Fly boys

The top three executives at Beacon Aviation Insurance Services have nearly 100 years of combined industry experience — crucial knowledge to manage the firm's fast growth.

That know-how goes back to the firm's strategy to target aviation industry clients in need of workers' compensation insurance, from municipal airports to fixed-based operators to flight schools. Large insurance companies that offer aviation insurance often overlook workers' comp, the executives say, which made the Beacon opportunity all the more appetizing.

“The insurance market is pretty mature,” says Bob McManus, chief operating officer of Sarasota-based Beacon. “There are not a lot of new things under the sun.”