“The fires hit us and our clients extremely hard with losses. We fed hundreds of fire victims at our office during the first two weeks of the fire, and some of the people were saying that it was the first hot meal they’d had in three or four days.”—Rob Daer, evp, chief administrative officer
George Petersen Insurance Agency has won the Best Insurance Brokerage award the past seven years, leaving no doubt as to how highly they are regarded by their customers and NorthBay biz readers. And now they can add the 2018 Best Company to do Business with in Sonoma title to their trophy room. “Being awarded the Best Company to do Business with in Sonoma is a huge honor,” says Robb Daer, evp and chief administrative officer at George Petersen. “The award is bigger than the Best Brokerage because there are so many amazing companies in Sonoma County. The fact that we were chosen means so much.”
Daer has been with George Petersen for the past 24 years and is an instrumental part of a team that has shaped and evolved the company into the high performing industry leader that it is today. Having collected so many Best of the North Bay awards over such an extended period of time, back to when the awards were first introduced, George Petersen Insurance Agency is not a company to rest of it’s laurels. Longevity and sustainability clearly indicate that they have the foresight and ability to adapt and change, integrate new ideas and concepts, and grow in size and maturity. Daer contributes much of their success and ability to thrive in a shifting environment to the George Petersen family focused culture and their employees. “We continue to hire good people, give them the best training and industry education that we can, and strive to provide an environment where people can utilize their strengths and have an opportunity to grow,” he says. “We understand that life is much more than insurance and we allow a lot of flexibility with our employees so that they can be active at their kids’ school, games, and events. Our employees back each other up and it’s important to us to nurture an environment of respect. We make it clear what the expectations are and we don’t micro-manage people.” This culture of caring for each other as a family provides a platform of stability allowing the firm to alter the course, integrate new ideas, purify what works, and evolve.
George Petersen’s culture and responsiveness was greatly exemplified during and after the turmoil of the wildfires last October when they improvised and quickly catered to the needs of their clients as well as the community. Says Daer, “The fires hit us and our clients extremely hard with losses. We fed hundreds of fire victims at our office during the first two weeks of the fire, and some of the people were saying that it was the first hot meal they’d had in three or four days. Our main goal was to serve as a resource for anyone who needed insurance help—or just help—and many of the people coming to our office were not even clients of ours.” With the track record of success and being awarded both the Best Insurance Brokerage and Best Company to do Business with in Sonoma titles in 2018 by the NorthBay biz readers, it wouldn’t be surprising to anyone if many of those non-clients eating a hot meal in their office during and after the wildfire are now part of the George Petersen Insurance Agency family.
