PBN Fastest Growing Companies 2022
1. $250,000 to $5 MILLION: Lathrop Insurance Agency Inc.
CEO (or equivalent): John Lathrop, chairman; Dan Lathrop, president; James Kane,vice president
2021 Revenue: $2.3 million
2019 Revenue: $865,011
Revenue growth: 164.2%
Born from the Great New England Hurricane of 1938, family-owned Lathrop Insurance Agency Inc. in Westerly has been working to design and place the best insurance portfolio to fit its clients’ needs for more than 80 years.
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“Insurance is about protecting people from financial loss at a time where they face their biggest obstacle,” President Dan Lathrop said. “Whether they have just had a fire, a computer hack or a major recall, when people turn to their insurance company it is in a time of need. Seeing people come out on the other side of a claim is the reason we come to work every day.”
Whether there is an issue of insurance being too expensive or coverage challenges that need to be addressed, Lathrop says the company is devoted to finding the right solutions. Once coverage is in place, Lathrop Insurance is there to assist in anything, from delivering certificates to helping track ways to reduce costs.
Lathrop Insurance performed well throughout the COVID-19 pandemic due in large part to something it has been doing all along – focusing on caring for its clients and its employees.
“We kept our employees safe through distancing but without sacrificing client service,” Lathrop said. “We invested in computer and phone systems that allowed our employees to work remotely without our clients ever feeling like they were working with a remote employee. Every employee that worked from home did so with a hard phone, dual monitors and a setup as if they were in the office. When clients called, they were not directed to a voicemail nor an ‘out of office’; they had the same ‘Hello, you have reached Lathrop Insurance, how may I help you?’ that we have always provided.”
That recipe for success appears to be working and then some as the company saw revenue increase by 164.2% last year compared with 2019.
Over the past two years, Lathrop Insurance has placed a tremendous focus on expanding its offerings to better serve clients. From offering an expanded carrier selection to agent training to enhancing digital systems, each of the company’s investments has been focused on enhancing service.
“Our innovation comes from our ability to look at a client challenge and use the tools at our disposal to creatively solve the challenge,” Lathrop said. “We have a real estate investment client that bounced from carrier to carrier for years, with challenges arising from working with insurance programs not well-suited to their needs. By utilizing a platform that was originally designed for banks, we were able to provide a solution to the client’s needs that both covered them correctly and made it easier to do business.”
James Kane, partner and vice president, was quick to echo Lathrop’s sentiments, saying it is the company’s personal service, access to markets and knowledge to anticipate coverage challenges before a claim that really set the provider apart.
“We remain focused on doing what’s best for customers,” Kane said. “For example, cyber insurance has been a huge issue for a few years now. We have partnered with an IT [information technology] security firm to help clients not only be covered correctly, but also to make sure they are compliant with everything they need to continue to run their business in the changing world. It feels good to be the people that our clients count on.”
So, what’s in store for 2023? More of the same, if Dan Lathrop has anything to say about it. In addition to launching new group benefits insurance services, the company has made several new hires and is introducing a new app that will enable customers to track all of their policies from anywhere.
“Lathrop Insurance cares about our employees and our customers,” Lathrop said. “While that is an easy thing to say, we build that philosophy into everything we do. When we recommend a personal insurance package, our agents are trained to recommend the plan that they would purchase if they were put in the same situation as the client. When there are challenges, we strive to provide solutions as if those challenges were our own, and we always recommend what is right for the client.”
