Longtime broker finds opportunities abound

5TH PLACE 
CEO (or equivalent):  Natale P. Calamis, president and CEO 2013 REVENUE: $41.2 million 2011 REVENUE: $34 million REVENUE GROWTH: 21%
5TH PLACE CEO (or equivalent): Natale P. Calamis, president and CEO 2013 REVENUE: $41.2 million 2011 REVENUE: $34 million REVENUE GROWTH: 21%

When manufacturer James Starkweather and insurance professional George Shepley decided to join forces back in 1879 in an attempt to change the way people in Rhode Island thought about insurance, little did they know the impact they would have in the state.
Focusing initially on commercial liability, bonding and transportation insurance in 1900, Starkweather & Shepley Insurance Brokerage Inc. started selling auto insurance around 1900. By 1958, the company became the largest independent agency in Rhode Island with 75 employees. Three years later, Starkweather introduced personal homeowner policies. Over the years since, the agency has acquired other insurance agencies and further expanded by also focusing on organic growth.
Celebrating its 135th anniversary in 2014, today Starkweather & Shepley Insurance Brokerage Inc. has nearly 200 employees, an expected $43.5 million in revenue this year, and offices in three states – Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and Connecticut – with a new branch set to open in Florida later this year.
“We employ changes to adjust to an ever-changing business environment. Our expansion into Florida is just one example,” said Natale Calamis, president and CEO.
The agency, also recognized as one of the PBN’s 2014 “Best Places to Work in Rhode Island,” recently formed a real estate practice group, to complement its other areas of expertise.
“We are in a growth mode and looking to expand,” said Calamis. “Additionally, over the last 12 months we have acquired several agencies and are currently working on a number more. We have expanded staff roughly by 17 percent, while increasing business in excess of 15 percent.”

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