Agency Profile: Sister Act on the Hudson

Rey Insurance Agency

Sleepy Hollow, New York
Founded: 1978
Employees: 6

Last year, sisters Linda Rey and Laura Rey Iannarelli purchased Rey Insurance Agency in Sleepy Hollow, N.Y. from its founder: their father, Francisco (Frank). Before retiring after 35 years, Frank Rey carved a niche servicing the Spanish-speaking residents of Sleepy Hollow, located 25 miles north of Manhattan on the Hudson River’s eastern shore.

Rey’s daughters were already industry veterans with agency leadership roles, whose efforts had expanded the agency’s reach into surrounding counties and nearby states. In their new roles, Linda, 47, and Laura, 45, ushered in an era marked by a more competitive mindset and greater visibility, offering educational seminars, increasing the agency’s social media presence and strengthening community ties. Eleven-year employee Jenny Sanchez, 30, says the payoff began almost immediately.

LAURA REY IANNARELLI, CO-OWNER

In the past, we did not receive phone calls from our website. Now, managing the website on our own, we receive calls every week from the site—which is pretty amazing for our small agency. This validates our attention to automation and social media. We also mass email our news and information. This constant presence helps us with client retention. We get to know our clients. We want them to know we are here for them.

LINDA REY, CO-OWNER

Our dad was a bit of a “lone ranger” and did a good job running lean and mean. When we started, we established an agency logo, and I dispatched myself into heavy networking to meet prospective clients. In fact, we haven’t yet done a formal branding exercise. We’re gearing up to do that now, and I’m very excited about it. I figure if we accomplished what we have without a formal branding strategy, we’ll be going from good to great when we finalize.

JENNY J. SANCHEZ, PRODUCER/CSR MANAGER

The volume of calls from clients finding us online has increased, and that’s due to Linda and her networking and social media skills. Laura has passed along her knowledge and taught me how to run the office smoothly. Over the years, since the three of us joined the agency, we have seen a 500% increase in premium volume, so we’re optimistic as we move the agency forward.