Business

Business for a Better World: Iverson Allstate

Posted December 09, 2022 12:00 am

Iverson Allstate

12271 Walker Road, Lemont, IL 60439

(630) 296-2436

iversonallstate.com

Industry: Home, Auto, Commercial, and Life insurance

Number of employees: 4

An interview with Virginia Iverson, owner of Iverson Allstate

Q: Describe your company.

A: During the pandemic, teaching physical education and health to high school freshmen on Zoom inspired this single mom to switch careers.

The similarities from teaching my students about the importance of safety in health (physically, emotionally, socially) and having insurance coverage is prevention. Prevention is key.

If you have the coverage that is modified just for you and your family, it will prevent you from economic and emotional hardship.

Our team - four ladies and one gentleman - work from a storefront in Homer Township, where people who need help with insurance can stop by and talk to a real person when they need one.

We exclusively sell Allstate Insurance, specializing in home, auto and business insurance in Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin and Michigan. So, you know, you're in good hands.

Q: Do you plan to hire any additional staff or make any significant capital investments in your company in the next year?

A: Even though we're just getting started with our first office in Lemont, our client base has grown faster than our expectations. While capital investments are not in our future, we do expect to hire additional staff as our customer base continues to grow.

Q: What will your company's main challenges be in the next year?

A: After the last few years, this much I know: No matter what the world throws at me, I'm going to keep moving forward and keep doing my best. I've got a great team that feels the same. Our clients know they can count on us.

Q: What's the hottest trend in your industry?

A: As the popularity of solar roofing systems rises, we've found homeowners have a lot of questions about how going solar might affect their insurance policy. And we have answers.

Q: Does your company donate time or money to any philanthropic causes?

A: I believe in all charity being local. I grew up in the South suburbs. I've lived in Chicago, Charleston and Rockford. Our office is in Lemont. We donate time and money to support DOVE Inc., a Chicago charity that supports women and families affected by domestic violence. And, now and then, our team visits residents at the Lemont Nursing and Rehabilitation Center. They love it when we bring sweets.

Q: What do you do to make your business a good place to work for your employees?

A: The reason we have such a great team has everything to do with having a community-forward mindset. It starts in the office. We work hard. We support each other. Not only that, but we get paid well to work together. For me, that makes for a fulfilling work life.

As a women-owned business, we're mindful of maintaining a commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion.

Q: Do you have a business mantra?

A: Our mantra here is, "Pro Persona," which translates from Latin to "for the person." As insurance agents, we are protecting the two most valuable assets people own: their home and their automobiles. Without excellent coverage, the average family would be financially devastated by a serious auto accident or any major loss to their home. It's our job to be there for people. That's a responsibility we take extremely seriously.

We have a team that consists of: a customer service manager, whose ultimate goal is being as helpful to our customers as possible, and she succeeds; and four licensed sales producers, including a truly iconic office manager, Ashley Sands and Sydney Monday, keep us on our toes with their "Gen Z hip vocab."

Q: What is one interesting fact about your company that most people may not know?

A: As someone who went to planning games for a job to owning an insurance company, I obviously still like to have fun.

At the office we create time for play. Whether it be music, a bingo game or random shenanigans.

One of my favorite quotes is, "You can learn more about a person in an hour of play than a year of conversation."

I'm convinced a happy and fun work environment equates to satisfied customers.

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