Russell Bond sets up Mass. office
A new presence in Massachusetts is helping a Buffalo insurance wholesaler expand.
Russell Bond & Co. Inc. opened an office in Southampton, Mass., its second new bricks-and-mortar site in under a year. The company, based in the Ellicott Square Building downtown, opened an office in Hamilton, N.J., this summer.
“We had been doing business on a multistate basis, but in our industry, we need people on the ground to really make an impact,” said Kurt Bingeman, owner/president.
Founded in 1950, the company offers insurance brokerage services with access to specialty and high-risk insurance markets in most states. In addition to its three offices, the 52-person company has employees who work remotely from home in Syracuse, Charlotte, N.C., and Richmond, Va.
The two new offices have led to several hires and promotions in the Buffalo office, as well installment payday loans. This year’s budget calls for several more new positions.
“We like to be prepared and we like to invest in having enough people,” Bingeman says.
“But on the other hand, you have to be cautious you’ve got enough business to warrant those positions,” he says.
Though the company saw a decline of 4 percent last year – its first down year in 28 years – January was “exceptional” and brought in record numbers. Bingeman says the new offices are helping balance declines in some parts of the business and are the reason he projects the company will grow 10 percent in 2009.