This year six agencies in all received top honors as a Best Agency to Work For. The Best Agencies to Work For in 2012 include: Bryan Insurance Agency, Graham, Texas; Meyer & Cook Insurance, Walnut Grove, California; Walker Myers Insurance & Risk Management, Austin, Texas; Herbie Wiles Insurance, St. Augustine, Florida; Hausmann-Johnson Insurance, Madison, Wisconsin; American Insurance Services, Clark, New Jersey.
Insurance Journal wishes to thank the many customer service representatives, account executives, producers, managers and other agency staff who took the time to nominate their independent insurance agency in this year’s survey.
Good Reputation by Doing the Right ThingSt. Augustine, FloridaHerbie Wiles Insurance
Many independent agencies give back to their community, but Herbie Wiles Insurance (HWI) in St. Augustine, Fla., has taken that to a new level by donating its whole building to the community.
In 1966, agency founder and CEO Herbie Wiles bought a vacant, old house and renovated it for an office, turning an eyesore into a landmark. In 1980, the agency expanded by buying the house next door and joining it with the original office. By 2007, even that doubled space proved inadequate for the growing business, so Wiles built a new home for its business on its location. But it did not destroy the old place; it donated the historic structure to the city and paid to move it to another site, where it now is a museum.
The agency with its 28 employees serves St. Augustine and neighboring northern Florida communities including Jacksonville and Orlando. The agency writes about $28 million in premium per year
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