MountainOne Insurance Reaches New Heights with Office Expansions

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MountainOne Insurance is hitting the ground running in 2024. While other banks are shedding their insurance agency subsidiaries, MountainOne Insurance, under the leadership of Jonathan Denmark, President & COO, is expanding to two locations in Longmeadow and on historic Main Street in Stockbridge.

As a Pittsfield native, Denmark is no stranger to the different corners of Berkshire County. He returned to

We protect the things that people love the most, whether it's their home, their car, their life, their employees, or their business.

President & COO, MountainOne Insurance

the area at the start of his insurance career in 2006 before taking a leadership role at MountainOne in 2015. "My goal as an insurance agency leader is to be there for our clients," he said. "We protect the things that people love the most, whether it's their home, their car, their life, their employees, or their business."

The roots behind MountainOne Insurance run deep. The agency is made up of a variety of multi-generational insurance agencies that MountainOne has acquired over the years, now resulting in a presence throughout the Berkshires and beyond. Of their seven locations, six are located within Berkshire County. The seventh, their new Longmeadow location, was formerly known as G.W. Morisi Insurance Agency. Each location maintains local insurance experts on staff for the plugged-in wisdom their clients have come to expect.

The latest additions to the MountainOne Insurance team in Stock-bridge were described by Denmark as "two industry superstars," Tim Minkler and Libby Peyron. Minkler and Peyron have both been mainstays in Stockbridge for years; the new MountainOne office will be in the space formerly known as Minkler Insurance Agency, where Minkler and Peyron were both employed.

"The Minkler family has served the Stockbridge community from this same office on Main Street since the inception of Minkler Insurance Agency in 1965," said Minkler in a recent statement. "I've truly enjoyed carrying on the family legacy over the years. And as we enter the next chapter of the Minkler legacy, MountainOne is a perfect fit."

Denmark is particularly excited to have Minkler back as a colleague: "Tim and I worked together at our former employer. We kept in contact, and I'm so thrilled that this was able to work out for everyone."

History or no history, the ties across all branches of MountainOne run deep. Working in tandem with their banking team, MountainOne Insurance is able to anticipate the needs of their clients that may otherwise fall through the cracks. "We're able to see the entire life cycle of a client," Denmark explained. "So, if an individual comes in to MountainOne Bank to make personal deposits and mentions that they're having a child, or buying a house, we are able to recognize that there are other needs that this person has that we can protect."

Communication across offices is especially important when working with business owners. For example, "If someone is working with our commercial lending department or conducting business banking, and they mention the cost of their employee benefits being astronomical, we can bring in our employee benefits specialists on the insurance side to help consult with that client," said Denmark. MountainOne has a plethora of additional products in their wheelhouse for a variety of business clients, from construction companies to real estate developers and investors, and more.

The commercial and insurance teams know that saving time can make all the difference to local business leaders, and having their key players located just down the hall from each other is a crucial part of their strategy. Denmark explained, "There's no distant parent company or home office that complex situations need to be referred out to. We have the decision makers at the table here in the Berk-shires, so that we can help our clients make decisions quickly."

Business owners, and people in the community looking to protect the things they value most, all rely on the wisdom Denmark and his team hold about the current market conditions when facing difficult decisions related to coverage. Now is a particularly difficult time to find the right plan: "The current state of the insurance market is what we call a hard market," Denmark explains. "Insurance prices are high, and the readers of this article know that their personal homeowners and auto policy premiums have all increased, and business owners have also seen their insurance policy premiums skyrocket."

Denmark attributes this to factors like recent catastrophic weather events and post-pandemic inflation forcing insurance carriers to drive their costs up in order to make a profit. The MountainOne Insurance team feels that it is crucial to educate their clients on why rates are climbing while utilizing their resources to create a flexible plan and obtain the best pricing possible.

When MountainOne's expert opinions can combine across insurance, banking, and lending, there is only upside. As Denmark states, "if we're there for the client, everyone's going to win, and everyone's going to be successful." With no shareholders to report to, MountainOne remains locally minded and motivated to reinvest in the community their Mountaineers call home; you'll find Denmark himself out and about often in the Berkshires, whether he's driving his children to their various sporting events, volunteering on not-for-profit Boards, or playing guitar in his band, The Housie Shakers.

With the bank celebrating its 175th anniversary as a Berkshire County based financial institution, entering 2024 with an all-new insurance agency location in south county is a major milestone. "We're very proud to have opened our first Southern Berk-shire County office on Main Street in Stockbridge," said Denmark. "We are thrilled to be able to provide Tim Minkler and Libby Peyron a platform to continue to service those communities, and we're really excited to welcome them to the team."

Peyron shared her enthusiasm in a statement: "MountainOne Insurance

The Minkler family has served the Stockbridge community from this same office on Main Street since the inception of Minkler Insurance Agency in 1965.

TIM MINKLER

delivers a small agency feel backed by a very sophisticated operation, and that's just the right mix for the Stock-bridge community. Furthermore, MountainOne's culture is a great fit for us, and we already feel at home."

MountainOne Insurance's company culture is acclaimed; the agency has been named a top insurance employer by Insurance Business America for three years in a row. "We want to be able to provide an incredible work experience for our employees." said Denmark. "We spend more time with our co-workers than we do with our families sometimes. We want to be able to provide the best benefits and accommodate flexible work situations."

By placing a high value on their staff and encouraging collaboration between departments, MountainOne is able to stand out in their ability to meet client's needs at every corner. And with two significant milestones under their belts before the end of January, there's no telling what other heights they may reach in 2024.

Carli Scolforo can be reached at [email protected],

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