IBA: What’s the history of Heiner’s Insurance Center?
Christopher J. Heiner: Heiner’s Insurance Center has been in business in Ogden, Utah, since 1948. My great-grandfather was working for a finance company that did auto and home loans. He decided it made sense to offer insurance as well, so he got his license and later started Heiner’s Insurance.
I’m the fourth generation to work at the agency. My grandfather still owns the agency, and my dad and I are vice presidents. Over time, we’ve grown into one of the biggest independent insurance agencies in Ogden.
IBA: What’s the secret to your success as an independent agency?
CJH: We like to pride ourselves on our services and our relationships. We believe we work with the best carriers out there. We have a lot of markets that other agencies in Ogden do not have, and I think we probably have more carriers than most other agencies in the area do. If one of our customers is unhappy with their carrier, we can usually find them another carrier that we write with to keep them happy. So our success stems from the services that we provide.
IBA: What’s the story behind your agency’s Cruisin’ for a Cause classic car show?
CJH: At Heiner’s Insurance, our company slogan is “We pay for ashes and crashes.” A dream that my grandfather always had was to own an antique fire truck. We eventually bought one – a 1938 semi fire truck – which we restored, and then we started putting it in parades and classic car shows.
When I was at these car shows, I saw some booths for captive agencies like Allstate and State Farm, and I started thinking, we have a lot of markets that will write these classic antique autos on better forms than some of the captive agents, or at least with a better rate, so why can’t we do something like this? Rather than getting a booth in a car show, we decided to host one ourselves and also find a way to give back to the local community at the same time.
We’ve just held our fourth annual Cruisin’ for a Cause car show. We had almost 70 cars there, and we raised close to $1,500 in total donations for the Family Counseling Service of Northern Utah. It was a very successful event. Year after year, we are ecstatic to see the community come together at a car show that benefits a great cause.
We love seeing the look on the faces of people of all ages when they see a car they recognize. It’s like catching a glimpse of a celebrity. We think it’s a wonderful way to give back to the Ogden community, especially since they’ve been so kind to us and have supported us for over 70 years.
IBA: Why do you think it’s important for independent agencies to be a pillar of the local community?
CJH: Competition in insurance is fierce right now. The captive agents and direct players have a lot of marketing power behind them, which is difficult to compete against. We may not be going for a national audience, or even a state-wide audience, but we can still let the community know that we’re here, we’re part of this community, we’re willing to write their business, and we’re supporting local causes.
IBA: How is Heiner’s Insurance adapting for the future amidst such fierce competition?
CJH: I think being involved in the community is extremely important. We also have to educate our clients to let them know we’re not just trying to sell insurance on price or on coverage, but we’re trying to sell them a product that best fits their needs and their situation. The more the client understands that, the more willing they are to trust our judgment in those areas.
