123 Insurance Inc., DBA: Pam Parah-Tobin Agency - St. Albans, VT

123 S. Main Street, St. Albans, VT 05478

http://123insurancevt.com/default.asp

Pamela Parah-Tobin had been in the insurance business for 26 years, working for another insurance company, when the opportunity presented itself for her to start her own business in 2012, “it was just the right time and place,” she said.

In fact, many pieces started to fall into place when she purchased her clients from her previous employer, began her own agency and found a building for her business. “I have a good friend who owned this building. He asked me to move my office in and purchase the location, so I relocated and did just that,” she explained. Naming the company 123 Insurance Inc. came soon after landing at 123 S. Main Street. “It was a perfect situation and made the agency name easy,” she said.

As a single mother for 15 years, Parah-Tobin struggled, doing her best to balance home life and working all the time. She admits to missing a lot as her three boys grew up. Starting her own agency allowed her to “give what I didn’t have: the ability to give flexibility.”

“When I created my agency, my business plan was to help mothers be home with their children more and still have a career in the insurance industry.  So I allow the children to come to work with them as newborns, then give them flexibility to work from home as well as from the office. I stress that raising your children comes first,” she says. Currently, 123 Insurance Inc. is staffed completely by women. “I have four ladies in my office that all have different schedules…I feel this is most important and it can work if the employer is willing to be flexible and the whole team works together to make sure it works.  Communication is the key.  It has [worked well] for almost four years now and I’m sure it will continue,” she adds.

As a broker agency, 123 Insurance Inc. represents 22 different companies and is able to “shop” each customer renewal to make sure their coverage is not only up to date, but that they get the best rate possible. The agency provides property and casualty coverage as well as life insurance and other coverage. While Parah-Tobin says she focuses on coverage and not claims, in one of the biggest agricultural counties in the state, where turkey, deer, raccoons and moose roam freely, things can be a little interesting. “A few people have [had accidents] with bears,” Parah-Tobin admits. Just like deer, black bears sometimes come in contact with cars on local roadways.

Serving customers for 26 years, the agency has a lot of retention due to providing great customer service. “I love what I do. I think people recognize that,” she says. 123 Insurance Inc. almost never advertises due to great “word of mouth” from customers. In a town of a little more than 6800 residents, Parah-Tobin has seen her business grow to nearly 2000 customers, almost doubling since she began four years ago.

Having a passion for what she does makes the work easy for Parah-Tobin and, pulling together her address and her agency name, she conveys in her tag line: “We work hard for you to save you money and give you better coverage...it’s as easy as 123!”