About - Spetner

About

About

Abe Spetner started off as a successful real estate investor but subsequently lost his properties during  the Great Depression. In 1935, after his last property was foreclosed on by the bank, he turned to selling insurance. It was a few short years later in 1937 when the financial pressure of the Depression took its toll and Abe succumbed to a heart attack. He left behind his widow, Rose Raskas Spetner, with 3 young boys to raise. Rose realized that she had to provide more for her family. She quit her job selling corsets and took over the fledgling insurance business. This earned her the title of the first female insurance broker in St. Louis, MO. Rose was a strong woman determined to succeed while helping others in their times of need.

Her oldest son, Kenneth, joined the now successful agency after serving as a US Naval officer during WWII. Ken used to say, “I took to insurance like a duck takes to water.” He initially  focused on individual policies to protect widows and orphans, and then expanded into using life and health insurance in novel applications. This saw the development of policies that assisted corporations with business continuation strategies and protected affluent families against estate erosion caused by death taxes. Ken Spetner subsequently became a legend in the world of life insurance. Transamerica Life Companies paid homage to his illustrious career in the 1994 video presentation: Dare Something Worthy – The Ken Spetner Story.

Ken’s son Jonathan joined him in 1986 and helped expand the agency’s life and health payroll deduction business. Now a third generation was creating financial protection for  people at all levels of income. Jonathan recalls his father explaining at the outset of their working together. “Never look at how much you will make on a case. Do what’s best for the client and you’ll always make a nice living.” This is the philosophy that runs through the Spetner insurance agency today.