By Susan Elise Campbell
CDL Associates Insurance Agency LLC has added a fourth office in Lake Luzerne, only a month following the grand opening of its Glens Falls location.
Prior to May, the agency had its flagship office in Northville and another in Gloversville. The new office is at 4 Bridge St., Suite 2.
From these upstate New York locations, CDL is underwriting a wide range of insurances to clients in 43 states, according to Vic Lange, who co-founded the agency with Heidi Colson in 2009.
“We added 10 employees this year,” said Lange. “The staff is now 21 and 19 of them are licensed agents.”
“That’s it for new offices in 2022,” Lange said. “Now we’ll be making sure everything stays in control and seeing what 2023 brings.”
CDL is a one-stop shop for all kinds of insurance products for individuals and businesses, including life, health, and employee benefits, said the owners. Colson’s experience traverses many lines of insurance, while Lange came out of the trucking business, he said. Consequently, CDL has a niche in writing commercial trucking and transportation policies, plus coverage for automobiles and RVs.
Colson trains staff “from the ground up” with a program that takes months, she said. After working in the agency for a month, new hires are sent to Bryant & Stratton College for a three-week insurance class.
“After the candidates pass the state exam and earn their licenses, they get extensive training with the individual carriers,” said Colson.
The company is an independent agency that works with “14 carriers of standard insurances with access to brokers for special coverages,” she said. “Hometown service is key. We have the ability to look at a policy, evaluate it and communicate with the client about it.”
“We personally review every single policy as it comes up for annual renewal to make sure we are servicing clients the best way possible,” Lange said. This level of customer service has driven the success of CDL and the growth of the agency by client referrals around the country.
In less than two months of operation, Lange said the Lake Luzerne office is heavily trafficked.
The licensed insurance agents who are acting office managers at the Lake Luzerne and Glens Falls locations are Cheryl Stewart and Shelly Munger, respectively.
Visit cdlassociates.org for more information.