Weber Insurance Agency prepares for move out of downtown Farmington

Sept. 09--FARMINGTON -- Weber Insurance Agency is preparing to move from downtown to the former TD Bank building on Wilton Road this month.

The agency has been at 190 Main St. for more than 50 years.

Owner Mark Cote and staff of four are excited and so are customers, Margie Powers, customer service representative, said Monday.

The move is expected to take place near the end of September or when renovations to the building are finished, she said. The building is at 670 Wilton Road next to Bouffards Furniture Store.

The availability and visibility of the Wilton Road site appealed to Cote, who recently purchased the building left by TD Bank last November.

It will provide more space, more parking and convenience for customers, she said. Customer reaction so far has been about 80 to 20 percent in favor, especially because of the parking, Powers said.

There's also something new that will be added to the current business at the site, she said.

"It's a secret," she said, that will be revealed soon in a mass mailing to customers.

The new location will offer two private offices, she said.

The company has a long history of providing insurance from sites in downtown Farmington. It started out as the Voter and Knowlton Agency with an office above the JJ Newberry Store where Mills & Mills Law Firm is located. Romanos Weber became a partner in 1927, and the company name was changed to Weber Insurance Agency in 1929.

Gordon Clifford, Weber's son-in-law, joined the firm and became an associate partner in 1949. He purchased the business in 1958. A few years later, the business moved to its current location next to the post office.

John Pound owned the company from 1986 until Cote purchased it in 2006, Powers said.

The Kingfield branch of the company merged with the Farmington office in 2012.

Cote purchased Powers Insurance Agency of Farmington, which was owned by Margie Powers, in 2011.

He also owns Advantage Insurance Services Inc. in Rumford and is a partner with Bessey Insurance Services LLC in Turner.

abryant@sunjournal.com

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