Settlement Group

A Unique Business Model

Settlement Group, Inc. helps life insurance policyholders sell policies they no longer need and convert them into cash.

Roughly 60% of all Americans own some kind of life insurance, and there are an estimated 257 million life insurance policies in the U.S.

Curtis Resinger, Settlement Group’s President of Operations, told us: “Life insurance policies themselves are assets like stocks or real estate. People don't realize it, but you can sell them for liquidity or cash.”

“In a lot of instances, the process to do so is a lot quicker and less painful than purchasing or selling a home.”

Who sells their life insurance policy?

In some cases, policyholders who’ve been paying their premium for years reach a point where they no longer need the same coverage.

Imagine a father who buys a life insurance policy to protect his young children.

Twenty-five years later, if those children are grown and financially independent, the father may not feel he needs to keep his policy.

That's where Settlement Group can help.

The industry is still relatively niche, but it continues to grow, and Settlement Group is expanding as it does.

Since many of the tasks performed by team members at Settlement Group can be done remotely, hiring a remote virtual assistant seemed like an idea worth testing.

Starting Small: A Successful First Hire

After reaching out to Remote CoWorker, Settlement Group connected with Kirby, who became their primary account manager.

Together, they discussed Settlement Group’s existing hiring needs and decided to experiment with a customer service role.

That launched the first hiring process run on Settlement Group’s behalf.

What surprised the team wasn’t the candidate quality, it was the hiring process itself.

A Unique Hiring Process

Most companies hire using traditional methods.

They sift through hundreds or thousands of resumes and cover letters, then invite several candidates to interview for the position.

That process can stretch on for weeks or even months.

Working with Remote CoWorker was very different.

Instead of recruiting, interviewing, and hiring on their own, Settlement Group received a curated group of candidates who then participated in a single, structured interview session led by Kirby.

Here's how the process worked:

Settlement Group’s team received resumes for several qualified candidates about 24 hours prior to the interview call.
Four candidates joined a single Zoom call.
Kirby led the call, explaining the role and the business model.
Candidates interviewed one at a time using Zoom breakout rooms.
Kirby met privately with the Settlement Group team to discuss feedback after each interview.

From this process, Settlement Group selected a candidate, and Kirby then took care of the administrative work to hire them.

Ashley Keawekane, Settlement Group VP of Finance, had this to say about the process:

“Kirby's process was really helpful. He filtered through these candidates and gave us the ones he thought would thrive in the position. That really cut the work for us in half.”

The process helped Settlement Group make faster decisions with far more confidence when compared to traditional hiring practices.

“It’s efficient,” Curtis added. “It allows us to do what we do. And Remote CoWorker can focus on its specialty: identifying talent.”

The team’s first hire began onboarding less than two weeks later and quickly became an integrated member of the team.

A Hiring Partner to Depend On

After a successful first hire, Settlement Group began working with Kirby to recruit and hire virtual assistants in a variety of other roles.

Today, Settlement Group has four Remote CoWorker team members in total:

total:

Two customer service reps
An actuarial professional
A software developer

As the business grows, the team plans to continue adding virtual assistants.

“We know we have an expanding business,” Curtis told us. “It’s great to have Remote CoWorker as a partner to help us fill the positions we’re going to need in the future.”

4 Lessons Learned

We asked the team at Settlement Group to share the lessons they’ve learned working with Remote CoWorker.

Here’s what they told us:

1. There’s more than one way to hire team members

Before working with Remote CoWorker, Settlement Group relied on traditional hiring practices. But working with Kirby and the Remote CoWorker team showed them a different approach.

Ashley had this to say: “They're fast learners. They're eager to do well. We’ve had a lot of success with the people we’ve hired to be part of our team.”

2. Even without a price advantage, an experienced hiring partner is a value

While cost savings are often part of the conversation when hiring a virtual assistant, Settlement Group’s team emphasized that the real value came from the process.

As Curtis described it: “Even if you take the price point consideration away and just look at the process, the process is what’s very impressive.”

3. If a new team member doesn’t work out, having a partner makes the process easier

Not every new hire works out, and Settlement Group experienced that firsthand.

In one case, a Remote CoWorker team member wasn’t meeting expectations. But rather than handling the situation alone, the team was able to rely on Kirby for support.

Kirby documented concerns, facilitated conversations, and provided a neutral perspective. When it became clear that it was time to part ways, the team at Settlement Group felt confident in the decision.

Curtis added: “The process to make that determination was clean. There was no question that the outcome was the right one.”

4. Creating a positive culture makes remote team members feel valued

Finally, Settlement Group’s positive approach to collaboration and communication has helped all five of their Remote CoWorker team members feel connected to the business.

As Kirby told us: “They’re constantly telling me how much they like working with the Settlement Group team. You can tell they really feel valued and respected.”

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