The Wellington Chamber of Commerce recently held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for Horace Mann Insurance/Educators Premier Insurance located at 12230 W. Forest Hill Blvd., Suite 103, Wellington. Donna Peterich is manager of the office.
People receiving a paycheck from any school system are encouraged to speak with Peterich regarding discounts they can receive in insurance policies through her company.
Peterich was born and raised in Lakeland and moved to Wellington in 1998. Her education includes a bachelor’s degree in marketing from Auburn University, where she also played on the tennis team. After her graduation, Peterich went straight into the insurance business. “My dad was in the insurance business,” she explained.
Horace Mann Insurance was created in 1945 to meet educators’ insurance needs. The company is based in Springfield, Ill., and currently has 800 agents nationwide with five agents in Palm Beach County.
The company is named after Horace Mann, a strong advocate for the creation of public schools in the mid-1800s. He pushed for both school buildings and trained, professional teachers to educate and discipline unruly children in order to turn them into judicious citizens. Modernizers and the Whig Party approved this idea at the time.
Mann was a politician and served in the Massachusetts House of Representatives, the Massachusetts Senate, the Massachusetts State Board of Representatives and the U.S. House of Representatives. Historians refer to Mann as the “father of the Common School Movement.”
Peterich said that educators are her niche market. Her company provides educators home, auto and life insurance plus annuities. Peterich is also an independent agent, so she writes policies through other companies to non-educators for home and auto insurance as well.
When asked to describe her company, Peterich said, “Number one: I have two gals working for me, and we’re a great team. Christine is a wealth of knowledge. We offer great customer service. We go out of our way to explain coverages and to help customers whether they are going to come to us or not.”
Regarding the homeowners market, Peterich said, “If we can’t help them, we’ll educate them regarding how to keep their rates down with their current company. We have a lot of expertise behind us.”
Regarding educators, “We have excellent discounts for teachers that no other company can provide,” Peterich said. “We have a lot of benefits on the school premises as far as theft and vandalism, reducing deductibles, and things like that for educators. We have special life insurance rates for educators as well. That’s still our main focus.”
Peterich added that Horace Mann Insurance/Educators Premier Insurance is busy helping out in the community. “We provide a defensive driving course for AARP, so those people can get discounts on auto insurance whether they are with us on not,” she said. “We offer those classes right here at the Lake Wellington Professional Centre.”
Staff members also volunteers at schools reading to children. “We want to partner with and help the schools,” Peterich said.
For more information about Horace Mann Insurance/Educators Premier Insurance, call (561) 214-6164, e-mail donnapeterich@horacemann.com or visit www.horacemann.com.
For additional information about businesses in the Wellington area, call (561) 792-6525 or visit the new Wellington Chamber of Commerce web site at www.wellingtonchamber.com.
Above: Denise Carpenter, Barbara Nola, Mark “Boz” Bozicevic, Cristine Clements, Donna Peterich, Jeanie Doriot, Dale Grimm and Carmine Marino hold a ribbon cutting for Horace Mann Insurance.
