Lipscomb & Pitts Insurance LLC is looking pretty good for 60. The company is celebrating its 60th year in the industry by adding 15 new employees at its headquarters in Midtown this year, and the agency is contemplating possible expansion outside of Memphis through acquisition.
"We're consistently looking for ways to grow our organization," says Johnny Pitts, Lipscomb & Pitts Co-chief Manager, who estimates that nearly 70 percent of the company's business comes from commercial business insurance, 25 percent from employee benefits and 5 percent from the personal market. "We've grown organically through the years here in Memphis, but we're definitely looking at other locations, possible acquisitions in other parts of the country."
Lipscomb & Pitts is thriving today (sales volume jumped 14 percent to $308 million in 2013) after sprouting from a discussion in 1954 between Mathew W. Lipscomb and John Pitts over a 10-cent cup of coffee at a coffeehouse in the Cooper-Young area less than a mile from the companys current location on Union Ave.
"Our fathers built the foundation for what we do now, which is excellent customer service, creative ways of conducting our business and building relationships," says Mat Lipscomb III, Co-chief Manager with Pitts.
Karla Combs, Lipscomb & Pitts Chief Operating Officer, has seen the company grow from fewer than 40 employees when she started 21 years ago to 132 employees today.
"I think this industry is fairly underpublicized," says Combs. "People don't realize how many great career opportunities there are within our industry and especially at our agency."
Pitts expects to hire several new sales associates by the end of the year.
Currently the agency is gaining new business by helping its clients stay compliant with the
Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) of 2010.
"We hired our own ACA compliance director, and her sole job is to make sure our clients are in compliance. It opens the doors of opportunity for other prospects for us to work on their employee benefits insurance programs," Pitts explains.
Lipscomb & Pitts was recently named among the Top 100 agencies in the country by
Insurance Journal, ranking 87th out of more than 38,000 independent insurance agencies.
By Michael Waddell
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