Declaration of Independents

Juan J. Padron

Chief Operating Officer
Safeguard Insurance
McAllen, Texas

Former NASA aerospace engineer Juan J. Padron, 45, is typically analytical in running the independent insurance agency he co-owns with his brother, Abraham, and sister-in-law, Delfa. Padron and partners are formulating a plan to branch out from their 11 South Texas locations to establish business outposts throughout the Lone Star State. Padron also chairs the Big ‘I’ Diversity Task Force, a group whose mission is to ramp up the independent channel’s reflection of and service to markets not historically served.

Business lessons?

Most of our agency’s growth has been organic, but we have acquired a few agencies—some Cadillacs and some Yugos. We’ve developed better criteria for acquisitions and, personally, I’ve learned to temper my expectations and give new ventures a chance to take hold.

Biggest challenges?

Engineering isn’t just a career—it’s a state of mind. In the insurance world, I get to exercise the general problem-solving skills and analytical approach that I learned as an engineer. In our agency, we work to stay ahead of and capitalize on changing market, economic and demographic conditions in our state.

Diversity Task Force progress?

Awareness is higher than ever within Big ‘I’ membership, but we are playing catch-up. For a long time, captive carriers—like companies in other industries—have deliberately and methodically targeted women, minorities, the LGBT community and other market segments. We need engagement and creativity from our carriers, state associations and agents to compete in the diverse markets. The Diversity Task Force encourages agencies to take advantage of the tools and training the Big ‘I’ provides for communicating with relevance and respect to all cultures, values and lifestyle preferences. Our goal is to contribute all we can to assure agencies’ profitability and keep the independent channel viable.

State associations and diversity?

Several state groups are satisfying some of the task force’s criteria for an ideally engaged state association. The Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of New York (IIABNY) collaborated on an industry recruiting event with the Chinese American Insurance Association. The IIABNY and Independent Insurance Agents of Texas promote task force efforts by linking their state websites to our page on the Big ‘I’ site. The Independent Insurance Agents of Illinois and Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of Washington have attended task force meetings or participated in our pilot projects.