New Allstate Insurance agent settling nicely into the Lincoln community

 

[March 22, 2019] 

LINCOLN 

If you haven’t noticed, there is a new insurance company and agent in Lincoln. John Lambert arrived in Lincoln in August of 2018 to open a new Allstate Insurance office at the Regions Bank at 303 South Kickapoo Street. For the Lincoln and Logan County community, this is a first because up until that time, there has been no exclusively Allstate agency in the community.

For Lambert, coming to Lincoln has been an exciting and rewarding experience. He noted recently that he has a wealth of insurance experience, but in August he was new to Allstate and coming into a new community. His previous experience has been with some very large insurance providers, but he’s always worked on a corporate level.

He served most recently with Chubb Insurance, a large insurance corporation where he held a corporate role. That job required travel and he said with two young children he felt that it was time to stop the travel so as to spend more time with his family.
 

When he decided to become an Allstate Agent he said the next decision was where to open his office. After doing research, he found that in spite of the fact there was no Allstate representative in Lincoln there were a number of clients who were already subscribing to Allstate plans. Lambert said he felt that those customers deserved to have a local agent. He added that as an agent, his outreach is about a 25-mile radius from his office. In Lincoln he was centrally located to reach out to all of Logan County but also beyond the county borders to communities such as Decatur/Forsyth, Springfield, Peoria, Mason City and points in between.

Lambert said that to date the plan to make Lincoln his home base has worked out well and he’s excited about the response he has gotten from those who are Allstate customers as well as those who were not, but are now.

Lambert said from his point of view, his job is all about offering quality coverages and saving customers money. He said as he set up his office, he established a goal of saving local customers $100,000 in insurance premiums in his first year.

Now, about half-way through his year, he estimates he’s hit the $40,000 mark and is optimistic that he will reach that larger goal by the end of his first year. Lambert said the total savings to customers is difficult to establish because it is based on what his new customers tell him when they switch to Allstate, but at the same time, he feels pretty good about the number.

Lambert said that coming into the area. He arrived quietly without a lot of fanfare or promotion. But he said he got attention through word of mouth. He says that he utilizes word of mouth promotion a lot. His customers come in and he shows them how they can save money and still have the coverage they need. Those customers then tell their family and friends, and the next cycle of prospects start coming in to see what Lambert can do for them.

Lambert says that big marketing points are home and auto coverage. He noted that many seeking insurance will start by looking for competitive auto coverage. Then, he’s able to talk to them about building insurance bundles from adding homeowners or renters insurance to eventually covering the motorcycle, RV, or other tangible items, then sometimes on to life insurance coverage.

Lambert said he’s getting a lot of interest in renters insurance and that a lot of folks don’t realize that renters bundled with auto, like homeowners, can equate to some pretty good savings.

He also likes to talk to folks about what they will do with the money they are saving. Of course, he notes that money saved on insurance is money that can go back into our local community through consumer spending. But it is also a time to think about the future and the security that can be offered to loved ones. Through Allstate Life Insurance, Lambert can assist customers in making sure that if something happens to the insured, the family will be provided for.

Lambert enjoys especially talking about one life plan that pays out to beneficiaries with a structured monthly payment. Lambert said he enjoys sharing with his prospects information about the structured payment plan. For some a lump sum payout to beneficiaries is the best, but for others it may not be. For those who have concerns about their loved ones being provided for in the long term, a structured plan will give the insured assurance that a spouse or child will have a consistent monthly income they can count on to help them live. He said the plans are tailored to the customer, and the best way to determine what plan a client should subscribe to is to talk with the agent and figure out what the goals are and the needs of the family, and which plan will best fulfill those goals.

Lambert said that Allstate also offers an income replacement plan that is available through employer participation. The plan can be paid fully by the employee, or the employer may choose to pay all or a portion of the plan on the employee’s behalf. The plan works with small groups to large groups and can also be tailored to fit the needs of the customer from critical care insurance to cancer policies, to income replacement for time off work due to major illness.

Lambert is optimistic about the future in Lincoln. He said that right now, he is operating the agency on his own, but sees that there is opportunity for growth down the road. He noted that within the next few years, he may add some staff, but he intends to always be a ‘hands on’ agent, available to his clients whenever they need him.

If you haven’t met John yet, he’d be happy to have you stop in and visit. In addition to being a new insurance agent in town, he’s very active in his local soccer program in Normal, so stop in and talk soccer, or talk insurance. He’ll be happy to see you!

Lambert’s office is located in the Regions Bank building on the ground floor. The easiest access to his office is to enter the door facing South Kickapoo. Contact John at 217-651-4645.

[Nila Smith]