Mission
To provide quality services that protect people’s lives and families. We specialize in non-transactional insurance services.
About Insurance Advocates
Insurance Advocates, founded by Mark West, was formed on the notion that people can have access to the best product for their situation… and they don’t have to do it alone. With the abundant selection of insurance companies and the vast complexity of products available, it’s difficult to make informed decisions about what you really need. You need someone you can trust to guide you in your decisions. We will be there for you.
As an independent agency, we represent our clients and are contracted to do business with a multitude of insurance companies. The beauty of this arrangement is that YOU DO NOT PAY ANYTHING FOR THESE SERVICES!!! We are paid by the insurance company that you choose for your coverage at no additional cost to you. This not only allows you to access the lowest rates available but gives you an insurance advocate who will make money regardless of what insurance company you choose. Everyone wins, every time.
We offer the following lines of business from a multitude of companies:
- Life Insurance: Term Life, Whole Life, Universal Life (indexed and fixed)
- Health Insurance: Group and Individual PPO and HMO Plans, HSA Plans, Short Term Medical
- Long Term Care Insurance: Traditional LTC, Asset-Based LTC, Life Insurance with LTC Benefits
- Senior Products: Medicare Supplement Insurance Plans, Medicare Advantage plans
- Annuities: Fixed and Equity Indexed (not variable)
Our Team
MARK WEST
Mark NEVER envisioned himself being in sales…it’s something he stumbled into quite blindly. Little did he know at the time, his rebellious teenage behavior that resisted any type of authority would lead him down the path of self-employment. Additionally, two traits he always possessed were a strong sense of empathy, and the desire to understand the decisions that people make and why they make them. Hmm, don’t they say sales is more about listening and less about talking???
After obtaining his Psychology degree from UT Austin in 2005, he worked as an insurance agent at a smaller insurance company to learn the ropes but soon determined that there wasn’t enough freedom…neither in his daily activities, nor in the products he could offer to his clients. Insurance Advocates was born!
Dealing with insurance companies can be a headache (not just for those that buy it), but through the process of assessing clients’ insurance needs, he builds personal relationships with clients that are long-lasting and meaningful. Mark approaches each interaction with the focus of educating his clients to help them protect their families, livelihood, and future.
Fun Facts
- As a teenage lifeguard, he assisted another lifeguard in saving 5-year-old girl from drowning. He was never so happy to have someone spit up on him!
- In Mark’s pre-teen years, he was a HUGE WWF fan, and each year he begged his parent’s to order the Royal Rumble. There’s no way wrestling is fake!
- Mark aspires to live his life by the motto his grandfather, Loren West, lived by. “I shall pass through this world but once. Any good that I can do, or kindness that I can show another human being, let me do it now and not defer it, for I shall not pass this way again.”
SARAMARIE BLUNT
SaraMarie is a busy mom of two active teens. Growing up as a military brat she doesn’t have a hometown per say but calls Florida home. She and her husband David love spending time together hiking and enjoying the beauty of Austin.
SaraMarie started in insurance as a Property and Casualty agent in 2000. After taking a few years off to work with some non-profits, she reentered the world of insurance, this time on the Life and Health side, in 2009. She has worked with Insurance Advocates since 2013.
Fun Facts
- SaraMarie started running about 2 years ago and now enjoys races of all kinds.
- She loves rescue animals and has her own personal petting zoo at home populated with the most loving rescue cats and dogs.
- She has the best kids in the world.