Nelson Brothers Agency Celebrates 30^th Anniversary

 

Nelson Brothers agency is proud to announce that we have reached a 30 year milestone. Established in 1982 as a scratch agency, we have evolved into one of the premier independent insurance agencies in  Eastern Iowa and Western Illinois! The management would like to thank all of our loyal customers, business partners, friends and family for all of your support over the years! Please read our history, as written by t Michael D. Nelson. President of Nelson Brothers Agency:

 

History of Nelson Brothers Agency

In 1981 I was home on vacation from San Diego and at Lake Cornelia over a few beers I extolled the virtues of the insurance business.  I explained how the dumb companies paid commission again and again every time a policy renewed.

Geoff and Greg had just finished college in Davenport and were working at their first jobs in sales and finance.  Neither was very happy with what they were doing.  It was that day the seeds of the Nelson Brothers agency were sown.

Kaaren agreed that it would be nice to be closer to our families and we began unwinding our ties in San Diego and in June of 1982 we moved back to Iowa.

Geoff and Greg had already started study for their insurance license and when I arrived, I did the same.  It was September before everything was in place and we opened our first office at 3915 Marquette Street in Davenport representing Farmers Insurance Group.

In October of 1986 Scott had completed the requirements to become an agent with Farmers and the Nelson Brothers powerhouse was complete.  I moved to an office in Bettendorf to make room for Scott.  In 1988 we bought our first building at 122 E 15th St in Davenport and all moved together for the first time.

We struggled to make it work in the Farmers system so in 1992 we broke away from Farmers and got contracts from Milwaukee Insurance, Pekin Insurance, Austin Mutual and Economy Fire and Casualty.  We outlasted three of those companies.  Company contracts were difficult to get for a
startup independent agency, but as time went on and we grew.... many companies started to seek us out for contracts.  We continued to add the most desirable regional companies.  Some we tried and rejected as it wasn't a good fit.

We found that in addition to writing business we could also grow by buying agencies and in January 1997 we acquired the Schroder Agency in Bettendorf.  Neal Schroder became a partner in what we rebranded to NBA Schroder to take advantage of the long Schroder heritage dating back to 1913. Geoff volunteered to move to their location and we looked to find a building somewhere near the Bettendorf  Davenport border.  Failing to do that we added on to the 15th and Brady building and moved the Schroder operation in with us.

In January of 1995 we opened the first satellite office in Blue Grass, staffed by then employee Keith Schroeder in a former Dairy Queen building occupied by sparrows.  In September of 2002 we purchased the building at 203 W Mayne and moved the office to that location.

October of 1998 we negotiated the purchase of a small book of Austin Mutual business from the Roy Bayers Agency.

In a bold move in January of 1999 we expanded to Des Moines by purchasing the Dean Graham Agency from his estate.  In July 2001 we realized that this was not going to be a profitable venture and sold the agency.  March 1999, The Lampe Agency was purchased from Mike
and Carole Vaupel and expanded our empire into the Muscatine market.  Keith Schroeder was sold partnership interest in order to manage that location at 218 Walnut St.

It was not long before we were approached by Bob Berry of the Martin Berry agency and after a year of on again off again negotiations the deal was made to purchase in May of 2000.  Wendy Berry-Ball (now Lizama) was issued stock as a part of the transaction.  We moved to their location at 225
East 2nd St.

Lightning struck again in Muscatine and we purchased the small Iowa Mutual book from Sondrol Financial in November of 2000.

In September of 2001 we sold the Davenport office and established our new location at 940 Lincoln Road, Bettendorf where we reside today.

In January of 2002 we purchased the building at 1211 Park Avenue in Muscatine and moved our office to that location.  In July of 2004 we added on to that office to accommodate further growth.

May, 2004.  The Carothers Agency became available and we again bought them and moved that book and staff to our Bettendorf office.

In June of 2004 Geoff Nelson left the agency to take advantage of another business opportunity.  A portion of his stock was sold to Dana Nelson-Holstein and Jen Weitz.  Happily we welcomed Brother Geoff back to the agency in May of 2007 to again restore the original partners.

May 2009. We expanded our footprint to Moline, Illinois by purchasing Insurance Service Q.C. and opened for business at 2604 41st St.

In December of 2010 Neal Schroder retired.  At that time we negotiated our boldest move yet to sell his stock to Caroline, Chuck and John Ruhl of Ruhl and Ruhl Residential and Ruhl Commercial real estate and became the insurance partner of those concerns.  A move which has paid dividends and will continue to help us grow the agency.

August of 2011 we finally convinced Bill Mark of Mark and Sons Agency in Muscatine that it would be in his interest to retire and moved him and his staff to Park Avenue.  We have now combined four agencies in Muscatine.

May 2011.  Pat and Lisa McFarland decided the time was right to join Nelson Brothers and we combined the two offices at 1911 52nd Ave, Moline.

That brings us to the present.  Thirty years.  Nine agency acquisitions............looking for the next opportunity!

The number of natural disasters per year has been rising dramatically on all continents since 1980, but the trend is steepest for North America where countries have been battered by hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, searing heat and drought, a new report says.

The study being released today by Munich Re, the world's largest reinsurance firm, sees climate change driving the increase and predicts those influences will continue in years ahead, though a number of experts question that conclusion.

Whatever the causes, the report shows that if you thought the weather has been getting worse, you're right.

The report finds that weather disasters in North America are among the worst and most volatile in the world: "North America is the continent with the largest increases in disasters," says Munich Re's Peter Hoppe.

The report focuses on weather disasters since 1980 in the USA, Canada, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Hoppe says this report represents the first finding of a climate change "footprint" in the data from natural catastrophes.

Some of the report's findings:

-- The intensities of certain weather events in North America are among the highest in the world, and the risks associated with them are changing faster than anywhere else.

-- The second costliest year of the study period, 2011, was dominated by strong storms. Insured losses in the U.S. due to thunderstorms alone was the highest on record at an estimated $26 billion, more than double the previous thunderstorm record set in 2010.

-- Insured losses from disasters averaged $9 billion a year in the 1980s. By the 2000s, the average soared to $36 billion per year.

Global warming combined with natural cycles such as the El Niño or La Niña phenomena also intensify the risk of severe weather. "This will result in higher natural peril losses and affect not only the onset of heat waves, droughts and thunderstorms but also, in the long term, the intensity of tropical cyclones," the report finds.

Reinsurers such as Munich Re offer backup policies to companies writing primary insurance policies. Reinsurance helps spread risk, so the system can handle large losses from natural disasters.

"We see some trends that are linked with changes in atmospheric conditions, such as more water content in the atmosphere due to global warming," Hoppe says. Additional water vapor in the atmosphere is the fuel for the big storms, he says.

However, other experts take issue with Munich Re's findings. "Thirty years is not an appropriate length of time for a climate analysis, much less finding causal factors like climate change," says Roger Pielke, a professor of environmental studies at the University of Colorado.

Another reinsurer, Axa, isn't quite sure of the link either: "While a clear upward trend arises from the figure with respect to the number of reported natural events, the attribution of this rise to a climate change signal should be investigated very cautiously," the French company says in its report "Climate Risks" released earlier this month.

Atmospheric scientist Clifford Mass of the University of Washington also has a problem with Munich Re's findings, saying that once the data are adjusted for population there is no recent upward trend in tornado or hurricane damages. Also, he adds that there is no evidence that global warming is causing more extreme weather in the USA.

Hoppe, however, says that even if we adjust for population spread and increased property values, Munich Re still says there were significant increases in the costs of weather disasters over the past few years.

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McFarland Budelier Insuarance Agency of Rock Island joined Nelson Brothers agency effective June 1, 2012 and will locate to the new Nelson Brothers location at 1911 52nd Ave., Moline to join the existing Nelson Brothers staff.

Pat and Lisa McFarland will remain on the Nelson Brothers staff to continue to service their existing policy holders.  Nelson Brothers represents many of the finest regional insurance companies and will give the McFarland's many more choice and possible savings to offer their policy holders.

Nelson Brothers Agency maintains offices in Bettendorf, Muscatine and Blue Grass as well as the Moline location and is the insurance partner to Ruhl and Ruhl Realtors and NAI Ruhl and Ruhl Commerical Company

We would like to welcome Pat & Lisa to our fast growing family!

Did you know....

Car thieves peer through the windshield of your vehicle, write down the VIN # from the label on the dash, go to the local dealership and request a duplicate key?

I didn't believe this email, so I called Chrysler-Dodge and pretended I had lost my keys. They told me to just bring in the VIN #, and they would cut me a new one on the spot, and I could order the keyless device if I wanted!

The dealership Parts Department will make a duplicate key from the written VIN # and collect payment from the theif, who will then return to your car.

They don't have to break in, do any damage to your vehicle, or draw any attention to themselves. All they have to do is walk up to your car, insert the key and off they go to the local chop shop with your vehicle.

It IS that easy!

To avoid this from happening to you, simply put some dark tape (electrical tape, duct tape, or medical tape) across the VIN # metal label located on the dashboard. By law, you cannot remove the VIN # but you CAN cover it so it cannot be view through the windshield.

I urge you to tell your friends and family before a theif makes a clean get away with their vehicle!