Pictured left to right, Andy McCleary, Member Relations Manager, Kosciusko Chamber of Commerce; Rob Kernodle; Laura Kernodle; Alyssa Cox, Pro Wake Watersports; Becky Plummer, Staffmark; Sandra Parra, Old National Bank; Ashley Bruner, Mutual Bank, Victoria Griesmann, staff member Justin Phillips State Farm; Justin Phillips, Owner, Justin Phillips State Farm; Katherine Phillips holding Brody Phillips, Harper Phillips, Jolie Phillips;  Adam Packer, Justin Phillips State Farm; Sharon Phillips; Alma Claro; JR Byler, Nurses Etc. Staffing; Tessa Robinson; Sara Garay holding Genesis Garpue ;  Rob Parker, President & CEO, Kosciusko Chamber of Commerce; Steven Schoberg

WARSAW — A ribbon cutting open house event was held at Justin Phillips State Farm Insurance, located at 120 W. Market St., Warsaw, Thursday, March 29.

The building was formerly used by another insurance company but sat unoccupied for over a year after that company moved.

“As a proud Warsaw Community Development Corporation and Chamber member, I chose to remodel the office to help with the development of our great downtown community and also to reflect the vision I had for the agency,” said Agent/Owner Justin Phillips.

Born in Marshall County and currently residing in Plymouth, Phillips has been in the insurance industry for eight years.

He spent his first five years primarily doing life insurance, Medicare planning and retirement planning for a large life insurance company. Phillips said he had worked his way into corporate management and was in the process of building a sales team but eventually began to feel that the ethics and values he possessed did not match the company culture.

“I started looking into other insurance companies to see who had the best reputation for doing right by their customers and had a strong brand and messaging,” Phillips stated.

“I had a friend who took over a State Farm agency in Elkhart, and I had an opportunity to do an internship with him as I was learning the State Farm products and systems,” said Phillips. “ I was immediately impressed with the differences in company culture and excited about the opportunity to work towards starting my business.”

Phillips spent two years working in Elkhart at Justin Palmer State Farm. Following that, he went through an intense five month internship through State Farm Corporate while making plans to open his own office in Warsaw.

“In my three years at State Farm I have never felt that I have had to push a product, but rather we focus on our customer and what their goals and dreams are, and help them to get there,” Phillips said.

Phillips started what is referred to as a ‘scratch agency’ in Warsaw, meaning that they started with zero customers.

“We opened in December 2017 and have been progressively growing from there,” said Phillips. “The reason that we started a scratch office here is because the market has about 10 percent lower customer penetration than the national average so it provides a great opportunity to reach people. We recently took a rate decrease on our auto insurance and are expecting another soon, so even previous State Farm customers may be able to come in at a lower rate than before.”

State Farm is the largest property and casualty insurer in the U.S. As of December 2017, State Farm had 70,000 employees and 19,000 agents.

Phillips currently has three full-time employees. He describes the office as a full-service insurance agency that offers all lines of insurance as well as banking products.

“I’m excited about the opportunity to contribute to the vibrant downtown community, and the opportunity State Farm provides me to give back to the community,” said Phillips. “Our goal is to build strong and lasting relationships with the community and to help people plan for the risks of everyday life, prepare for the unexpected and realize their dreams.”