By Dani Salgueiro
Bob and Karen Cavanagh have been in the insurance field since the late 1970s and active members of the western communities since 1986. Residents of Wellington, they operate a longstanding Allstate agency in Royal Palm Beach.
The Cavanaghs have been married for 38 years and have two children, who they raised in Wellington. The two met while working for Liberty Mutual in 1978. “Insurance brought us together and has kept us together ever since,” Karen said.
In the early 1980s, the Cavanaghs began working for Allstate. Bob worked his way up from sales and management and now owns an independent Allstate agency. Karen is a licensed sales associate at the agency. The Cavanaghs provide auto, home, business and life insurance to numerous people in the community.
Since relocating to Wellington from New York, the Cavanaghs have been in the same region serving as insurance providers for generations of local residents.
“Many of our clients have been with us for the 32 years that we have been here. The only difference is that we now insure their kids and their grandkids, too” Bob said.
Many of the Cavanaghs’ clients are referral-based, which Bob credits to their high quality of customer service.
Andrea Vallarella, the agency’s manager, has been working with the Cavanaghs for approximately 17 years, while Rhonda Totz, the agency’s sales producer, is soon coming up on her second year with the agency. Together, the four of them create the type of insurance company that knows and understands their clients individually and uniquely, making clients feel comfortable and secure — which is the Cavanaghs’ primary goal.
The Cavanaghs promise 24-hour customer service, and this, Karen explained, is a serious promise. “Bob has left in the middle of dinner to meet a client at the scene of their car accident,” she said.
The Cavanaghs have solved issues for clients on countless nights and weekends, and even Christmas Eve and while on vacation.
Dutiful customer service is what makes their Allstate agency stand out, the Cavanaghs said. They provide the professionalism and devotion of a big and trustworthy insurance company, but also make it a priority to know and bond with their clients in order to care for them on a personal level.
“People walk through that door, and they’re automatically family,” Karen said.
The Cavanaghs noted that they did not always aspire to be insurance providers. However, through their work in the insurance field, they found something that most people strive for in any line of work: fulfillment.
They were first introduced to this fulfillment when they began helping people whose insurance policies had been previously terminated. They had the opportunity to get people on insurance policies that were fit for their specific circumstances, and, ultimately, help people during their times of need.
Moreover, the Cavanaghs took the fulfillment they found in insuring people and reflected it on to their community. They have made serving the western communities and its people their priority and passion. Their tight-knit Allstate agency in Royal Palm Beach is only one of the many things binding the Cavanaghs to the community they watched grow over the years.
The Cavanaghs have continuously served the community through numerous organizations, such as the Central Palm Beach County Chamber of Commerce, and have done so since the early 1990s. Through the course of that time they have hosted numerous fundraisers for various nonprofit organizations, such as the American Diabetes Association, the American Cancer Society, the American Heart Association, the Diabetes Research Institute and others.
The Cavanaghs’ Allstate ties have also benefited the Wellington community through the Allstate Community Grant. Allstate matches or makes donations to specific charities through their agencies. With the Allstate Community Grant, the agency has been able to provide donations to several organizations, such as the Wellington Community Foundation.
The Cavanaghs strive to provide comfort during times of need. Whether after an accident, after a hurricane or after a tragedy, the Cavanaghs will show up to help. With them, Allstate’s adage of “being in good hands” is not only a marketing slogan, but a promise they seek to keep.
“Claim time is truly the moment of truth, and [for us] that is when clients know that they are in good hands,” Bob explained. “It is very rewarding for us to be able to help and protect people.”
The Cavanaghs’ Allstate Agency is located at 11327 Okeechobee Blvd., Suite 4, in Royal Palm Beach.
The agency is open from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday and from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Friday.
For more information, call (561) 798-3056 or e-mail rcavanagh@allstate.com.
