A century-old Georgia insurance firm is sticking to its roots when it comes to growth.
Insurance Services of Augusta traces its history back to 1902, when real estate agent Milledge Lockhart founded Lockhart and Co. to sell both property and insurance policies. And while the company’s name has changed a few times over the years, it still does business much as Lockhart did a century ago.
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“We’re different in that we really preach relationships with clients,” company president David Goodbread told the Augusta Chronicle. “And we have that relationship with most of our companies. Back when I started there was a bond between the agent and the company that was just amazing.”
Insurance Services represents about 18 insurance companies, according to the Chronicle. It does about 70% of its business in commercial insurance and the rest in home and auto. Some of the company’s clients have been customers since the 1960s – loyalty that Goodbread attributes to the way Insurance Services does business. He decried the non-customer-focused business practices he’s seen at other companies.
“You know, we used to sell insurance to people and develop a relationship and get their confidence,” he told the Chronicle. “Now a lot of agents are just trying to find money in life insurance and annuities.”
Insurance Services’ old-fashioned strategy seems to be working; the company keeps growing. In January it outgrew its old offices and moved to new headquarters.
“We don’t have to go out and beat the bushes just looking for dollars,” Goodbread told the Chronicle. “That’s not what we’re about. … The young people coming up, they’re not used to calling up local agents and talking to them. They’ll go online and buy it. We’re going after people who still want a warm body to take a call if they have a claim, or to talk to.”
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