Kasmann Insurance Agency Celebrates 95 Years
- photo by Sadie Thibodeaux
Many firsts happened In 1923. The Yankees played their first home game at the original Yankee Stadium. Time magazine published their first issue. And Norris Sampson founded Norris Sampson Insurance Agency, now known as Kasmann Insurance Agency.
Sampson’s grandchildren, brother-and-sister duo Bill and Shannon Kasmann, run the agency together. The independent insurance agency provides the most common types of personal and commercial lines of insurance: property, casualty, health, and life.
They work with insurance providers to offer their clients the best-fitting policies. Because they’re an independent agency, they don’t work for a specific insurance provider, which lets them research providers and policies in order to best guide and advise clients.
Kasmann Insurance is also local, which means when problems or questions arise, clients can stop by the office and speak with someone face-to-face. They make themselves available to clients, and that’s what makes their agency stand apart from others, Shannon says.
This year, Kasmann Insurance is celebrating being in business for 95 years and remembering the values Norris put in place: integrity, family, and community.
Living Out Their Core Values
Integrity has been a guiding principle for the agency since its founding, which is why their work is completed in an honest and ethical manner by agents who are experienced and well-known in their industry.
Being a family-run business is also an important value to Bill and Shannon. That is why they are proud to be the third generation running the agency.
“My family built a great, successful business, and I was really fortunate to come into something that was working so well already in the community — good, established name and great location,” Shannon says.
Building Out Relationships With Clients
The agency has been able to make lasting, personal relationships with clients. Bill and Shannon credit these relationships as the key to their lasting success as an agency.
“What has made us successful is the relationships that we’ve built with our clients. A lot of our accounts we’ve had for many years and several generations of families,” says Shannon. “Our customers appreciate having the security of knowing that we’re always going to have staff here that are very well-experienced and are going to be taking care of them.”
Bill has said in the past that, “because we see our clients so often, through all stages of their lives, we build lasting relationships. We really get to know our clients when they have kids, buy a new house, or start a new career. It makes our jobs so enjoyable when we get to visit with folks about everything, not just insurance.”
And with a 95-year legacy, clients know that Bill and Shannon care about the community.
Giving Back to the Community
Not only has the agency maintained an office in Boone County since its founding, but Bill and Shannon look for ways to support their community outside of the services they offer.
Every year, the agency sponsors and provides volunteers for the Memorial Day Salute to Veterans Air Show and Second Chance Animal Rescue. Both Bill and Shannon love animals; it’s not uncommon to see one of their dogs, or an employee’s, in the office.
Although the faces of the company have changed throughout the years, the values have remained the same. As the company has continued to change and grow, its reputation in the community has never faltered.