Two years ago, Barney & Barney (B&B) celebrated something that few independent insurance agencies get to enjoy; its 100th anniversary. Started in 1909 by brothers Phillip and Lorenze Barney, B&B has become one of the oldest independently owned insurance companies in the nation. Despite dealing with the many challenges a century old company may encounter, B&B has a proven history of overcoming those obstacles and has grown from one location in San Diego to three locations in California with about 420 employees.
The brothers’ father, George Barney, who was in the real estate and development business, suggested that his sons join the insurance industry. The Barney brothers sensed a growing opportunity in San Diego to sell fire insurance and wanted to get in on the ground floor of selling automobile insurance.
B&B’s mission today remains the same: to be a full-service agency and support the community in every way possible. "Our market strategy is to invest and create the feeling that Barney and Barney ‘is everywhere’ in the communities in which we operate," said Paul Hering, CPCU, managing principal and CEO of B&B. "Some of this happens from marketing and advertising, some from social media but a lot from our people being out and actively engaged in the community."
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