Services
Brewing up coverage for the Beer Industry
Entrepreneurs in the beer industry have precise needs, and agents who fail to recognize that fact may leave their clients open to business-destroying gaps. The solution is an independent agent like Stromsoe, who has a thorough understanding of the industry and can design a customized program for each member of the beer trade. “Customers benefit because the agency is dealing with the same industry the majority of the day, day in and day out,” he says. “So the agents are much more knowledgeable about the unique needs of the industry. We speak their language.”
That goes for everyone on Stromsoe’s team. Their focus is on understanding their customers’ industries and then focusing exclusively on their goals and what’s important to them. The agency philosophy and an important key to its success is the “The Three P’s”: People, Processes, and Promotion. Have excellent people serving people. Install world-class processes and systems to serve people. Promote the people you serve in every way possible.
Serving people starts by helping them understand safety, risk management and their insurance coverage, all designed to provide the best value for their hard-earned money. It’s about protecting your brew and bottom line. That’s actually another reason having a niche insurance agency can be beneficial. In a recent interview with a beer industry magazine, team leader Mike Stromsoe shared “When an agent truly grasps your business, he or she is able to better negotiate with the industry on your behalf. You receive better protection at the lowest cost.”
The biggest mistake people make when searching out and buying business insurance is placing their livelihood in the hands of somebody who doesn’t get their industry. It’s like going to a dermatologist for heart surgery; maybe the doctor can do it, but they probably shouldn’t.
It’s ALL about the beer, respect it and protect it.
Who We Are
BeerLoversInsurance.com is a passionate mission of California-based, nationally acclaimed, independent agency Stromsoe Insurance Agency. Here did the passion start? Here’s the back story: When other kids were obsessed with the latest teen idol or sports star, Mike Stromsoe was lining his childhood bedroom with empty beer cans. He was too young to drink them, of course, but when his dad finished sampling a new brew that had just come on the market, the can went straight to his son’s collection. As an adult, Stromsoe has harnessed this interest in providing complete insurance services to companies involved in the beer insurance industry.
A Childhood Dream Comes True
Growing up in Fremont, about an hour outside of San Francisco, Stromsoe learned about more than beer from his dad; he also learned that there are no shortcuts in life. At age 12, he asked for a job in his father’s restaurant. His dad agreed under one condition: the younger Stromsoe had to work harder than anyone else or he would be fired. “It was my first lesson in ‘hard work equals income’,” he recalls. “My dad instilled an unrelenting work ethic that’s still present today.”
After high school, Stromsoe decided to rely on that work ethic rather than additional formal education. He ended up back in the restaurant business, but after his kids were born, the long hours of the restaurant industry became less appealing to the enthusiastic new father. By that time his own father had changed careers—this time to the insurance industry. Stromsoe once again joined his dad at work, beginning a three-decade (and counting!) love affair with insurance on December 1, 1986. “Almost every day I feel like I’m just getting started because this industry continues to challenge me with its many moving parts,” he says. “In addition to that, it’s extremely competitive, and we have to continue to educate ourselves to remain at the top of our game.”
Today, Stromsoe is Team Leader at Murrieta, Calif.-based Stromsoe Insurance Agency. It may not be far geographically from where he started, but it’s a lifetime in terms of business evolution. In 1986, for example, there were no computers; he learned with paper, pencil, and a calculator and figured every quote by hand. It was difficult, he admits, but Stromsoe wouldn’t have had it any other way. “I learned the intricate details of how coverage works in an insurance policy,” he explains. “This knowledge will never leave me and is becoming rare in today’s insurance world.”
In a happy union of two favorite pursuits, Stromsoe and his team have been able to combine their passion for insurance with their lifelong interest in beer by specializing in niche coverage for every sector of the beer industry—from microbreweries to distilleries—through BeerLoversInsurance.com, a dedicated insurance facet. It’s a labor of love, sure, but providing comprehensive insurance for this specific market is no different than covering any other niche: the details make the difference.
It’s ALL about the beer, respect it and protect it.