Two years ago, Barney &Barney (B&B) celebrated something that few independentinsurance agencies get to enjoy; its 100th anniversary. Started in1909 by brothers Phillip and Lorenze Barney, B&B has become oneof the oldest independently owned insurance companies in thenation. Despite dealing with the many challenges a century oldcompany may encounter, B&B has a proven history of overcomingthose obstacles and has grown from one location in San Diego tothree locations in California with about 420 employees.

The brothers’ father, George Barney, who was in the real estateand development business, suggested that his sons join theinsurance industry. The Barney brothers sensed a growingopportunity in San Diego to sell fire insurance and wanted to getin on the ground floor of selling automobile insurance.

B&B’s mission today remains the same: to be a full-serviceagency and support the community in every way possible. "Our marketstrategy is to invest and create the feeling that Barney and Barney‘is everywhere’ in the communities in which we operate," said PaulHering, CPCU, managing principal and CEO of B&B. "Some of thishappens from marketing and advertising, some from social media buta lot from our people being out and actively engaged in thecommunity."

Related: Read the article "IIABA Names TopPerforming Agencies in Best Practices Study."

In 2008, B&B merged with Saylor and Hill, a 75-year-old firmin the San Francisco Bay area. Over the years revenues havesteadily increased, and this year revenues are expected to be morethan $82 million, Hering said. The agency splits its revenue evenlybetween personal and commercial lines. In the past decade, theagency has experienced an 18 to 20 percent increase in growth eachyear, despite being faced with the effects of a troubledeconomy.

"We have certainly felt the impact of the soft market in P&Cbut we have been very fortunate," Hering said. B&B’s successcan be attributed to the value-added services that it provides forits clients—such as claims management, risk management, safety andloss control, wellness, actuarial, ERISA, legal and enterprise riskmanagement.

B&B also offers specific practice groupson executive liability, technology/life science, schools/education,construction, healthcare, clean technology, community associations,real estate, hospitality and retirement services/wealth management."These practice groups help differentiate us in the market, as wecan bring a deep understanding of the clients business that otherscannot," Hering said.

B&B’s property-casualty carriers include Travelers,Chubb, Hartford, Zurich, Zenith, Chartis, ACE, Hanover and AIX;Aetna, Cigna, United Healthcare, HealthNet, Humana, MetLife andUnum for benefits. As far as reaching new clients, B&B’scommunications team works hard to build a multi-faceted marketingstrategy with the objective of being perceived as being"everywhere."

The agency participates in the IIABA Best Practices survey andhas been a member of Assurex Global for more than 25 years. Lastyear IIABA named B&B as the top-performing U.S. firm in thelarger broker category. More than 1,200 independent agenciesthroughout the U.S. were nominated and only 224 qualified for theaccolade. B&B was among 35 to 40 top-performing agencies in oneof 6 revenue categories. In its corresponding revenue category, sixagencies were noted as top-performing agencies.

Related: Read the article "Assurex Announces NewBoard."

B&B management understands that for its clients to becompletely satisfied, its associates need the most efficient tools.B&B uses Terrace’s Agency Broker System ABS for largecommercial and benefits operations, along with Vertafore’s agencymanagement system and Microsoft CRM. The agency’s management teamstays close to what is going on in the organization, and has aninnovation initiative that allows associates to suggest ideas andsolutions that will benefit the company. B&B’s internalsuccession plan has held up, with 37 owners that activelyparticipate in day-to-day business operations. Investing in youngtalent is a tactic that B&B is proud of as well. "We hired two‘producer trainees’ right out of college. Today, those people areowners of the company. We intend to grow the company but we arealso committed to preserving the culture of the company and notlose sight of what made us a great company in the first place,"Hering said.

B&B has gone above and beyond to serve itssurrounding communities as well as its clients by regularly hostinginformative events. In September 2011, the agency hosted a waterprevention seminar centered around claims and unique water losssituations as they pertained to homeowners’ associations. RobynThaw (director, community association practice, B&B), AndrewMinor (Fireman’s Fund Insurance), Marjorie Hansen (SERVPRO), RobSherry (Fireman’s Fund Insurance) and Yvette Green (risk and lossadvisors, B&B) served as a members on the panel.

Other ways B&B serves its surrounding communities is TheBarney & Barney Foundation. Created to commemorate its 100-yearanniversary, the foundation hosts fundraising drives to raise moneyand provide grants to local charities.

The foundation’s main event is the "Rock the Foundation" benefitconcert that helps support local charitable organizations. B&Bassociates nominate charities from within the surroundingcommunities that the company operates and nine charities areselected to receive grants at the event. The concert is a privateevent held for nine recipients and those who have contributed toraising money for the cause.

Related: Read the article "NU ‘Agency Of Year’Winner Raises Cash For Charity."

Last year’s Rock the Foundation concert was held at the Del MarThoroughbred Club and was a great success. More than 450 peopleattended and the Barney & Barney foundation raised $175,000 viaticket sales, underwriting support, opportunity drawings andauction items. This allowed B&B to give $100,000 to the BurnInstitute, Neighborhood Healthcare, New Alternatives, the San DiegoNatural History Museum, and Voices for Children, THINK Together,YMCA of Orange County, Alameda County Community Food Bank and theEast Bay Center for Performing Arts. Since the foundation wascreated, B&B has contributed more than $500,000 to localcharities.

Although much has changed since 1909, B&B manages to keepsight of the big picture. "In the 102 years since our inception wenow have a larger parking lot and no longer have a post to whichyou can tie your horse when you get to work," Hering said. "At theend of the day, it comes down to having the best people who arecommitted to tending to clients’ needs. B&B is a great firm ina great industry and I know I speak for many when I say how luckywe feel to be part of this great company."