Personal Lines Profiles

Lawley Service Inc.

p:Buffalo, N.Y.

Owner(s)/principal(s): William J. Lawley Jr., Christopher D. Ross, Michael R. Lawley

2006 personal lines premium: $61 million

No. of personal lines insurers: 15

Lawley Service Inc. resides in downtown Buffalo, N.Y., on its local main street, Delaware Ave. The agency, founded in 1955, provides personal lines insurance for Buffalo’s 900,000 or so resident business owners, executives and the general public through eight office locations.

Lawley has grown its personal lines book through mergers and organic growth during the past five years, reports Fred Holender, director of strategic initiatives. The agency provides real-time comparative quotes for personal lines customers, and reports that what it likes most about the personal lines business is the lines stability and predictability, as well as profitability.

Holender says, what Lawley likes least about the personal lines business: “Consumers tend to treat personal lines as a commodity.”

The biggest challenge today in the homeowners market, he adds, is insuring property insurance in coastal areas (Florida, Carolinas, Long Island, N.Y.). For auto, it’s the commodity perception among consumers.

About $2 million of Lawley’s sales are derived from personal umbrella products.

Holender says three keys to the agency’s success in personal lines are: exemplary customer service; large number of carriers that provide alternatives to a variety of consumers; and well-trained, knowledgeable, and caring staff.