Episode 128: From Call Center Agent to Agency Owner with Riley Garner

Episode 128: From Call Center Agent to Agency Owner with Riley Garner

From Agent Boost Marketing Podcast by Dan and Mike Hardle

July 10, 2026 · 41 min · Episode 128

About this episode

Riley Garner shares his journey from call center agent to agency owner, highlighting the importance of personal experience in building trust in healthcare.

On Episode 128 of the Agent Boost Podcast, Mike sits down with longtime agent and agency owner Riley Garner for a conversation that starts personal and ends up being a masterclass in why experience, both lived and professional, is what actually builds trust in healthcare. Riley opens up about his son's sudden health crisis: a routine day swimming in the Virgin River turned into E. coli, then Shiga toxin, then HUS, then dialysis at Primary Children's Hospital. As a licensed agent himself, Riley walks through what it's actually like to be on the other side of the desk, dealing with ACA coverage through Molina, life flight bills, a denied ambulance claim, and the appeals process, and how even industry veterans get surprised by their own EOBs. It's a real time case study in why insurance gets a bad rap until the day you actually need it, and why agents who've lived through a claim fight understand something no training manual can teach. From there, the episode traces Riley's full arc in the business: Chick fil A to personal trainer to a last minute Medicare license earned three days before the deadline, into Connection Point, then Go Health during the 700 enrollments a season era…

People in this episode

Hosts: Mike Hardle, Dan Hardle

Guest: Riley Garner

Topics covered

Keywords

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Molina, WellCare, Connection Point, Go Health

Books & works: Agent Boost Podcast

Places: Tampa, Virgin River

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