Joel Stephens, CLU® | Principal and President,
Life Insurance

Joel joined Thomas Financial in 1994 and is a Principal and President of the Life Insurance Division. He specializes in life insurance planning for business owners and executives of both closely-held and publicly-held companies. His areas of concentration include Estate Planning for High Net Worth Individuals, Business Continuity, and Executive Benefits.

He is a Qualifying, Life and Honor Roll member of the Million Dollar Round Table (MDRT) Top of the Table. He is the past President of the Tampa Bay Estate Planning Council and is an active member in many professional industry associations including Suncoast Estate Planning Council, National Association of Estate Planners and Councils (NAEPC), and Association for Advanced Life Underwriting (AALU). He also obtained his Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU) designation from The American College.

Joel has been a special guest lecturer for The University of Tampa, presented at the M Financial National Meeting, and addressed other professional organizations in the areas of estate planning, business insurance and executive benefits. In 2007 and 2008 he served on the M Marketing Meeting Program Development Committee, which also included the 2007 M Renaissance Weekend.

Mr. Stephens is also actively involved in the community and currently serves on the Board of Directors and Executive Committee for the Hillsborough Education Foundation and is Chairman of the Planned Giving Committee. He also sits on the Professional Advisory Council on Planned Giving for the Straz Center for the Performing Arts. The American Red Cross has recognized him as a Hero in their Heroes for the American Red Cross—Changing Lives in Tampa Bay. He is also Chairman Emeritus of the Board for The Tampa Connection. In 2016, Joel was awarded Citizen of the Year through the Tampa Connection.

Joel is a graduate of Florida Institute of Technology and is a member of Florida Tech’s Galaxy (Hercules) and Ad Astra Societies. He also serves on the Florida Tech Athletic Alumni Board.

CA Insurance License #0E69757 

The Million Dollar Round Table (MDRT) is an independent association. Membership is based on production.