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Date: 8/3/2021
SOUTHWICK – Southwick Insurance Agency Inc. celebrated 35 years in business on Aug. 1.
The insurance agency first opened its doors in 1986, when Dan Hess found himself at a personal crossroads. After working as a schoolteacher for a year, Hess worked for an insurance company that went out of business not long after.
“When they went out of business, I had to choose between going back to teaching, or starting my own firm,” said Hess.
Hess chose the latter, and took out a bank loan to start Southwick Insurance Agency.
“From there, we grew to 8,000 clients in 35 years,” said Hess, who continues to serve as the company’s president.
Looking back at his company’s history, he said that the first three to five years were the hardest, as they had to build up a client base in a market that already had established players. Most of the existing companies at the time, Hess said, were generational businesses that had been handed down from father to son.
“We are the only agency in the area to have started from scratch,” said Hess.
Over the course of three and a half decades, Hess said that Southwick Insurance Agency has had to adapt as its clientele changed. Because of automation and the rise of the digital age, Southwick Insurance only physically sees about half of their clients, according to Hess.
“Modern clientele are sophisticated,” said Hess. “The pandemic accelerated it, but before that, it had already been going in that direction.”
Though much of their business is done online, they are also open on Saturdays to accommodate clients who work typical business hours during the week.
Though many businesses had to close their doors to the public for much of the past year and a half, Southwick Insurance Agency remained open the whole time.
“We were able to service everybody during that time,” said Hess, “A lot of agencies still haven’t reopened.”