HOWLAND, Ohio – A new Howland Township location will allow Platt Insurance to add positions and continue its growth, says its owner, Ellie Platt.
Business associates, family and friends joined Platt and her employees for a ribbon-cutting and open house Sept. 15 at the agency offices, 389 Niles-Cortland Road NE. Platt Insurance acquired the building in June 2021 and moved there in May after about $350,000 in renovations to the property.
“We’ve been in Howland for several years now but it was always a dream and a vision of mine to consolidate all of our locations into one,” Platt says.
The agency consolidated four locations into the new site but is maintaining its Sebring office.
Platt Insurance offers an array of home, auto, business and life insurance products, including a specialization in farm insurance. “Everyone in our agency is farm-certified,” Platt says.
She says sales grew by 20% after her agency shifted two years ago from being a captive Nationwide agency to offering products from multiple carriers.
The shift reflects a national trend, according to Limra, an insurance industry research firm. In 1998, affiliated producers outnumbered independent producers 195,000 to 119,000. As of 2018, about 60% of the approximately 332,000 licensed life insurance sales professionals were independent producers.
Being able to offer products from more than one carrier for personal and business lines allows Platt Insurance to offer better services to its clients. “We now have some options. If their rates change, we can look at other carriers,” Platt says.
Platt founded the company 11 years ago.
Pictured at top: Employees on hand for the ribbon cutting are, front row from left: Cindy Rudinsky, Kristy Johnson, Ellie Platt, Jake Platt (owner’s son), Amelia D’Angelo, Becky Lohr and Trumbull County Commissioner Frank Fuda. Back row: Elizabeth Moran, Connie Fauvie, Rosalie VanCamp and Kate Guesman.