Stockwell Keeping Newtown

In Good Hands With Allstate Acquisition

By John Voket

In the insurance and financial services arena, success often hinges on being in the right place at the right time to deliver the level of service clients require. It also helps when you are looking to acquire a business whose brand and management are among the most well known and respected in the local marketplace.

Such was the case when longtime Allstate agency owner Michael Snyder decided to retire from the shop he established in town a quarter century ago, leaving the company where he worked for 44 years. That is where Newtown native Peter Stockwell, a banking and financial services professional, comes in.

“They say timing is everything,” Mr Stockwell said during a recent visit with Mr Snyder at the local Allstate office on South Main Street. “I had been looking for an Allstate agency for three or four years.”

“Peter knew I was about to retire and he approached me,” Mr Snyder said.

Coming from a career where he was familiar with all aspects of banking, retirement planning. and financial services — some of the lesser-known services provided under the Allstate brand — Mr Stockwell came into the new business ready to learn more about what Allstate is so well known for: home and auto insurance.

Mr Stockwell said he quickly came to appreciate the corporate philosophy behind delivering those core products.

“You know a lot of companies have commoditized home and auto,” Mr Stockwell said. “It’s all about the low price until it’s time to make a claim. Then the client often learns how much of the legwork they have to do themselves.”

But at the local Allstate office, if an insured needs to make a claim, or has a question, it will generally be Mr Stockwell, his wife and partner Jennifer, or their agent Michael Davis who will answer the call — in person.

“You won’t be getting the runaround pushing all kinds of buttons on your phone,” Mr Snyder added.

Peter Stockwell may have acquired his proficiency with numbers from his mom, Sandra, a CPA who is a partner in the local firm Stockwell & Bates, and his desire to help educate clients about ways to maximize their financial security from his dad, George, a retired local teacher.

When it comes to one of Allstate’s most well-known lines, auto coverage, Mr Stockwell said he offers four different packages. He said the Platinum plan is a favorite among families with younger drivers because it provides accident forgiveness, safe driving bonuses of up to five percent back every six months there are no accidents, as well as a reduced deductibles.

“But when it comes to those 800 guys and a lot of the web-based insurance programs, our lowest-tier program is the best they offer,” Mr Stockwell said.

He typically shops homeowner clients among 12 to 18 different companies to find the best fit, and often helps clients save even more by combining their home and vehicle coverage.

“We offer aggressively priced policies for those with no [history of] claims,” he said. “And we have a range of clients from $4 million estates to small cottages and condos.”

Mr Stockwell is also happy to talk to clients about boat, motorcycle, RV, business, rental and even life insurance coverage.

“We do lots of life policies, which is probably our best kept secret,” he said. “We have a variety of options for individuals who are ready to retire — annuities, mutual funds, brokerage accounts — we access a variety of products, which are not all exclusively Allstate products.”

When he took over from Mr Snyder, Mr Stockwell took over almost 800 household accounts and several thousand policy holders throughout Newtown and the region, but he said the company will be in “growth mode” for the foreseeable future. Then, maybe five years down the road, Mr Stockwell will be ready to branch out into an additional office, or merging with another local agency.

“We are keeping our primary focus on Newtown, both those who live and work here,” he said. “We’ll never be a call center, just a full service financial services agency with extra competitive prices.”

While the service side of the Allstate business has not changed from when Mr Snyder became an Allstate agent in 1966, the way the agency does business sure has.

“When I became an agent in Delaware back in 1966, each of my customers’ information was on a 3 by 5 card,” Mr Snyder said. “We considered it a big move to modern technology when we transferred all those cards to microfiche. But even today with all the computer technology and instant access to global information, it still all comes down to the quality of the face-to-face interaction with your clients.”

“For me it was about owning my own business, but with a big name on the sign, and I wanted to do it in Newtown,” Mr Stockwell added.

Looking toward the near future, Mr Stockwell said he is looking to expand the types of services offered to accommodate the broadest range of local client needs.

“As a small business owner, there are probably other services that would compliment the agency,” he said. “My family has owned a local accounting firm for 25 years, so it’s not hard to envision that type of service as one of our future business offerings.”

To learn more, contact Mr Stockwell in person or by phone at the Allstate agency located at 85 South Main Street, Newtown, 203-426-8080, or e-mail pstockwell@allstate.com.