History | Message From Our President
The Harry W. Gorst Company, Inc. was established in 1968 by Mr. Harry W. Gorst. The primary business written initially was Personal Article Floaters. Since that time, the company and writings have expanded to include other Personal Lines categories, as well as Commercial Lines business (including Commercial Auto), written either through admitted or non-admitted companies depending on the underwriting qualifications of the risk.
Compass Insurance Group of Agencies was purchased by Mr. Harry Gorst in 1973. At the time of purchase the company was only writing Commercial Auto. Similar to the Harry W. Gorst Co., the company expanded its writings to include other Commercial Lines business. In mid-1996, Compass Insurance was converted to a brokerage wholesaler, and deals mainly with non-binding contract business.
Both the Gorst Company and Compass Insurance were purchased by Michael F. Heagerty and Jane K. Heagerty in December of 1992. These companies are solely owned by the Heagertys, who retain 100% of the stock. Since the purchase, Michael Heagerty has acted as President and Chief Executive Officer, and Jane Heagerty as Chief Financial Officer.
The remainder of the executive staff consists of: Cindy Langbehn, Executive Vice President; John Curtin, Sr. Vice President and Chief Operations Officer; Leila Navarro, Controller and Sr. Vice President of Accounting and Records; Bryan Clark, Sr. Vice President, Underwriting; Jennifer Clark, Vice President, Human Resources and Communication; Cathy Sagebiel, Vice President of Finance; Scott Dahlgren, Marketing Director; and Myrna Bardwel, Executive Assistant.
Both companies continue to grow through addition of new products and markets within the Excess and Surplus Lines arena in the state of California. A personal note from Mike Heagerty stresses the focus on the customer:
"We are proud of our seasoned and professional underwriting staff, dedicated technical staff, as well as the numerous stable and competitive markets we represent. We have provided over 40 years of service to our California brokers. Our continuing pledge is to provide expertise and superior service with a smile!"
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