YAC Spotlight: Chris Orletski

For our next YAC Spotlight, we sat down with Chris Orletski, the president of Blankit Insurance Group. Chris, a self-described “nerd and linguist,” told us why his mom has made the biggest impact on his career, shared his thoughts on the importance of maintaining a good reputation in the insurance community, and explained why he admires his wife.  

Chris Orletski

President

Who has made the biggest impact on your career up to this point? 

• The person that has made the biggest impact so far and probably will continue to do so going forward is my mother. She always encouraged me to pursue what I thought was going to fulfill me. She’s also spent more than two decades as a licensed claims adjuster, so I’ve gotten a lot of the inside scoop and behind the scenes from her stories. 

Why did you choose to join the Young Agents Council? 

•  I’ve found within the industry that there seems to be a divide between the younger and older generation. I think I’m somewhat in the middle so it’s nice to be able to network with some fellow colleagues that share more of the same life experience. And there’s a lot of good dialogue that happens in those networking meetings thanks to the fresher, younger perspective on things that challenge the status quo. 

What advice would you offer college students unsure of majoring in Risk Management? 

• I’m a firm believer in action. My advice to anyone thinking about getting into a Risk Management career would be to encourage you to look at what possible internships and part-time positions are available. It’s good to get into what you potentially want to do to decide whether it is something you know you could see yourself doing. Test the waters out, and you will find there are so many different areas within Risk Management you could pursue. If you find what you’re passionate about, I think you have a good chance of relating that back to insurance in some way.  

What is your favorite aspect of the job? 

• For me personally, I’m a bit of a nerd and a linguist so I really enjoy reviewing policy forms and comparing policy language. I like the challenge of harder risks or accounts that are a little more difficult with complex exposures. My other favorite aspect is the dynamic day-to-day. Each day is going to be a little bit different because each risk requires a different personal contract. 

How would you help the next generation become interested in a career in insurance? 

• I think finding your passion or what you’re interested in is your first step. Once you find that, there’s a good chance there’s some sort of correlation to insurance and I would encourage researching to see how risk management plays a role in the field you’re interested in. From there, I would also encourage them to get in and try things because you don’t know if you’ll like it until you try it. If you’re not passionate about it, it’s just going to feel like work, and you won’t feel fulfilled.  

In your opinion, what is the most valuable skill that a young agent can have? 

• Communication is probably the most valuable skill, in my opinion. You can have the most valuable product in the world, but if you can’t communicate it to someone else, then it’s not really worth anything, right? I think if you struggle with communication, it’s not a dealbreaker. It’s an area I would encourage a young agent to work on and get better with.  

What do you do for fun? 

• I don’t know if everyone else would consider it fun, but I like to tinker with stuff. I do a lot of house projects and like helping our neighbors out with things like that. I am definitely not re-roofing anyone’s house, but I do like to get my hands dirty. I also like to golf, and I like exploring and trying new things, whether it’s museums or state parks, new restaurants, new cultures, or just walking a trail. 

Who do you admire and why? 

• If I had to narrow it down, I would say that I admire my wife, Kaci. She is a very hard worker, very caring, loving, and she’s my best friend. That sounds cliché but there’s a lot of traits and characteristics that I admire about her. I hold her in high regard.  

What is the last book you read? 

• The last book I read was Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill. I first read it about 10 years ago and it was pretty influential. This is probably the third time I've read it.  

What is your biggest pet peeve? 

• I think my biggest pet peeve would probably be selfishness. I understand everybody is going through something. But I think what happens is everyone gets into this “me” mindset when we live in a world with a lot of people. So, I think it’s important to be considerate and less self-centered.