Rey Insurance: Taking Their Agency to the Next Level
By Kelly Donahue-Piro
Family and insurance tend to go hand-in-hand but for the Rey sisters, Laura and Linda, they take running a family-based business to the next level. The dynamic duo purchased the agency from their father in 2013 and have relentlessly pursued agency growth ever since. Rey Insurance, in Sleepy Hollow, NY, focuses on personal and commercial insurance and continues to service the growing Hispanic population in their community. While they may be in Sleepy Hollow, these two entrepreneurs are the opposite of sleepy!
Neither Laura nor Linda ever imagined working in insurance. Watching their dad start the agency they thought, “Nope, not for us!” It wasn’t until Laura wanted to start a family that she realized that maybe there is something to the insurance lifestyle. At the time, she was working a 60-hour work week in an accounting position and thought the insurance business would offer her less stress. She chuckles today when she thinks about that and comments, “Boy was I wrong. Ever since I’ve been licensed, it seems to be a whirlwind of activity.” Linda graduated college and immediately moved to Atlanta and started working for a reinsurance corporation. She moved to get out of New York and didn’t look back thinking she would never work in the family business. She remembers calling her parents to say she was coming home. Her father suggested that she work at the agency. She actually tried to sell phone book advertising. That is how uninterested she was about insurance. Today, she is coowner with Laura. Linda comments “No one ever grows up wanting to be in insurance, but you fall into it somehow and once you’re in it, there’s a lot of good reasons to pursue it.”
The agency has been bestowed many awards for things such as being a familyowned business, the agency’s growth and their community support. Both Linda and Laura have great advice for other familyrun insurance agencies. They both are very intelligent, bright, and hard working women but they are very different too. Laura comments, “when working in a family business you have to focus on each other’s strengths and trust your partner. Coming from an accounting background, I always look at the numbers. Linda has taught me to take calculated risks and trust it will provide a return. Knowing we have different strengths means you can trust your partner’s judgement in their stronger areas.”
Linda recommends family-run businesses start talking about a long-term succession plan that everyone agrees to, or at least agrees to disagree. Everyone’s priorities for how the business will eventually be transferred and to whom needs to be addressed. “Without a plan, each partner’s strengths and weaknesses can easily take over and then no progress happens. The plan helps guide your decisions and goals, when you know where you need to be in five years you think through the tough decisions and investments. When you are only thinking about next month it can absolutely paralyze you.”
The sisters had a slightly different view on the challenges in the industry. Linda sees a big challenge in finding bright, talented, passionate team members who want to work for a small local insurance agency. “We have to compete with the New York City market- place and it can be hard to find dedicated workers. Our model has been to hire and train people; however as the business has grown it has become a challenge finding licensed rockstars. They are either looking for an inflated salary or don’t have the credentials to back up their requirements.”
Laura views that the biggest challenges are the advent of new and more aggressive competition. “The direct writers are everywhere, we can’t get away from them even when we want to. Meeting the needs of the new consumer while combatting big competitive forces can be exhausting. However, I am encouraged by people wanting to shop local and those who want to come see us, we welcome them with open arms.” Both sisters note that their biggest accomplishment has been double-digit growth since taking over the agency. Keeping the momentum of growth going has been a great focus of the partnership. The agency is committed to serving its customers by investing in a mobile app so customers can connect with their carrier and the agency at their convenience. Laura and Linda are both extremely proud of their new website that is not only representative of their personality but also keeps with the ever-increasing need to be mobile friendly. They’ve also invested in enhanced Search Engine Optimization features. The team comments that since they are so close to New York City, there are always people coming and going, so for those new people moving into the area we need to be easily found.
The two sisters are quick to comment that running a business with your family is not always easy. Sometimes family dynamics slip into their business relationship. The two always try to protect their two relationships: sisters first, business partners second. When the two start to mix, they back away from any decisions and rethink the scenario with a clear mind which includes discussing it with an objective third party professional. Running a business with family presents a whole new set of challenges, however when you meet the Rey sisters, you can understand that those challenges are equally met with a partner who cares more about the other’s success than their own. When you find that, you will obtain growth beyond your imagination.
