 Petro, the owner of Harris-Hodnett Insurance Agency, was busy
arranging his desk area when he and Pat Przykopanski took a moment
to explain that the Harris-Hodnett Insurance Agency has merged with
Downing, Przykopanski, Clements and May Insurance at the Keokuk
location.Przykopanski along with his partner Jeff Clements had
purchased Moriearty Insurance in May of 2010, and the Moriearty
office with Harold Boyer, Brenda Wickline and Gaye Boward relocated to the new
building at 617 Keokuk.
Now, with the new merger and the list of names under one roof and
one entity at the new location, it gave both Przykopanski and Petro
a moment to admit they are not certain what to do, if anything,
about a future name change. Clements and Przykopanski became
partners in Mount Pulaski after Clements bought out May Insurance
Agency and Przykopanski bought out Downing Insurance Agency. Both
Przykopanski and Clements have 30 years on the job, with Petro just
a short bit behind at 27 years. Even though the pair operated the
agency in Mount Pulaski for over 20 years, they still see no need to
make any name changes.
"These names and companies have name recognition in Lincoln and
Logan County, and we don't want to lose that," said Przykopanski
about Harris and Hodnett, as well as Downing, May and Moriearty.
Because of that, the partners have agreed that for now, the names of
the merged companies will all stay the same.
Both George and Pat
also noted that clients will find that the service they are used to
receiving from their respective insurance agents will also remain at
the same high caliber, if not even better.
Now, with all these agents under one roof, there is ample staff
on hand at all times to assist customers with questions, needs and
concerns. And the staff members from the various agencies all have
plenty of experience.
"Everyone can and will help each other," said Przykopanski, with an agreement from Petro.
With the merger, the independent insurance agency has a wealth of
insurance programs available from a long list of respected companies
to help make sure clients receive the best coverage at the best
price. Petro and Przykopanski went through the list of companies
they have business relations with: Cincinnati Insurance, Progressive
Insurance, Auto Owners, MetLife, Travelers, Frontier Mutual, Pekin
Insurance, Grinnell Insurance and Indiana Insurance.
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Petro and Przykopanski laughed when they were asked how long it
took for the merger to be worked out. "About a month," they both
said.
The partners have known each other for years and frequently
talked shop and became friends at the Independent Insurance
Association meetings over the years.
Petro, who became a partner with Gary Long in 1984, noted that
when Long retired a few years back, the former building was far more
than he and his two office assistants needed to maintain the
agency's business, and that helped bring about discussion of the
merger.
Both Petro and Przykopanski stressed that clients need not have
any concern about the merger. In fact, with so many agents and
capable support staff under one roof, clients can look to an amount
of service exceeding their expectations.
[By
MIKE FAK]
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