Featured Agency: M & M Insurance Agency

Featured Agency: M & M Insurance Agency

For more than 30 years, M & M Insurance Agency has operated with a unique business model and challenged themselves to offer unprecedented customer service. Robert Havens, Molly Newman and Joel Tolliver founded the agency in 1992, combining more than 25 years of agency experience to create a one-stop shop for their clients.

When coming together, their goal was to partner with quality carriers to bring their clients quality coverage and service. Today, all three co-founders still lead the agency with the same goal of offering unprecedented customer service. For each of their clients, M&M Insurance Agency completes an annual review to examine their needs and ensure their coverages are necessary and correct. They also offer risk management education during this review and throughout the year.

“We know we are achieving our customer service goals,” says Molly Newman, Vice President. “We are proud of our client retention rate, which is close to 95%. We also get a ton of customer referral business because of our service. Word of mouth is huge for us.”

M & M Insurance Agency, Inc., is located in the small southern Illinois town of DuQuoin. About 90 miles southeast of St. Louis, DuQuoin is home to the DuQuoin State Fair, World Trotting Derby and the Southern Illinois Governor’s Mansion, which provides ample commerce for M & M Insurance to build their book of business, which they say is approximately 70% commercial. They are the largest producer in the Prairie State Cooperative Program and insure more than 50 Illinois Public School Districts. 

They are also licensed in 12 states and are stockholders in Associate Risk Managers of Illinois. They credit much of this success to consistent leadership and partnerships with carriers. 

“Even now, 31 years later, everything we do is decided on by vote,” Newman says. “We decided that on day one, and we continue to do so because it has worked for us.”

Columbia Insurance Group has been one of M & M Insurance Agency’s consistent partnerships, as it was one of the first carriers to partner with them. 

“Columbia has always been a professional and stable company we can count on,” says President Rob Haven. “Between offering quality products and superior claims service, we trust placing our clients with Columbia. We also appreciate that they are committed to independent agents and helping us grow.”

Over the years, M & M Insurance Agency and Columbia have enjoyed a profitable relationship that is steadily growing. M & M Insurance Agency has reached Pinnacle status 10 times. 

“The one consistent thing in our industry is that it is a relationship business,” says Regional Vice President Shelly DeVore. “We work hard to build relationships with our agency partners, just as M & M does with their clients. Having the longevity and success we’ve had with Rob, Molly, Joel and their team is a testament to those efforts.” 

M&M Insurance Agency and Columbia look forward to continuing their mutually beneficial relationship as they navigate the future together.