Most insurance professionals entered the industry either by chance or by the influence of a family member. Greg Schaefer experienced the latter.
Growing up on Long Island, Schaefer regularly spent time in his father’s insurance agency – founded in 1975. Though Schaefer began work on Wall Street, his father was able to convince him to come back and work for him when he began thinking about a perpetuation plan.
Getting a taste for the work, he later moved to New York City with his wife, leaving his brother to run the family business.
Schaefer Enterprises was founded in 1999 in the SoHo District of New York. Specializing in small doctors’ offices, urgent care clinics and local construction practices, the boutique agency has enjoyed significant success. Under Schaefer’s careful hand, the agency has grown more than 240% within the past three years, bringing in revenue of $6.6 million in 2013 and employing 12 people.
“Our mindset is to sustain growth regardless of whether we’re in a hard or soft market,” Schaefer said. “There are two things that separate us from the bigger houses – the first is top notch customer service. We strive to respond to emails or voicemails within minutes, instead of within hours or days.”
Schaefer also said the concentration on specific areas has helped the group excel.
There is also a tremendous sense of community at Schaefer Enterprises. The team enjoys health, so they attend Cross-Fit together and participate in Soul Cycle – a one-hour cycling class in a dark room with lights and music.
They also get their annual flu shots with one of their clients.
Despite the success, however, Schaefer sees the industry as dynamic, with oncoming challenges to be met with.
“I think we’re all on edge, worrying about three hot items – cyber issues that are ahead of us, another natural disaster like Superstorm Sandy and a potential terror attack,” he said. “How will the industry react to these incidents?”
