Van Meter Insurance Group

www.vanmeterins.com

History and Future Strategy of Van Meter Insurance

Van Meter was founded in January 1977 by William “Chip” Van Meter. The organization was primarily set up to be a Property and Casualty Commercial Agency specializing in the forest products industry. Van Meter Insurance started out as a one producer organization with two account managers. Due to aggressive growth the organization moved to a new location on Ashley Circle in Bowling Green in the early 80’s where the agency grew to eight Property and Casualty producers.

In 1983 Van Meter started a Benefits division made up of one producer focusing on group benefits for commercial organizations. In 1985 a P & C marketing department was established to allow for additional focus on growth and retention via development of relationships with markets. In 1989 the intern program was established, and is still utilized today. Development of future producers begins as early as the Sophomore year in college. Also, in 1990 the bond department was formed, helping us establish Van Meter as a construction focused agency.

In 1991 a Chattanooga office was established that was moved to Nashville in 1993 to focus on the Tennessee region. Also in 1993 Van Meter purchased Burnett & Associates in Lexington Kentucky which consisted of four Property and Casualty producers.

In 1994 we moved to the current location at Fairway Drive in Bowling Green into a newly built office. In that same year, we opened the Owensboro office primarily to focus on Owensboro and Southern Indiana.

Employers Risk Services, a Third Party Administrator, was formed in 1995 in support of the Kentucky and Tennessee Forestry Association. The addition of this company gave Van Meter an advantage in the market place by offering services like loss control and handling of Worker’s Compensation claims.

Van Meter was purchased by Synaxis Holdings in March of 2000. Synaxis was made up of five other agencies throughout the Southeast. At this point in time Van Meter was producing $7 Million in revenue.

Synaxis was purchased by First Tennessee bank in January of 2002 as part of an effort of the bank to be “all things financial” to its customers. Van Meter was the only organization whose footprint did not overlap with the banks current or future locations. Van Meter’s revenue, at this point, was in excess of $9 Million.

A major milestone was accomplished in December of 2002 when the agency broke the $10 Million in revenue threshold. This was accomplished through the development of producers and a continual focus on growth and retention. Van Meter has separated itself in the marketplace through retention of employees, which is a direct result of the culture at Van Meter.

Currently we have in excess of $12.5 Million in revenue and are comprised of twenty-two producers. Five of these producers are in our Employee Benefits department with the remainder focused on P & C. The current leadership assumed control in 1999 when Mr. Van Meter retired from the business.

Van Meter is extremely excited about becoming part of Houchens Industries. Partnering with a local organization will allow Van Meter to penetrate the market place at a much greater pace. The current management team is growth focused and will continue to take great pride in the organization’s client relationships.

Our future growth will be driven through focusing on specialized industries and individual accountability. The business will be driven primarily, but not limited to, construction, manufacturing, healthcare, energy, transportation, and hospitality segments. Our management team is focused on ensuring the individual success of our clients and employees.