Award-winning African-American-owned Insurance Agency Reaches 50-year Milestone

April 30, 2012 - PRLog -- HISTORIC AWARD-WINNING AFRICAN-AMERICAN-OWNED INSURANCE AGENCY
REACHES 50-YEAR MILESTONE

Community Insurance Center’s President/CEO Milton E. Moses credits longevity to
hard work/commitment to community

Chicago, Illinois – Community Insurance Center –one of the oldest and largest African-American-owned independent insurance agencies in the nation -- celebrates its 50th anniversary this year.  Milton E. Moses, President/CEO and guiding force behind the agency, made the announcement of this golden achievement.

Moses credits CIC’s ability to survive and thrive in a tough industry as due to the firm’s “excellent customer service, competitive rates, and for having its pulse on the unique needs of the community it is honored to serve.”   Moses said the agency has also weathered financially-turbulent times because it has a strong business vision and a sound business plan.

During its “golden” journey, the firm has received the industry’s highest awards, forged partnerships with insurance-industry giants, scored history-making firsts and gained the trust and patronage of a client mix that includes Fortune 500 companies, churches, small businesses and not-for-profit organizations.

Community Insurance Center has also garnered significant government business from the City, county, state and the nation. One of the firm’s landmark business coups happened in 1996 when the firm was selected by the Democratic National Committee as the Insurance Agency of Record when the Democratic Party held its convention in Chicago.

Reflecting on the half-century achievement mark, Moses recalls with pride that the firm has gone from a basement-based fledgling operation with few clients and few products in 1962; to a world-class firm in a building based on a busy thoroughfare in the heart of the community. The firm is also licensed in multiple states.  Far from the meager products it offered when it was first founded, the firm now provides commercial and governmental insurance programs, auto, life, homeowners, health, retirement plans and other types of investment contracts, loss control and safety engineering services as well as a full array of risk management services.

With a work ethic and top-down commitment to excellence that has become the firm’s signature, Community Insurance has earned some of the industry’s most coveted honors including:

•Marketing Agency of the Month by Rough Notes Magazine.
•The “Big I” Presidential Award from the Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers Association –
•The prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award from the National African American Insurance Association -- it was the first time in the history of the organization that this award has been presented.

Additionally, Moses has shattered barriers by recording the following landmark achievements:
•He was the first African American to serve on the premiere Government Affairs Committee of the Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of America
•He was the first African American Task Force Chairman for the Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of America
•He was the first African American to serve as a Committee Chairman

Among the four-star insurance companies the firm has relationships with are Travelers Insurance, Aetna Insurance Company, Progressive Insurance Company, Blue Cross Blue Shield, MetLife Auto Home, National Life Insurance Company, The Hartford and Safeco Insurance Company. All cover a variety of insurance disciplines including life, health, auto and property.

He is also a tireless advocate for the industry and is in the forefront of the effort to both bring more African Americans into the insurance industry and to make them more professional by mentoring them on strategies that have made him successful.

Community Insurance Center’s success mirrors that of its president. Moses started in the industry as an agent for Supreme Life Insurance Company of America. His reputation as a tireless and results-driven professional brought him to the attention of Alderman Ralph Metcalfe, a principal at Community Insurance Center. Metcalfe was so impressed with his record of achievement that he hired Moses in July 1965 as the agency manager. With sales savvy, a resolve to make customer service a priority and with a commitment to incorporating business-winning policies into the firm, he transformed CIC from an agency on the brink of failure to a success story.

As a reward for his phenomenal triumphs in devising success strategies for the firm he was named president in 1968. Under his inspired stewardship, Community Insurance Center has vaulted onto the business stratosphere.

As the firm celebrates its 50th anniversary, Moses reveals its formula for success.

“At the core of Community Insurance Center’s success is its attention to customer service, its work ethic, devotion to the community, a sound business plan, competitive rates and its independence. These qualities -- combined with the staff’s commitment to its growing customer base -- have helped Community Insurance Center become one of the most prosperous firms in the industry and one of Chicago’s premiere enterprises. On the occasion of our 50th anniversary, I am filled with pride at how far we have come and uplifted that the future is so bright that we expect to continue to thrive for another 50 years.”

The firm welcomes new business and queries and its staff is poised to provide free estimates and prepare a plan that will fit your needs. For more information on Community Insurance Center, log on to www.communityins.com