Friday, January 06, 2012
 
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Pat Przykopanski (left) with George Petro

Merger and relocation of insurance agencies makes for 1-stop insurance shopping

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[January 06, 2012]  George Petro, Sue Stewart and Barb Wibben have been very busy lately. They have been moving files and other important papers from their old location at 119 N. Sangamon to their new home at 617 Keokuk in Lincoln.

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 and staff then 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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