Century-old Joe McGuire Insurance named small business of the month

In 1911, businessman Bert S. Berry began Berry Insurance Agency. In 1936, Joe McGuire partnered with Berry and renamed the business Berry McGuire Agency. Later on, Berry retired from the insurance business and McGuire took full ownership, officially naming it Joe McGuire, Inc.

For more than a century, Joe McGuire Insurance provided a choice of multiple insurance carriers for Hutchinson residents.

The Hutchinson/Reno County Chamber of Commerce named Joe McGuire Insurance as February’s Small Business of the Month, celebrating their achievements on Wednesday, Feb. 16.

Dave Inskeep purchased the company in 2012 after working for the son of McGuire, Joe McGuire, “not a junior,” Inskeep said, since 1999.

Inskeep said the philosophy of Joe McGuire’s previous owners, and their mentorship for the next owner, provided keys to its success for almost 111 years.

After buying the business, Inskeep said he felt responsible for continuing the business successfully.

“There’s a difference between a technician who can sell the product or do the thing versus running the business,” Inskeep said. “We are a small shop, so often I’m the IT guy, or sometimes I’m the HR department.”

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Focusing on clients

Inskeep said McGuire taught him most of what he knows about the trade of selling insurance but emphasized other things besides the number of sales.

He found his passion in insurance, a line of work that Inskeep described as what some might call tedious or monotonous, but his favorite aspect of helping his clients find the best insurance is getting to know his customers.

“Every situation is unique, and so I try to foster a relationship to where my clients are honest and forthright with their needs,” he said. “Either in their business or personal life, we can help craft something to protect them.”

Inskeep encouraged his clients to know everything about their policies and to understand better how a particular policy may cover different aspects of their lives.

National corporations tend toward an inexpensive, one-size-fits-all option, Inskeep said, but he prefers to educate his clients about the language of policies and sometimes its limits.

“The challenge in my industry is to think broadly enough to cover all facets and to think of every possible circumstance that could occur,” Inskeep said.

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Early into the next new century

Joe McGuire Insurance currently has Inskeep and two employees, including Inskeep’s daughter Brittany Inskeep and Mary Wolf. The three work with multiple businesses, companies and individuals in Hutchinson.

Inskeep said he enjoys the small office since they can work as a team either on larger companies or brainstorm the best coverage for a family farm near Hutchinson.

“We plan to stay here. We’re a 100-plus-year-old agency, and we don’t plan on leaving,” Inskeep said.