Declaration of Independents

Douglas Soderberg

Treasurer
Soderberg Insurances Services
Lynnfield, Massachusetts

Don’t ask octogenarian Douglas Soderberg to retire. Not only does his schedule include tennis and golf, he is still actively engaged in the insurance agency he and his wife Frances co-founded in 1968.

As the child of Swedish-American farmers in northern Maine, Soderberg learned early to value hard work and respect for all trades and nationalities. Those values have served him well: His agency has customers with 35-plus years of loyalty, and its client base has been described as “more diverse than the tapestry” of the nation.

Soderberg first entered the insurance business in 1959 as a general agent for Aetna Life & Casualty and says that at the time he was the youngest general agent Aetna had ever hired. In 2000, he handed the presidency of the family-owned firm to daughter Kathryn, who describes her father’s role today as “active ambassador.” He also assists with sales and service in commercial lines.

WHO ARE YOUR CLIENTS?

We started as a traditional agency in a traditional Caucasian, middle-class greater Boston community. I’d say our clientele is now more diverse than any other area agency. We work with many communities from diverse ethnic backgrounds, but our Hispanic clientele is really growing. About 40% of our customer base is Spanish-speaking. All three principals, including myself, are non-Hispanic. I told my wife I want to purchase Rosetta Stone [the language learning program]. Soderberg Insurance really has changed with the times, and our efforts to try to grow our agency in this community have really paid off.

WHAT MOTIVATES YOU?

Building a strong business for my family.

INDUSTRY’S BIGGEST CHALLENGE?

We have a stable industry with a lot of growth potential, but it’s vital that we attract more young people. It’s important that we who are commited to the industry also commit to our own professinal development. Continuing education, including professinal designations such as CIC, CPCU and the like, give us added knowledge, credibility with our peers and, more importantly, added credibility with more sophisticated insureds. We decided that my daughter Kathryn would take over as president when she completed her CPCU designation—that’s how important the CPCU designation is to me.

BIGGEST TAKEAWAY?

One of the greatest rewards in our business is when customers appreciate the service they receive, despite all the distractions that bombard them, and choose to stay loyal to our company. We never take the customer’s business for granted and work every day to provide the best service possible.

BUSINESS PLAN?

We aim to expand the coverages of our existing policyholders and to increase our client retention. To accomplish that, it’s important that we study the loss experiences of our customers and become aware of our clients’ issues early in our relationship with them. We also plan to continue diversifying our client base in keeping with U.S. demographics.