About Us
Stevens Insurance Associates
Protection from Life’s Uncertainties
Our staff is friendly, hard-working, eager to serve your insurance needs, and one of the most knowledgeable and experienced groups of people in the insurance business. Click here to see information on individual staff members.
Our History
In 2001, Tom Stevens decided to take his 47 years of insurance experience and form a new insurance agency here in Chattanooga along with his son Chuck (Tom, Jr.) so they could write insurance their way, with a personal focus on individual needs. That little agency has now grown into a staff of 8 and 1000+ clients. The staff has over a century of cumulative insurance experience. In addition to qualifying for licenses, some have distinguished themselves even further by earning such prestigious professional designations as Certified Insurance Counselor (CIC), Certified Insurance Services Representative (CISR), and Certified Professional Insurance Agent (CPIA).
The agency protects some of the finest contractors in the area, and as those businesses have grown so has the Stevens agency. Today the agency and/or its key personnel are licensed to provide coverage in a dozen states, but the focus remains on personal service.
Independent vs. Direct Writer
Some insurance companies like Allstate, Geico, and State Farm are “direct writers” which means if you want to purchase insurance from one of them you go to that company’s office (or website, if you don’t care about personal service). The agent you deal with is an employee of that company and can only sell that company’s offerings. Furthermore, the insurance employee represents the insurance company, not you the buyer.
Other companies like Auto-Owners, EMC, Grange, Selective, and State Auto provide their products through independent agencies such as ours. We are not owned by any insurance company but are locally owned and operated. Our staff is employed by our agency, not any insurance company. Therefore, when you come to us for insurance we are not constrained by a particular company’s offerings but can shop your needs among a number of companies to find the program with the protection and price that is just right for you. We might place coverage for a new driver in Georgia with one company, but place coverage for a senior citizen’s home in Tennessee with another company, according to what’s best for the client.
Further, each company knows it has to treat our customers right since we, unlike direct writer agents, have the option to place the business with another company if the company’s rates or claims service gets uncompetitive. This independent relationship keeps the insurance companies honest. They know they will lose our business if they do not pay the claims fairly or if pricing gets inflated. With a direct writer, the agent is an employee of the insurance company and really can’t do much about a claim problem a customer is experiencing, or a large price increase. This is also why most business owners buy their insurance through an independent agent rather than a direct writer. Therefore it can truly be said that as an independent agent, WE WORK FOR YOU, OUR CLIENT, AND NOT FOR ANY INSURANCE COMPANY.