GoodWorks Insurance Profiled in National Magazine
GREAT BARRINGTON — GoodWorks Insurance is booming while giving half of its growing profits to charities in Connecticut and Massachusetts, according to a profile in the May issue of Independent Agent, the national magazine for independent insurance agents.
When Chad Yonker, a former minority investor, took over GoodWorks as CEO in 2011, it was struggling financially despite growing sales. He recapitalized the firm. “Since then, the agency has more than tripled in size,” the magazine notes.
Based in Glastonbury, Conn., GoodWorks Insurance is an independent agency with additional Connecticut offices in Avon, Columbia, and New Milford, and Massachusetts offices in Great Barrington and Worcester. It’s marking its 10th anniversary this year.
GoodWorks’ corporate charter requires that a minimum of 50% of operating earnings be distributed to nonprofits. Its community grants support local nonprofits that work in education, healthcare, public safety, and community development. They include medical clinics, fuel-assistance programs, visiting-nurse associations, special education, the YMCA, and more.
GoodWorks’ 2015 sales were about $6 million, and the agency expects up to 50% growth for 2016. Yonker and the other agency owners decline compensation in order to boost the profit pool available for giving, according to the magazine. Its commitment to nonprofits has resulted in many growth opportunities.
Besides insuring families and small businesses in general, GoodWorks has special expertise in nonprofits, fuel dealers, aerospace, manufacturers, and surety bonds.
“We’re large enough to provide expertise and market access on par or even in excess of the large national brokers in our key areas of focus,” Yonker said. “We’re also small enough to provide the local, personalized service our customers expect.”
Besides the charitable mission, joint ventures and strategic partnerships with other service providers have spurred GoodWorks’ growth. “We also have won endorsements and endorsement expansions by trade associations in key areas of expertise,” Yonker said.
The most recent GoodWorks Insurance acquisition, Metayer Bonding Associates in Avon, is the largest surety-bond-only agency in the Northeast.
“It adds another critical tool to our specialized growth arsenal,” said GoodWorks Chief Operating Officer Paul Brian. “We’re making a big push to expand our contractor business in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York, and nearby states.”
The full article can be read online at tinyurl.com/j9hua44. The agency’s website is www.goodworksinsurance.com.
