As it does each year, Travelers recently held its Personal Insurance Leadership Conference to celebrate the company’s top independent agents and brokers from across the country. This year, ten agents from Massachusetts were invited to attend the event held at the Ritz Carlton in Naples, Florida.
The highlight of the annual event is the Agents of the Year Award where the company selects 19 of its top Personal Lines Independent Insurance Agents. Agents selected for this award are recognized for their high achievement in their lines of business, and in particular, for achieving long-term profitable growth for their agencies, dedication to high-quality and personalized customer service and for their commitment to working with Travelers.
This year, Nancy Bender, President of Nancy Z. Bender Insurance Agency, Inc., was named the Agent of the Year for the Massachusetts region. This is the second time Ms. Bender has been named an Agent of the Year during the last 11 years. Ms. Bender, who started the agency in 1978, is clear about the secret of her company’s success: “Our Philosophy is Simple: Customers are our priority.” She says that the announcement from Travelers came as a total surprise and an honor.
Each year Travelers selects an agent from Massachusetts; one of twenty agents selected from over 26,000 personal lines agents nationwide. I’ve represented Travelers since 1978 and it was the first company I represented when I started the agency. For me the award is simply about pride and doing a good job; no different than with any of the companies I represent.
“The Agent of the Year award recognizes business leaders for their proven ability to attain the highest standards of success in our industry through hard work, commitment and the responsibility to do it right,” said Greg Toczydlowski, President of Personal Insurance for Travelers. “We’re proud of their accomplishments and truly value the partnership we’ve developed with them.”
The following is a complete list of this year’s winners of the Personal Insurance Agent of the Year Awards.
Eddie Hebert, Jr., CU Financial Group LLC, League City, Texas
Bryan Costello, Costello & Sons Insurance Brokers, San Rafael, Calif.
Craig Montgomery, Montgomery Insurance Services, Inc., Media, Pa.
LeighAnn Koch, Koch Insurance Agency, Palm Coast, Fla.
Tim Hyland, Agents Helping Agents, Louisville, Ky.
Nancy Bender, Nancy Z Bender Insurance Agency, Inc., Boston, Mass.
Patrick Bain, Long & Foster Insurance Agency, Chantilly, Va.
Bill Mills III, SIA Group, Jacksonville, N.C.
Ted Dyste, Dyste Williams Agency, Minneapolis, Minn.
Jared Carillo, Charles Carillo Insurance Agency, Inc., Windsor Locks, Conn.
Mike Barbara, Otterstedt Insurance Agency, Inc., Englewood Cliffs, N.J.
Jeff Baker, 3-S Agencies, Inc., Gasport, N.Y.
Shawn Webb, Pacific Crest Services Inc., Eagle, Idaho
Greg Ahbe, TAG-The Ahbe Group, Centennial, Colo.
Robert Cox, Select Insurance Markets, Houston, Texas
Jack Bennett, Bennett & Porter Insurance Services, LLC., Scottsdale, Ariz.
Stephanie Cowie, American Benefits Consulting, LLC., New York, N.Y.
JoAnne Murray, Allan M. Block Agency, Inc., Tarrytown, N.Y.
Roxy Wiley, Tennessee Valley Associates, LLC., Madison, Ala.
