I didn’t grow up dreaming to be an independent insurance agent, didn’t dream, as a child, of helping people get homeowners’ insurance or auto insurance.  Instead, I wanted to be a firefighter and a pilot, like so many other kids.

 

So, how did I end up founding Statewide Insurance?

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Many years ago, a friend was running an insurance agency for one of the big insurance firms. 

 

Anyway, there were a lot of people who wanted her to find them insurance through her agency. But she couldn’t. These applicants didn't qualify. I spoke with some of them. They were nice, regular people. But big insurance companies have rules. Nice, regular people who had a claim were not to be insured. Too risky. And nothing else mattered.

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The State of Illinois had just started mandating that every driver have insurance or be fined or have his/her license revoked.  It instituted the SR22 insurance program.  So, you had to have insurance. Some of the same people had been insured by my friend’s agency. Some for many years. Then, one day, they had to make a claim, and goodbye.

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That's when I realized the power of an independent agency to help regular people like you find quality insurance at the best price.