Company will officially take over accounts of property and casualty insurance customers from Hemphill & Associates on Jan. 1 due to retirement of Doug Hemphill. 

 

By Rich Wicks | Panora Times

Bryton Insurance in Panora has a well-known storefront in Panora. The office is run by owner Chris Arganbright and licensed agent Cindy Carstens.

“We are an independent property and casualty insurance agency. That means we represent several companies, and we do personalized and commercial lines of business. We don’t do any life or health,” Arganbright said. 

She went on to explain how the local agency came to be.

“This agency was the Annear Agency, when the Bryton Company purchased it. I worked for a large agency in Des Moines, and my boss was Dave Creighton, Sr. He and Bryan Hughes bought this agency,” Arganbright said. “The Bryton name comes from ‘Bry’ from Brian, and ‘ton’ from Creighton. They had the idea of bringing bigger-city services to small towns. So they bought this agency and several others in other towns.”

Arganbright oversaw agencies in Panora and other towns by commuting for a while, but she soon found that wasn’t effective.

“What we learned was, having somebody come from Des Moines, in a suit, a couple of times per month to work with customers for those specialized services didn’t work because small-town people want to do business with small-town people,” Arganbright said. “So, Dave Creighton, Sr., and I decided this agency had the most potential, so we bought it together. That’s how I got to Panora. And then, eventually, I became the sole owner.”

The biggest change on the horizon for Bryton Insurance will go into effect Jan. 1, 2025. On that date, Bryton Insurance will officially take over the accounts of property and casualty insurance customers from Hemphill & Associates. This is due to the retirement of Doug Hemphill. 

A Dec. 1 letter informed Hemphill customers of the upcoming change. It also described what is hoped will be a seamless changeover, since Bryton Insurance contracts with the same insurance companies that Hemphill used.

“We insure the City of Panora and the Lake Panorama Association and the school district. And the Hemphill agency insures the City of Yale, so we’ll be doing that, as well,” Arganbright said.

Arganbright shared that property insurance has changed significantly in recent years due to the frequency of derechos and other wind events that have resulted in Iowa being classified risk-wise in the same category as Florida and other states that experience hurricanes. She explained that, until Iowa sees a return to traditional weather patterns, premiums and deductibles will continue to reflect the higher risk that has become Iowa’s “new normal.” But Arganbright and Carstens are ready and willing to help customers navigate this new territory to best meet individual needs.

Arganbright shared a favorite story about Carstens going above and beyond to help a customer.

“We had a customer driving on I-35/80 in Des Moines. A pickup truck in front of them had a ladder fly off, and the pickup kept going,” Arganbright said. “Because our customer had to veer, it was starting to look like our customer was going to take the blame… Cindy figured out there were DOT cameras, and we figured out how to access those and got the license plate of the pickup truck. That helped determine that the accident wasn’t our customer’s fault.”

Arganbright said they pride themselves on customer service. 

“We don’t go beating the bushes, and we don’t want people to feel pressured,” she said. 

By Rich Wicks | Times Vedette

On Christmas Eve, Santa was escorted throughout Guthrie Center by members of the Guthrie Center Fire Department. Kids of all ages came out for a peek at Santa before he made his worldwide trek to deliver presents.

By Rich Wicks | Times Vedette

During the Dec. 23 regular meeting of the Guthrie County Board of Supervisors, Health Service Director Jotham Arber updated the supervisors on plans to add a mental health therapist in an office in Stuart.

“We sent out those mental health budgets to the Board of Health, and they approved them. They wanted a few changes,” Arber said.

He explained that the plan is to hire a therapist to see patients in an office in Stuart but added that the owner/landlord is seeking a three-year lease rather than yearly with auto-renewal.

There was discussion that the proposed new clinic would not get paid if/when Medicaid or Medicare patients are “no shows” for appointments.

“I don’t think we want to over-extend ourselves,” Supervisor Mike Dickson said.

Arber said he will prepare budgets to bring to the supervisors. No formal action was taken at this time.

“I want to make sure that it’s sustainable, not just for right now or the next five years, but for 10, 15, 20 years,” Arber said.

The consent agenda was approved by a 3-2 vote, with Brian Johnson and Dickson voting against. The claims and payroll information had not been sent to the supervisors on Friday, Dec. 20, so there had been little time to review the information.

No members of the public spoke during the Public Comments portion of the meeting.

The next regular meeting of the supervisors will be Tuesday, Dec. 31 at 9 a.m. The public is welcome to attend in person or via remote technology. To join remotely, call 323-792-6123, then use meeting code 547029216#.