Maureen Pasternak, seated, insurance producer, and Heidi Wagner, account retention specialist, The Michaels Agency Inc.
Your family, business, and possessions all are important, but many people do not know how to best protect them. For more than 20 years, The Michaels Agency Inc. has been providing individuals and small businesses with helpful insights and quality insurance solutions.
Maureen Pasternak, owner/operator of the business, said the agency’s customer-oriented model has been key to its longevity. As one of the few female-owned insurance agencies in southern New Jersey, The Michaels Agency serves clients in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland via email, fax, telephone or in person.
“Our motto is ‘Service is our Specialty’ because we are fully committed to maintaining a high level of customer satisfaction in everything we do,” Pasternak said. “I provide the same level of service and take the same amount of time with every client, regardless of whether they are purchasing a small golf cart policy or insuring a $5 million business. We serve many long-time clients, and I am now working with the children of some of those clients. I also have many established clients that have referred their parents to me, which is a testament to the trust people have in our agency.”
The locally owned and operated independent insurance agency is located at 415 Egg Harbor Road/Suite 11 in Sewell.
Pasternak has been in the insurance industry since 1984 and from 1995 to 2003, worked for Marks & Marks Inc. When that agency’s owner decided to retire in 2003, Pasternak purchased the business from her boss and changed the name to The Michaels Agency. “The name is an homage to my first husband. He recognized that I was very business-oriented and encouraged me to go to business school and pursue a more entrepreneurial path,” she said.
As an independent agent, The Michaels Agency does not work for insurance companies. Rather, it sells insurance from several different insurance companies, allowing it to compare coverage and prices to find the best possible value for every client’s circumstance. “We are not beholden to any one insurance company and work only for our clients,” she said. “At any given time, I am working with about 20 to 25 different insurance companies. Our goal is to find the best insurance products for your needs at the lowest price. As your needs change and evolve over time, we are there to make sure you always have the right protection.”
The Michaels Agency offer a wide array of property and casualty coverage options including personal solutions (home, rental properties, automobile, boat and personal watercraft, motorcycle and ATV, mobile homes, and more) as well as business insurance. “We also provide coverage for someone flipping houses, which requires a special type of insurance. For example, if someone buys a home and is fixing it up before putting it back on the market, we can properly insure that property while vacant and under renovation,” Pasternak said.
Pasternak has been a Washington Township resident since she was 4 years old and is involved both personally and professionally in the local community. She is a member of the Rotary Club of Washington Township and the Greater Washington Township Chamber of Commerce (GWTCC). The Rotary Club helps run Mother’s Cupboard — a proprietary food pantry based out of the Washington Township municipal building — and will be hosting a Wine Festival this fall at Washington Lake Park. Funds raised at the Wine Festival will help support Rotary’s various charitable endeavors. “These two efforts would not be successful without the support of members of our community, and we are grateful for their continued support,” Pasternak said.
For more information on The Michaels Agency or to schedule an appointment, call (856) 582-5100 or email [email protected]. The office is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p