Western Agencies Keep it All in the Family

Mom and pop” retail agencies have always been a vital component of the insurance world, and many of them still exist today. Sons, daughters, grandsons and granddaughters are able to continue family traditions as agencies are passed down from one generation to the next. Whether small or large, owned by “mom” and “pop” or their descendants, family owned and operated agencies are making a difference in their communities and in the insurance industry. Although being in business as a family may have its challenges, the family agency members that Insurance Journal talked to agreed that working together as a family is a fun and exciting way of life.

Hobson Insurance

Location: Hobson, Montana

Family Business:
Hobson Insurance writes primarily commercial property/casualty in 46 states. National accounts include seven large sporting goods stores. Annual premium volume is about $4.5 million. Hobson Insurance has CSRs in a credit union in Billings to build up its personal lines book of business.

Family Tree:
Dale Longfellow founded the agency in 1984 after he moved from Billings, Montana to Hobson, a small “cow town” with a population of 265. Dale’s wife Kathy obtained her agent license a short time later. Their two grown daughters also work in the agency. Misty Longfellow Kriskovich serves as commercial lines CSR, while Kristy Longfellow Hodik is a producer.

Family Unity:
Dale Longfellow said that the hardest transition was when he and his wife started working together. “You don’t really use as much tact and diplomacy as you might when it’s one on one with an employee,” he said. “You have a tendency to not really think through what you’re saying at the moment. That’s something that you really have to work at. Family disagreements in front of employees is something that is absolutely taboo. We really work hard at that. If my daughters and I disagree, you certainly do these things privately, just like you would for any employee.” Dale said that it is satisfying as a parent to see his children learning about the industry and handling situations better than he does.

Growing Up:
Over the last three or four years, Hobson Insurance’s growth rate has been about 25 percent a year.

Perpetuation Plan:
Dale plans to retire and leave his daughters with 10 national accounts. “The young people today are far better in tune with what’s going on than I am,” Dale said. “They’ve really got some great ideas. Older people like myself have got to listen to them. We’re so used to the old way, but we have to set that aside and start learning from these young people.” He said that his agency has greatly benefited from the younger generation, who came up with the idea of an agency Web site.

Family Motto:
“Insurance is no better than your agent.” Dale said that education is paramount to agency success. “Things are changing so quickly in our industry so often that we really have to stay in touch with it to really take care of the customers,” he said. “You just have to get in, learn it and be able to stay solid and make it through the tough times. It’s a rewarding industry. [Family agencies] are a way of life and they’re fun.”

College Student Insurance Services Inc.

Location: Garden Grove, California

Family Business: Auto insurance is CSIS Inc.’s main focus.

Family Tree:
Edwin and Flory Slocomb founded the agency in 1970. There were eight original CSIS offices butEd and Flory’s was the only one that kept the name. To drive up sales, Ed traveled to local colleges in Orange County to post self-mailers for the students who sent them in to get quotes. In 1985 Ed and Flory’s daughter Sandi joined the agency. Joe Jimenezstarted dating Sandi and soon went to work at the agency as well. Joe and Sandi married in 1986 and took over the agency in 1991 so Ed and Flory could retire. Joe’s brother Oscar Jimenez manages CSIS’s Costa Mesa office. Sister-in-law Silvia Jimenez manages the Anaheim office, while cousin Cecilia Gutierrez manages CSIS’s main office in Garden Grove.

Family Unity:
“Having family members work in the agency is the best single thing we ever did,” Joe Jimenez said. “Not only do you get to interact with people you already like but also they offer you incredible support when things don’t go so well. When you have [family] working for you, you don’t have to worry if things will get done right, because you know they will. You know that they will try their best at whatever they do. You can trust them and they are the reason why a family agency is successful.”

Growing Up:
In 1991, premium volume was about $1 million. Under the ownership of Joe and Sandi Jimenez, CSIS opened three branch offices, purchased a Rancho Cucamonga agency and purchased a building for CSIS’s headquarters. Written premium volume now approaches $8 million and CSIS employs 22 people.

Perpetuation Plan:
“I know we will continue to be a ‘family’ agency because we know how to handle ourselves in the business world,” Joe Jimenez said. “We don’t mix family affairs with work and vice versa. We understand our place in the agency and carry ourselves in a business-like manner and with mutual respect.”

Family Motto:
“One client at a time.” Jimenez said that although the agency has expanded greatly since its founding, the employees still follow the same motto that Ed and Flory Slocomb taught them. “We still do business very much the same way, one client at a time,” Jimenez said. “It sounds like a cliché but it’s true. They knew that if you took care of the clients from the beginning,the clients wouldstay with you forever, and that’s the secretof our success.”<$t-3>

Gordon Wood Insurance & Financial Services
Location: Roseburg, Oregon
Family Business: Gordon Wood Insurance writes personal lines such as auto and homeowners, but also writes commercial P/C, as well as some life and health.

Family Tree:
Gordon T. Wood bought into an existing agency in 1961 as a partner.In 1964, he formed a new corporation with the retirement of the original owner and brought in a new partner.Gordon’s son Kelsey joined the agency in 1982 after attending insurance school in Chico, California. In 1996, Kelsey and his wife re-incorporated and took the agency over from Gordon.

Growing Up:
The agency grew to include four employees and one part time bookkeeper. Over the years, premium volume grew from $260,000 to $400,000.After Kelsey joined and assumed responsibility for personal lines, premium volume grew in some years by $100,000.Now under Kelsey’s ownership, premium volume is at approximately $1,500,000.

Family Unity:
Kelsey’s wife helps out with human resources and social activities, while Kelsey plans on putting his two sons Logan and Tristan to work. Reflecting on the business relationship he had with his father, Kelsey said at times older family members may be resistant to change, but the younger generation may sometimes lack experience. The key to resolving these differences is communication. “Dad and I had ample opportunities to just talk about the business, father to son, son to dad as opportunities arose, which being a close family was often,” Kelsey Wood said.He also emphasized that greed is not usually prevalent in family businesses and most of the family members have the right priorities.

Perpetuation Plan:
“My perpetuation plan remains the same as my father’s,” Wood said. “If I am successful with gaining the interests of one or both of my boys, then I have someone to sell to.If not, there’s a rather large agency in town who loves to gobble up small agencies. But that’s just not in the best interest of my clients.”<$t-3>

Family Motto:
“We never forget how important you are,” a motto of Gordon’s that Kelsey still uses today. Kelsey said that his father’s focus was always on his relationship with his clients and he tries to do the same. “The client needs to be our focus, with the primary goal of forging a relationship with them,” Kelsey said. “Anyone can hop on the internet and buy a policy, but if you’re looking to buy insurance with an informed decision, we’re the place for you.”

Yeoman Insurance Agency Inc.

Location: Anaconda, Montana

Family Business:
Yeoman Insurance Agency writes both commercial and personal insurance, including auto, homeowners, workers’ compensation, property and liability. The agency also writes life and health insurance.

Family Tree:
Four generations have worked in the agency, which was founded in 1932. Byron Jennings and his wife Jessie Yeoman-Jennings founded the agency as the Jennings Agency, operating out of their home until the late 1930s. After Byron’s death, Jessie and her son William Yeoman managed the agency until 1980. William’s son, James Yeoman, joined the agency in 1972 to remain in the area and to be self-employed. James later bought the agency from his father and remains the agency’s owner and top producer today. Heather Yeoman, James’ daughter and Jessie’s great granddaughter, joined the company as an agent in 2004.

Growing Up:
The agency originally had only two employees but now employs five full-time agents and three part-time agents who serve Anaconda and Southwestern Montana. Over the last 30 years, the agency has grown from approximately $500,000 in premium volume to $1,200,000 in premium volume.

Perpetuation Plan:
The addition of Heather has been a great benefit to the agency, and in particular she has provided the agency with fresh ideas on marketing, according to Jim Yeoman. He plans to expand the agency into more areas of southwestern Montana, and would like Heather or his other daughter Sarah to continue the family business.
Family Unity:
Jim Yeoman says that he can’t think of anything negative about being part of a family business. “The pros are spending time with your family and being comfortable that the business is going to continue,” he said.

Alan Horn Insurance Services

Location: Unincorporated area of Sonoma County, California near Sebastopol.
Family Business: Alan Horn Insurance Services writes strictly property/casualty. Estimated annual premium is $450,000.

Family Tree:
In 1925, Henry Horn’s haberdashery on Mission St. in San Francisco burned down. The $5,000 insurance settlement from an unknown carrier was used to establish Henry Horn & Sons Real Estate & Insurance.Henry operated the agency out of his own house in San Francisco. After World War II, Henry’s two sons, Lawrence and Bertram, joined him in business.In 1970, Henry passed away and in 1971,Lawrence’s son Alan joined the agency after serving in the Vietnam War.In 1997, Lawrence retired and Alan moved about 100 miles north to Sonoma County and renamed the agency Alan Horn Insurance Services.

Growing Up:
Alan Horn said that things have changed radically since his grandfather started the agency in 1925. “From what my dad tells me about the early days, when my grandfather was around, you just called up a special agent and got the coverage bound over the phone,” he said. “There were no applications to fill out, it was a whole different ballgame back then.” Horn also said that insurance carriers have gotten bigger and smaller agencies such as his have adapted. Horn joined a cluster of other agencies known as BSM Insurance Services, so that his agency could maintain a common appointment to write with carriers.

Perpetuation Plan:
“I’m in good health and I take good care of myself,” Horn said. “I expect to stay this way for probably another 20 years, so there shouldn’t be a reason why [the agency] shouldn’t continue to grow for the next 20 years or so.”