond insurance. We need to understand where the risks are, where (clients) might take less or more risks themselves."

He advises his clients, especially those who want to purchase health insurance for their employees, to encourage them to be healthy. For his own staff — 92 workers between offices in Naples and Fort Myers — he has switched out doughnuts for healthy snacks. He also brought a nutritionist into the office to talk with them.

"Changing behavior is probably the most difficult thing to do," Mr. Havemeier says. "With our employees, I say, look, we want you to be around as long as you want to work. We want your capabilities. And we think your families want you to be around for as long as possible, too."

The bottom line is, if he can show an insurance company there is less risk, his clients will get a better rate. To insurance companies, all people and businesses come with a certain calculation: the risk rate. It's an average based on indicators such as lifestyle and medical history, and how many dollars have been paid out in claims to them.

Mr. Havemeier moved to Naples in 1981 with his wife. He and three partners purchased Gulfshore Insurance, which was started in 1970, from the original founders. Four years ago, when his partners wanted to retire, "It was either sell the company or step up and buy it from my partners." Now he is the majority owner.

Although the company does business throughout Southwest Florida, it had only one office in Naples until 2007, when it opened a location near Interstate 75 and Daniels Parkway in Fort Myers. Mr. Havemeier says continuing growth between Lee and Collier counties made it essential. "It was very easy for us to say this is the right thing to do," he says. "From a business standpoint, if you aren't thinking of Lee and Collier together, I think you're missing the point…

"I'm sure our founders had no idea that they were catching the beginnings of a wave of growth that has transformed this area of Southwest Florida into one of the fastest growing in the country and a Mecca for wealthy retirees."

Mr. Havemeier grew up in rural Minnesota, where his father was in the sales business, including insurance. After graduating from St. John's University in Collegeville, Minn., with a bachelor's degree in science, he started his own insurance company in suburban Minneapolis.

Although he vows he won't move back to Minnesota —"It's an arctic tundra nine months out of the year," he says — Mr. Havemeier remains a big Minnesota Twins fan. Sometimes he participates in fundraisers through the Twins franchise by using their spring training stadium in Fort Myers. Last year, Gulfshore Insurance raised $10,000 there with a charity softball game to benefit the American Cancer Society.

"We try to give back to the community," he says.