By Elizabeth W. Pearce

▲ L to R: Joe Ferrara, Financial Services; Melissa Huff, CSR; Anna Terpstra, agency manager; Mickey Huff and Joe Huff, agency founders; Jason Huff, president; Bonnie Heffner, associate agent/Fort Myers; Karina Rodriguez, CSR; and Jeff McCoy, associate agent/South Fort Myers.

Since 1979, Huff Insurance in Fort Myers has weathered the sorts of storms – both natural and manmade – that have forced many of its competitors out of business. Now celebrating its 30-year anniversary, Huff Insurance has six Southwest Florida locations and a sunny outlook on future growth.

The multi-line independent insurance agency provides a wide array of property, casualty, life and financial insurance products to residential and commercial clients in Southwest Florida.

One key to Huff’s longevity has been its ability to adapt to changing times without straying from the fundamentals. According to Jason Huff, agency president and CEO, that means putting the customers’ needs first at all times.

“Everyone thinks we just write policies and handle claims, but that’s only part of what we do,” he said. “Much of our time is spent working with customers, reviewing their coverage and making sure they are adequately insured against risk.” Doing so is a bit more complicated than it was when the agency was founded three decades ago.

The Early Years

Huff’s parents, Joe and Mickey Huff, originally opened the business as a Nationwide Insurance agency. Named Joe Huff Agency, Inc., it occupied 700 square feet in a building at the corner of Woodland Avenue and U.S. 41 (a site now occupied by Walgreens). Because of its Nationwide affiliation, the agency enjoyed access to unique products and superior pricing, making it a preferred insurance source for commercial clients, including condominium associations. In fact, many of Huff Insurance’s current clients first became customers as condo unit owners.

During the 1980s, the Huff’s company grew into one of the largest Nationwide agencies within the organization, winning numerous awards for customer service and production. To accommodate its rapidly-growing customer base and workload, the agency gradually expanded its staff. In 1989, Jason Huff joined the agency full time and became a Nationwide agent the following year.

By 1990, the company’s name had been changed to Huff Insurance Agency, Inc., and its staff included associate agents Bonnie Heffner and Steve Rupprecht. But growth was a double-edged sword. “The computer system at the time took up much of our back room because we had so much data to store. And even though we’d already taken over the entire building by then, we were running out of room for our paper files.”

In 1996, Huff Insurance moved for the first time since opening and expanded into a building on New Brittany Boulevard in World Plaza.

Strategic Moves

The new century heralded new opportunities for Huff Insurance, including a change of command and another relocation in early 2001. With Jason Huff at the helm and his parents poised to retire the next year, the agency moved to its current and most high-profile location to date on University Drive, across from Edison State College and the Barbara B. Mann Performing Arts Hall.

The move to the iconic University Park area “put the agency at the forefront of the financial district. Our goal was to be involved in the community surrounding the office and advertise within that community,” said Huff. In conjunction with the move, the agency added a d/b/a as Huff Insurance & Financial Services and created a logo to build a recognizable brand. “This worked extremely well and helped the agency grow in a very short time.”

Being in the desired location also helped the agency adapt to the demands of ongoing growth, changes in technology and changes in the industry that had been brewing in the wake of Hurricane Andrew. Like many companies, Nationwide stopped renewing policies on high-exposure buildings, including the many high-rise condos insured by Huff along the local coast.

“That changed the (insurance) environment,” said Huff. Ultimately, Nationwide stopped writing homeowner policies in Florida altogether. However, it allowed its agents to write that business with other carriers; a practice that has since extended to other types of policies, as well.

“I could see what was happening in the industry, with Nationwide and felt it important to start operating like an independent agent.” Immediately, he upgraded the phone system and purchased computer servers designed to run independent agencies’ management systems.

New Hires, Locations

With the proper technology in place, Huff turned his attention to the agency’s expansion. “The concept was to hire associates who would promote themselves and their businesses in the communities where they live and work.” His first associate agent hire was Jeff McCoy, who now runs the South Fort Myers office, formerly the Bob Casey Agency. (Nationwide awarded Huff Casey’s agency contract upon his retirement in 2007.)

Meanwhile, Huff also promoted Bonnie Heffner to associate agent in charge of the University Drive office and Steve Rupprecht to commercial associate. And when another Nationwide agent in the area introduced Huff to Jose Rodriguez as a possible associate agent, Huff recognized a rare opportunity to reach a largely untapped market. “After meeting Jose, I knew he was the one to help us expand our services to the Hispanic market,” said Huff.

Others followed (see box), including Huff’s sister, Donna Torrent, an administrative assistant, and niece, Melissa Huff, who works as a customer service representative.

The “H” Word

By 2004, the agency had become a well-oiled machine with a staff of 10 working from three locations. Their expertise served the agency well after Hurricane Charley blew ashore on August 13^th. “Other than the no-name storm of 1979 and a few close calls, no hurricane had ever hit Lee County.

“Even though we didn’t get devastated, we felt it. It was a real eye opener for a lot of people,” Huff said. “What’s more, it was a big service time for our agency; I think we all learned a lot in the process.”

That knowledge came in handy a year later, when Hurricane Wilma hit. Although Huff’s agency had few claims from the storm, it continues to deal with changes in underwriting guidelines that typically are revised after every major land-falling storm.

At the same time, the threat of future storms has given Huff and his associates a platform for working more closely with clients and finding ways to lower their premiums. In addition to reviewing their coverage, agents often identify programs or discounts that could slash their customers’ rates. In the last 15 months, for instance, the agency has refunded more than $2 million in premiums to its customers through wind mitigation discounts.

The Forecast

In 2008, Huff became an independent agency. Although it still represents Nationwide, the independent status allows Huff Insurance to place business with other carriers as needed.

“From a commercial business standpoint, they (Nationwide) will write newer buildings of up to $1 million in property,” including retail properties with contents, said Huff. The agency also is contracted with 40+ carriers (those who issue the policies for homes, condos and commercial) and has access to excess and surplus lines through numerous brokerage houses.

“Before, we had one company and therefore, fewer options to offer. Now, we have many choices, so if one company doesn’t have the best product for a particular client, we can move on and explore the possibilities from another company.”

While this is good for the consumer, it can be time-consuming for agents, particularly when underwriting guidelines are constantly changing. “You can’t turn a price around in 10 minutes on the phone for a commercial risk,” said Huff. “Insurance is a specialty business, like medicine or law. With the ever-changing political environment, regulatory changes and range of products, it would take too much time for most consumers to research what coverage is available.”

Consequently, Huff and his staff spend much of their time conducting research and consulting with customers, discussing their needs and advising them how best to protect their lives, property and possessions. “Especially with commercial, you have to study each risk, understand the characteristics and exposures of each risk and make sure that you put together a package that not only meets the customer’s specific needs, but that is competitively priced.”

Putting customers first has helped Huff Insurance build a customer base of more than 10,000, who in turn continue to provide a steady stream of referrals.

“In this business, credibility and longevity create (an agency’s) reputation, so you have to stay on top of things as you build your agency. How you treat your customers can make or break you. You have to do the best you can do to give them the right price and the right product. That’s something we’ve learned even more as an independent.”

Huff credits the agency’s associates for its success and says they’re the key to its future prosperity. In coming years, he plans to open offices in Bonita Springs, Miramar, Naples, Punta Gorda and Port Charlotte, and will consider extending the agency’s reach to other parts of Florida and beyond. -

Huff Insurance & Financial Services

Based in Fort Myers, Huff Insurance serves its clients from offices throughout Southwest Florida that employ a total of more than 20 associates and staff. The agency now has six locations managed by the following agents.

• Fort Myers/University Drive (333-HUFF): Primary Agent Jason Huff (Private Client Group Services); Bonnie Heffner (personal lines); Steve Rupprecht (commercial lines); and Joseph Ferrara (life, long-term care, Medicare supplements and fixed annuities).

• South Fort Myers (267-9333): Jeff McCoy

• North Fort Myers (997-0066): Jose Rodriguez

• San Carlos (333-1295): Gil Almonte

• Port Charlotte (333-1254): Amy Lerner

• Lehigh Acres (333-1255): Tania Vega

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