FieldEddy expands to East Longmeadow

Reminder Publications photo by G. Michael Dobbs
Jay Norman Tryon, account manager is seen here with FieldEddy President Sam Hanmer at the new offices.



EAST LONGMEADOW FieldEddy Insurance Network is offering its customers the advantage of a large local insurance agency with the convenience of offices in their own communities.

The company recently moved into its new offices on the second floor of 96 Shaker Rd., consolidating its former Springfield office with the Meadows office.

The company is a network of five agencies, which includes Remillard Insurance of South Hadley. With the acquisition of Remillard about a year ago, FieldEddy became one of the largest independent agency networks in Western Massachusetts. It also includes Curtis Hodskins McKelligott in Monson, Your Choice in Ludlow and Meadows in East Longmeadow.

There are many changes in the insurance field in the Bay State at this time with "managed competition" coming into auto insurance. FieldEddy President Sam Hanmer said with those changes and increased competition it was important for the local agency to "have a bigger footprint" in the market.

Customers of the various offices will find access to the same group of insurances he added.

While the move to East Longmeadow offered FieldEddy the opportunity to consolidate offices (Meadows and FieldEddy are now in the same building), the network brings distinct advantages to insurance customers: Buying power. By acquiring more agencies, FieldEddy has also gained access to additional insurance carriers, giving their customers multiple options to get the best price offered in the market.

In this way, customers can have their insurance cake and eat it too, as they get the benefits of the "managed competition market," yet they also benefit from the experience and customer service offered by a local insurance agent.

A name change was also in order. Formerly, Field Eddy & Bulkley Inc. a firm that connects back to the Springfield Fire and Marine Insurance Company in the mid 1800s, the name was shorted to FieldEddy Insurance is today much more than one large agency.