Looking Back, Looking Ahead 150 YEARS AND COUNTING Roanoke agency’s founder delivered policies on horseback By Robin Deatherage, CIC In 1870, Charles Lunsford founded the first insurance business in what was to become the city of Roanoke, Virginia. He began by selling liability insurance for horses, buggies, and wagons. Delivering policies on horseback, he considered his saddlebags his office. Four generations of Lunsfords have guided the agency through the years,
Organizational Profiles
CAPITALIZING ON BENEFITS FROM MEDICARE TO MULTILINES High Desert agency builds on health and benefits business to meet overall customer needs By Len Strazewski HMOs, PPOs, ACA, HDHPs. Agents and brokers who specialize in employee benefits navigate a sea of complex terms and concepts every day, but their customers often struggle to understand what works best for them. At Armstrong-Fairway Insurance in Victorville, California, education is an important part of
MAKING SPECIALTY MARKETS SHINE Persistence and partnership drive new opportunity for agents and brokers By Lori Widmer George Nordhaus has been trying single-handedly for years to change the insurance industry for the better. Now Nordhaus and his partner, Richard Look, president and chief strategist at Vertibrands, are delivering key marketing connections that bring together agencies and specialty providers in a dynamic new way. Nordhaus, founder of several agency-focused ventures, including
TRANSFORMING RETIREMENT: BLUEPRINT FOR BUILDING A ROBUST LIFE Finding passion and purpose with a self-guided game plan By Elisabeth Boone, CPCU Passion … purpose … service to others … personal fulfillment … You might see those words on a recruitment poster for the Peace Corps, a scouting organization, or a youth rally. You probably don’t associate those terms with the concept of life after retirement—but there you would be wrong.
MGA FOCUS COMMITTED TO EXCELLENCE Strong partners, family focus drive MGA success By Dennis H. Pillsbury In less than a quarter century, Risk Placement Services has grown to become one of the most far-reaching organizations delivering product expertise and value to thousands of agents and brokers nationwide. Among the key growth drivers is a leadership focus on talent. “I’m very proud that we have grown a company that provides a
