SMALL BUSINESSES:

SPECIALIZED NEEDS

Call 828-396-5453

to evaluate yours

     Dennis A. Benfield is a multi-licensed associate agent of Nationwide Insurance and a brokering agent for a variety of small business coverages. He works from two office locations: (1) Nationwide agent Jeff Kincaid’s office at 16 1^st Ave. NE, Hickory, NC, (adjacent to the Hickory City Hall parking lot, downtown one block north of the railroad, also facing Center St.) and (2) the Benfield home, between Granite Falls, NC, and Hudson, NC.

     Dennis can help most customers with auto, homeowner’s, life and other personal lines of insurance through Nationwide, one of the country’s major insurance carriers and THE top property and liability company in North Carolina with approximately one-third of all P&L policies written. He promises: “If I can’t save you money, or improve your coverages, I won’t even ask you to do business with me.”

     Recently, Dennis and Jeff have begun writing health insurance policies with North Carolina’s fastest-growing carrier, Wellpath from CoventryOne. Generally, Wellpath plans run about 15% less in cost than comparable plans from Blue Cross/Blue Shield, once the state’s top provider. Dennis and Jeff can write individual, family or small business group plans that offer rates guaranteed yearly, plus benefits equal to those of any of the top insurance plans.

     The lines Dennis writes most are personal and business life insurance and all types of small business coverages—general commercial liability, workers’ compensation, business property, including buildings and automobiles, etc.

     In the late 1990s, Dennis was assistant fleet manager for a Ford dealership in Hickory, where he sold cars, pickups, vans, SUVs and heavy-duty trucks to a wide variety of small-business people: carpenters, plumbers, electricians, carpet layers, painters, even horse transporters. When he retired from the Ford store because of bad knees, Dennis began covering many of the same “Mom and Pop” small businesses with appropriate insurance. His current clients include families in businesses as diverse as farm equipment sales and services, a restaurant, used car sales, accounting, antique clock repair and swimming pool contracting.

      On the rare occasions when Nationwide underwriters believe a potential customer is outside the company’s target market, Dennis and Jeff have a number of top-quality insurance “brokers” they call on to get the right coverages for their clients with first-rate insurers at competitive prices. 

      The best thing about having Dennis as your insurance agent is his accessibility. Even though “semi-retired,” he wears his cell phone from early until late, seven days a week. As his schedule permits, he answers that phone days, nights, weekends, holidays—even on vacations, because clients usually don’t know when he’s not in town. The only number you'll ever need for him is 828-396-5453, which follows him and rings his cell phone.