That’s What the Nathan Agencies Have Been in Since 1969

The various names can be confusing at first, but make no mistake, the two divisions that make up the Nathan Agences — Amherst Insurance Agency and Amherst Financial Services — are all about making things clear, whether it’s choosing the right property coverage, exploring the various life-insurance options, or figuring out a strategy to carve out a secure retirement. The three principals say they’re just continuing Ron Nathan’s legacy of creating a one-stop shop to bring peace of mind to all stages of life.

Anna Holhut recalls a family with an insurance claim — no, actually, a family with a life-changing crisis.

“They had a fire, and they had nothing, and I had a check for $25,000 the next morning on my desk so they could go buy shoes and socks — and coats, because it was in the winter. They lost everything. Even if you could put a huge amount on a credit card or have reserves, it’s still huge.”

Or the man who, several years ago, had just lost his mother, so he was already in poor spirits when he came home around 9:30 p.m. to a flooded house due to burst pipes. “That night, we had people out there helping him,” Holhut, president of Amherst Insurance Agency, told BusinessWest. “He was overwhelmed, and he was saying, ‘thank you so much.’ But we want to be there, to try to put things in place to help our clients.”

Part of that process, she noted, is teaming with quality companies, from the insurers themselves to home-restoration firms, attorneys, and anyone else who needs to be part of the insurance process, both when the policy is written and when — often sadly — that coverage comes into play.

“We’ve obviously been here a long time and have the networking to get in touch with people in order to help people, and I love to do that,” she said. “That’s what I strive for.”

Glenn Allan, who co-owns the company with Holhut and serves as its vice president, agreed. “Everybody’s going to say, ‘we provide great service,’ but saying it and doing it are two different things. It’s easy to say, harder to do.”

The Nathan Agencies have been striving to meet that standard since Ron Nathan launched the firm — then known as the Nathan Agency and focusing on life insurance and investment products — in 1969. Now celebrating its 50th anniversary, the enterprise actually encompasses two distinct businesses under one roof: Amherst Insurance Agency and Amherst Financial Services, the latter owned by financial advisor Christian Sulmasy.

Sulmasy’s clients run the gamut from young people seeking a basic life-insurance policy or a 401(k), just getting used to saving and financial planning, to people in their 50s deciding where to focus their investment energies and discussing long-term-care insurance, to people in retirement protecting their assets.

“What I’m trying to bring to the table is a more comprehensive approach,” Sulmasy said. “When Ron set this all up, he wanted it to be a one-stop shop, so when a client comes in, it’s ‘let us help you with your retirement, your life insurance, insuring your house.’ It’s more than just, ‘let’s roll over your IRA, and let me manage your IRA.’ Now, we’re doing things like retirement projections. Are you on track? Are you not on track? And what strategies do we employ? That’s what I bring to the table, that comprehensive approach.”

In short, these two businesses under the Nathan Agencies umbrella comprise a lifetime of services for clients of all ages who are looking to the future and wondering how to make it a secure and successful one.

Continuum of Care

When Nathan opened his doors in 1969, Sulmasy said, “he created quite a practice. At one time, he sold a lot of life insurance. He did financial services. He also had property and casualty insurance, all under the Nathan Agencies umbrella. And he even had a real-estate arm at one point, which doesn’t exist anymore.”

In 1979, Nathan purchased the Amherst Insurance and Real Estate Agencies and changed his company’s name to the Nathan Agencies. These days, Amherst Insurance Agency offers property and casualty products, and the Amherst Financial Services Agency provides life insurance, health insurance, and financial-services products through Lincoln Investment.

As Nathan approached retirement, he forged a succession plan to allow the business to continue. In 2012, he sold Amherst Insurance Agency to Holhut and Allan, who had joined the firm in 1987 and 1991, respectively. Sulmasy came on board in 2014 and struck a deal to purchase Amherst Financial Services in 2017.

Holhut and Allan mainly serve individual clients, though a growing commercial-lines practice serves a range of companies, with niches including the home daycare market. “Those are people a lot of companies have difficulty insuring or don’t want to insure,” Allan said. “We’re more of a personal-lines agency than a commercial-lines agency, although we’re trying to grow the commercial aspect of the business.”

No matter the client, Holhut said, customer service is a particular point of emphasis. “I would say we run our business like a family business even though we’re not related. It’s the customer service to our clients; we really strive to go the extra mile for our clients. We have receptionists answering the phone when you call. It’s a very friendly, upbeat staff.”

Allan agreed. “We try to ensure that, when people are left messages, they respond in a timely manner. That’s the biggest complaint we hear from people coming from other agencies — ‘oh, they never got back to me.’ We never want to hear that about our staff.”

Technology has driven plenty of change in the insurance world; Holhut and Allen have both been around to witness the total changeover from paper files to electronic ones, and how that has affected speed of communication and response times between agents and customers — not to mention the ability to respond to a need from anywhere.

“Heaven forbid we had a tornado or hurricane and we couldn’t be here. I always want to be able to set up somewhere we can help our clients. And we can put things into play to do that,” Holhut said. “Because that’s when you need somebody — when something bad happens.”

Again, it’s that message of relationships and personal service, which she said customers can’t get from direct insurance writers on the internet.

“We look at people’s policies, and we’re astonished at the limits. When something happens, they find out they have only $5,000 worth of property-damage coverage and they did $25,000 in damage. There aren’t many cars out there worth only $5,000. So it’s a matter of educating them,” she said. “When people are purchasing something online, they’re just pushing buttons, and they’re just going for the lowest price, and the lowest price isn’t always the best. Maybe you get it cheaper, but you don’t have the coverage you need when something happens.”

Or, as Allan put it, “are you buying a price, or are you buying the coverage you need?”

Education is a big part of Sulmasy’s job, too, whether it’s helping small businesses navigate health-insurance offerings or explaining to individual clients what goes into hybrid life-insurance policies, which offer both a health benefit and help paying for long-term care. Or, of course, teaching people why it’s never too early to plan for retirement.

“People are becoming more wise to it, but for every client that wants to move forward, there are two or three who need a push,” he told BusinessWest. “It doesn’t have to be a full estate plan — it could be basic things like a will, healthcare proxy, or power of attorney. At the very least, getting those in place is important.

“Everybody’s different,” he went on. “Some people kick the can down the road: ‘I’ll deal with it next year.’ With them, my role would be to motivate them or push them in the direction to do what’s in their best interest. I can’t make them do it. I’m not an attorney — I can’t draft up a will for them. But we have some relations with estate planners in the area, and where appropriate, I try to at least let them know these are people I’ve done business in the past and have a comfort level with, and if they want to pursue it, I can certainly help them with that.”

Cradle to Grave

Holhut said her division of the Nathan Agencies also has strong rapport with the attorneys and realtors it works with. “We have the reputation of getting the paperwork to them correct and on time. They don’t want headaches. They don’t want to hold up a closing. It’s important. And we stand behind our reputation.”

Meanwhile, an active blog on the agency’s website educates the public on how to mitigate risk with seasonally placed articles on topics ranging from ice dams to kids going away to college.

The two sides of the Nathan Agencies often refer customers to one another, recognizing that, together, they can help people through numerous stages of life, which is something Ron Nathan always prioritized. “A lot of people say they do it,” Allan said, “but we can actually do it.”

Sulmasy, for one, enjoys the aspect of his job that helps people find security and peace of mind.

“I used to be in the corporate world, struggling to find my social footprint on this earth,” he said, adding that he wanted to make a greater impact on society. But it was a failing economy that gave him the kick he needed.

“I was laid off from my last corporate gig in 2008, when the market was plummeting,” he said. “But I was able to figure out what I want to do for the rest of my life. I made the jump into financial planning, where I could still rely on my financial skill set I’d accumulated, but, at the same time, help people in a more meaningful way than I was in the corporate world. And that’s been totally gratifying for me.

“That’s why I got into the industry — I wanted to help people,” he added. “I believe this is a relationship business. I feel like the relationship is equally important as the financial advice and guidance I and my team provide. Knowing it’s about relationships and knowing I’m trying to help people, it’s been a great fit, and I haven’t looked back.”

Holhut looks back, in some ways — like when she finds she has served multiple generations of a family.

“We watch the kids grow up, then they have kids, then the kids are driving … it’s crazy,” she said. “I enjoy that. I’ve always said I love what I do, because I love the people.” u

Joseph Bednar can be reached at [email protected]