About the Founder

Jason Collum is a full-time independent life and health insurance agent, focusing on core insurance products as well as supplemental/voluntary coverage. He manages cases for employer groups and individuals, and currently manages groups that range in size from 65 to more than 1,200. He is licensed in Mississippi, Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, and Tennessee, and can write life and health insurance through the best insurance carriers available in each of those states. He has been licensed and working in insurance since January 2004. For more on our insurance and risk management services, please see the health insurance link in the column at left.

Collum also oversees production of the Apartment Finder & Newcomers Guide magazines, a business he founded in 1998, and is creative head of the marketing division, which creates and assists businesses with marketing plans and materials.

Collum's career began in the newspaper business. In 1992 he began working for his hometown newspaper, The Red Bay News, in Red Bay, Alabama. He started out as a stringer, and worked his way into the news editor's position there before accepting a position on the copy desk of the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal in Tupelo, Mississippi, in 1994. Collum handled news and features pages design work for several years, eventually becoming copy desk chief/design editor of the newspaper, which is the third-largest daily newspaper in the state. He left the Daily Journal briefly in 2000 to work on the copy desk of The Sun Herald, the daily newspaper of Biloxi/Gulfport, Mississippi, but returned to the Journal in May. He left the Daily Journal again in January 2001 to work for the American Family Association, complete his bachelor's degree at The University of Mississippi, and focus on growing his own business. In November 2003 he established Jason Collum and Associates, LLC, a limited liability company in the state of Mississippi. He holds an associates degree from Itawamba Community College and a Bachelor of Arts degree from The University of Mississippi.

He is an active member of the Rotary Club of Tupelo, and he was named the Tupelo club's Rotarian of the Year for 2007. In the club he is chair of the communications committee and editor of the weekly club newsletter, RotaryView, and Webmaster for the club Web site, www.tupelorotary.com. He is a member of the Community Development Foundation of Tupelo/Lee County, the Downtown Tupelo Main Street Association, and the Oxford/Lafayette County Chamber of Commerce. He is a member of First Baptist Church Saltillo. He is a proud supporter of the Tupelo Community Theater.

Company History
Jason Collum and Associates, LLC, was formed in November 2003, but actually has a history dating several years back.

Its earliest roots trace back to 1994 when Collum began freelancing graphics, photography and writing work under the operating name of NSN Productions. Eventually, that name was changed to Collum Media. This name served for several years until 2003, when a more expansive name was chosen to allow for the full scope of services covered.

Collum began publishing the Apartment Finder & Newcomers Guide magazine for Tupelo/Greater Lee County, Mississippi, in January 1998. That edition began with six advertisers, and was held in 12 tabloid-size pages. In 1999, the Apartment Finder & Newcomers Guide changed to a notebook-size full-color magazine format. In October 2001, Collum launched the Oxford/Ole Miss/Lafayette County edition of the magazine. In February 2003, apt-finder.com, the official Web site for the Apartment Finder & Newcomers Guide magazines, was launched, replacing a smaller, lower-profile site. Today, the Apartment Finder & Newcomers Guide magazines and Web site reach thousands of movers, relocators and others in North Mississippi and across the United States. Additional markets will be added in the future.

The company was formed to accommodate growth to handle the increasing business in the way of publishing and advertising work, and to also allow Collum to provide insurance clients the best service possible. Collum is an independent insurance broker, licensed in Mississippi and Alabama to advise, provide assistance in, and make health insurance and life insurance products available to groups and individuals. For more information on the insurance offerings, click here.

Jason Collum manages health and employee benefit plans and designs for several groups, ranging in size from 60 to more than 1,200. He is licensed to sell and manage life and health insurance plans and policies in Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Indiana, Kentucky and Tennessee. Collum also serves as the Mid-South Regional Representative and Web site developer for Gulf Guaranty Employee Benefit Services of Jackson, Mississippi. GGEBS is a respected and trusted third-party administrator of group health and benefit plans. For more information on GGEBS, click here.

In addition to publishing and insurance, Collum and Associates is a full-service advertising company, handling advertising and marketing campaigns for banks, real estate businesses, and a host of other professionals.

Who are the Associates?

The Associates are not necessarily employees of Jason Collum and Associates, LLC. The Associates are also professionals in their own fields, from fellow independent insurance brokers and agents, to printing company owners and independent Web site developers. Collum and Associates can handle most requests that come from our customers, but when specialized services are required, we are happy to refer customers, free of charge from us, to our outside associates who may be better equipped to handle special requests.

Some of the Associates include John Slater, president of Gulf Guaranty Employee Benefit Services, Jackson, Miss.; Charles Warren , independent insurance broker in Tupelo; Joe Crawford, CLU, ChFC, of Brookhaven, Miss; Rubye Del Harden, owner and CEO of SprintPrint, and S.N.A.P. in Tupelo and The Red Bay News in Red Bay, Ala.; and Paul Chaney, VP of Marketing for Blogging Systems LLC.

What is our philosophy on customer service?

Strictly put, we adhere to the highest ethical standards in insurance sales and service and pledge to give our clients, whether they be groups of two or 2,000, the best possible service with one focus in mind -- the best interest of the policy holder. We are committed to NEVER placing commission ahead of the interests of our clients.

That said, we also refuse to present insurance carriers with "modified" employee censuses or information in order to get a low-ball quote. This practice, unfortunately, occurs too often today by some in the insurance industry, and only results in employers and employees getting penalized by higher insurance rates. If any insurance agent guarantees a client that the agent can get them lower rates than anyone else on the same proposal from the same carrier, the employer should be wary. A reduction of a couple or three percentage points might be acceptable, as this could suggest a reduction in the agent's commission; however, any proposal with the same specifications from a carrier that has already quoted a case that reflects a big difference in rates could be cause for concern.

Our pledges and practices are simple, and come from the Golden Rule: We only want to do the best we can for others, because that's how we would want to be treated.