The uncertainties Will Glaros faced as a young man made him aware of how life can change in the blink of an eye.
As the middle of three children, Glaros spent much of his childhood on the move. He and his siblings relocated eight times in seven years as his family’s construction business opened new offices throughout the Midwest and in Texas.
Despite settling down and opening his own industrial painting company in 1964, Glaros’ father faced bankruptcy in 1968, just as Glaros was about to enter college. He juggled taking classes and working a job to afford college, but stepped away from that path half way through his sophomore year, when he returned home so that his brother could go to Purdue University and pursue his career in aeronautical engineering.
Then, when Glaros was 25, his mother died.
Despite having a supportive and close-knit family, Glaros said these experiences made him aware of risk and how life can change quickly.
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“It also prepared me for the ups and downs you face and the benefit of being prepared,” he said.
Glaros is a member of the 2024 class of the Northwest Indiana Business & Industry Hall of Fame.
‘Love what you do’
Glaros began a career as an insurance agent with Prudential before founding his own firm, Willis H. Glaros Insurance, in 1975. In 1978, he changed the direction of the firm to focus on employee benefit plans and renamed the company to Employer Benefit Systems. In 2014, EBS merged to form a new company, The Meyers Glaros Group.
As managing partner, Glaros said his passion lies in helping others be prepared for the uncertainties life can bring.
“My grandfather was the leading life insurance agent for Reliance during the Depression and for a couple years,” Glaros said. “Many think that is why I entered the insurance business, but it was not.”
In his current role, he works with leading employers to develop their benefit plans. A registered health underwriter for more than 30 years, Glaros has had significant influence on the Region’s insurance and health care landscapes.
Among his many roles in the community, Glaros has led the Northwest Indiana Wellness Council, served as president of the Northwest Indiana National Association of Health Underwriters chapter, sits on an advisory board for the Indiana Department of Insurance, and is a member of the Leading Producers Roundtable and Anthem Broker Advisory.
He’s also been on the frontlines of witnessing and addressing the challenges that employers encounter everyday in navigating the insurance industry. The changing speed of technology, fewer vendors that serve smaller marketplaces, and revenue goals during a time when health care costs are increasing are all issues Glaros has worked with employers to address.
Educating employers on how to use data to create cost-effective solutions and how to better use their benefits to reduce costs are key to weathering a challenging insurance landscape, he said.
“We have developed a video and texting platform, called Holly’s Health Talks, to educate employees and integrated an incentive program to incentivize employees to watch and gain valuable tips on how to better use their plans and reduce costs,” Glaros said.
Meyers Glaros also uses a sophisticated platform that enables the company to gather information on client spending trends.
“We then apply our experience to direct the client to solutions that reduce costs,” he said.
Although ensuring the security of others through insurance products is a passion of his, he said his second calling involves helping children understand they can accomplish anything in life — despite any challenges that inevitably lie ahead.
“My primary area of interest is motivational and life-skill training for children, students and adults,” he said.
Early intervention is important, which is why Glaros serves as cohort/co-chair of the Strosacker Early Learning Fellows, a group that promotes the benefit of early childhood learning as a way to improve the pipeline of quality students and candidates for employers.
He’s also engaged with students through teaching Art in Action in local schools and assisting Chesterton High School students with obtaining work ethics certifications. His many speaking engagements have included addressing the Purdue Northwest baseball team about personal development and achieving goals, a Valparaiso University class on management and health care, and the Munster High School speech and debate team on life skills and the value of good communication skills.
Glaros even invented and patented a “Reader Ruler” to help children improve their reading skills, and has been the recipient of several awards and recognitions from both national and local organizations.
In 2017, Munster High School inducted Glaros into its Hall of Fame, and two years later, the school’s speech and debate team honored him with Alumnus of the Year.
As future stewards of the community, children are the bearers of a person’s legacy, Glaros said.
“Legacy has value when it extends beyond the years of founders, and with our young leaders, we are extending our legacy for years to come,” Glaros said. “My real hope for my legacy is that some of the people to whom I have spoken or introduced to other speakers have listened and learned, and most importantly acted on what they heard.”
As the health care industry continues to evolve, he offers future generations entering his field of work this advice: “Love what you do.”
“Learn, learn and learn so you know your business,” he said. “Make friends and care for your clients. Do more in person and less online. You can’t build deep relationships through text and email.”
