Tommy Smoot is a strategy leader in life insurance and financial services. He has spent nearly three decades in the industry. His work spans product strategy, go-to-market leadership, and customer engagement. Most recently, he served as Vice President of Individual Markets Inforce Engagement at Guardian Life. There he led engagement strategy across a multi-billion-dollar inforce life and annuity portfolio. Tommy Smoot spoke at the 2023 InsurTech Spring Conference on the panel “Using Life Claims to Create Lifelong Relationship,” alongside Lisa Wardlaw, Ron Gura, and Sean Madgett.
At Guardian, Tommy built new ways to reach and serve policyholders. He created a centralized sales desk that reconnected more than 100,000 underserved policyholders. This work supported a national network of 3,000 advisors and improved policy persistency. He also led development of the first U.S. integrated whole life solution that rewards healthy behaviors. Earlier, he helped combine three retail business lines into a single Individual Markets profit center.
Tommy’s career also includes many years at New York Life Insurance Company. There he led product management, strategic marketing, and competitive intelligence for individual life products. Across both companies, he has launched new products, riders, and retention programs. His focus has always been on product strategy and deepening client relationships.
Tommy earned a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Duke University, graduating Magna Cum Laude. His career was inspired by his father, an insurance agent and financial advisor for more than 40 years. That legacy shaped his belief in being a trusted advisor to families and businesses.
