Dr. Bratton began his insurance career as an independent agent in Georgetown, Kentucky. While in the agency business he was once honored as Kentucky's Professional Agent of the Year. He received the CIC designation in 1978 at Kentucky's first conferment.  He served as president, and later as Executive Director, of Professional Insurance Agents of Kentucky in the early 1980s.

In 1987 he sold his insurance agency and left Kentucky to eventually earn a Ph.D. in Risk Management & Insurance from Florida State University.  Prior to his present position, Dr. Bratton served as State Farm Professor of Insurance, and Director of Insurance Studies at the University of Louisiana at Monroe, Louisiana.  Prior to that he was an Assistant Professor of Insurance at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia. 

In 2003-2004, Dr. Bratton served as president of Southern Risk & Insurance Association, an organization of university insurance and risk management professors dedicated to promoting risk management and insurance education.

Dr. Bratton serves as the Education Consultant to the Independent Insurance Agents of Arkansas for their Certified Insurance Counselor program.  He also serves as Education Consultant for the National Alliance for Insurance Education and Research for their CIC program in Louisiana.