Brown around

Ben Brown Insurance Inc. had been around about 30 years in the 1980s when Russ Brown, son of the founder and agency namesake, won a contract to handle commercial insurance for Meyer & Gabbert Excavating Contractors Inc.

Since being acquired by WCA Waste Corp., Meyer & Gabbert for years was one of the largest excavation and demolition firms in the region. And with competing insurance firms bidding for the work, it was a sizable coup for Sarasota-based Ben Brown. “It was one of those proud-to-have accounts,” says Ryan Brown, Ben Brown's grandson, Russ Brown's nephew and a vice president and agent at the firm. “When people found out we had that account, it said a lot about us.”

Another aspect of the 22-employee firm that says a lot is its longevity as an independent, family-run insurance firm. The company turns 60 this year. Revenue at Ben Brown Insurance, now headed by Ben Brown's other son, Michael Brown, has been up double-digits each of the past few years. Michael Brown declines to release specific figures for sales or premiums.