Agency of the Month - October

In the complex business of insurance, Comstock Insurance believes a key part of its job is to make things simpler for customers.

“We focus on explaining things better, doing things better, and making insurance easier than other agencies,” says Michael Herschbach, Manager of the Nevada-based agency. “When customers select coverages, it’s important that they are fully informed and understand the decisions they are making.”

The agency has established a reputation not just for its insurance expertise, but for a focus on service that puts customers first.

“Everyone here is committed to taking care of our customers and being responsive when they need service,” explains John Sweatt, agency President. “Our people are known for being straightforward, honest, and accurate.”

Relationship-Focused

John founded Comstock Insurance in 1957. Over the past 60 years, the agency has remained family owned, independent, and focused on building customer relationships.

“We are extremely relationship-driven and have relationships that have spanned decades, both with customers and carriers,” Mike says. “Acuity is such a good fit for our business model because they have the same type of focus and have put together a great team to implement it.”

The agency’s emphasis on simplifying the complex means that agents and staff have to be coverage experts. “We have always invested a lot in education and training,” John says, adding that most staff are CICs and CISRs.

“Our people are timely and extremely technically proficient. They take care of any issues for clients quickly and are a pleasure to work with,” he says. The agency’s staff turnover is also extremely low, and it’s not uncommon for people to retire with more than 30 years of service.

About 70 percent of Comstock Insurance’s business is in commercial lines, with 20 percent in employee benefits and 10 percent in personal lines. The agency has carved out niches in construction, agriculture, sports and fitness, light manufacturing, and nonprofits, including churches.

Headquartered in Reno, the agency’s geographic reach encompasses the entire state of Nevada plus northern California. “We are licensed in 26 different states and, with rapid advances in agency technology, we definitely have been able to expand our geographic reach,” says John.

Perpetuation Plans

Comstock Insurance plans to grow by several employees over the next few years.

“We need to bring in new, young talent not only to grow the business, but to best position ourselves for perpetuation,” Mike says. “We will also likely continue to hone our focus and become more nicheoriented because that’s where we are most efficient and experienced.”

“The biggest challenge is finding the right people to be successful in sales. It’s a tough market for employers. Unemployment is low, and there are many choices for people seeking jobs,” John says. “Our number one goal in hiring will be finding people who care about customers as much as we do and are committed to always doing the right thing for them.”