Insurance industry thrives in region

Area agents say that the insurance industry in Northern Colorado, like the region itself, is growing and marked by competition.

“It’s very competitive, right now; whether you’re in Loveland or Fort Collins, it just seems that right now it’s a very competitive marketplace,´ said Vicki Pitmon, an Allstate insurance agent and owner of Pitmon Insurance Agency in Loveland.

“Every year we keep adding policies and getting larger,´ said Bill Leary of the Leary Agency. “I started this eight years ago as a one-man operation and now there’s four of us,” he said of the Farmers Insurance agency he owns in Windsor.

Pitmon’s and Leary’s comments reflect Colorado Division of Insurance statistics describing the industry here. According to the division’s 1999 Colorado Insurance Industry Statistical Report, insurance companies wrote more than $16 billion in premiums that year. In 2004, the latest year for which statistics are available, premium totals grew to more than $24 billion.

The industry is a force in the labor market as well.

In 2004, according to the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment, there were 3,984 insurance agencies statewide employing 36,465 workers with wages just over $2 billion. Larimer County accounted for 218 of those agencies, employing 885 workers with annual wages of $35 million. Weld County’s 144 agencies employed 1,909 workers in 2004.

The average weekly wage for insurance workers in Larimer County, during 2004, was $782. Weld County insurance workers did slightly better than their Larimer counterparts last year, earning average weekly wages of $828.

The state’s most recent statistics, as of third quarter 2005, show growth in the industry. Statewide there were 4,095 insurance businesses as of September 2005. In Larimer County the number of businesses had grown to 222, employing 865 people at an average weekly wage of $767. Weld County was home to 149 insurance businesses employing 2,320 people at an average weekly wage of $763.

Industry growth

Bill Leary has seen exponential growth in the insurance industry since he first came to Windsor from Denver. “When I came to town I think there were probably a total of four to six agents in Windsor. I think we’re probably pushing 14 to 16 at this point,” Leary said.

He chose Windsor because it looked like a growing, thriving community.

“When I became an agent, I tried to pick an area that had growth potential,” Leary said. He figures that’s probably been a magnet for others in the industry as well. “I think it’s just really the potential.”

Leary’s agency offers auto, home, life, health, long-term care and commercial and workers compensation insurance products. Most of his non-commercial customer base calls the Fort Collins area home. Commercial customers are spread between Fort Collins, Loveland, Greeley and Windsor.

He looks for continued growth and competition in the market. “I think the next area that we’re going to really see take off is Timnath. I think Windsor may slow down a bit and take a back seat to Timnath.”

Leary added he wouldn’t rule out opening a satellite office in Timnath at some point.

The state department of labor, too, predicts growth in the insurance industry in Northern Colorado. In its Occupational Employment Outlook for the Colorado labor market, information for the Fort Collins/Greeley area shows base employment of 1,340 in 2002 growing by about 4 percent to 1,940 in 2012. The bulk of average annual job openings in the sector will be due to growth in the industry.

Competitive environment

Vicki Pitmon says residential growth fuels her business, as well. “The community is growing, there are more people to insure, more homes to insure and so forth. For us it’s an awesome business to be in right now.”

There are ups and downs, of course, Pitmon noted. “What causes us more damage or more problems is hail. Because we’re in a hail belt here in Colorado, that’s usually the kind of catastrophe we have.”

It was hail, in fact, that introduced Pitmon to Loveland. Before launching her own insurance agency, Pitmon worked in the Allstate claims department. A damaging hail storm in Loveland in 1990 brought her to the town to process claims. “I came from the claims department and fell in love with the small, friendly community.”

Both Pitmon and Leary say they work hard to offer high-quality customer service in the competitive environment that colors their industry in Northern Colorado.

To compete, Pitmon said, “you provide the service and you explain the coverages and make sure they understand just what their coverage does for them. … We can sit here and quote people all day, but we want to make sure they understand what they’re getting for that quote.”

Leary said he stresses the importance of good customer service with his staff every day. “In this environment, the thing that separates us from everyone else is us. We’re the ones who have to provide the experience for the customer, meaning customer service.”

on Facebook on LinkedIn