By GEORGE FJELD
BRANDON- Women who own insurance agencies are rare. Insurance has been a man’s world for years, from martini lunches to today’s golf outings. Stacey Coburn at Neshobe Falls Insurance Agency is changing that mold. When she opened her agency in 2017, there were 3 other agencies in Brandon, all owned by men. Neshobe is the only one left. “I will not sell out!” she says. As the owner/principal of her agency, she delivers insurance in an old-school model with a new-technology paradigm. Focusing on customer service is knowing the person, not just the numbers. Available, not automated is her method. Protecting assets is important to financial prosperity and Coburn provides access to several independent companies for personal, commercial, life, disability, and AFLAC insurance.
“Insurance is a tough business; we don’t set the rates and with the complexities in the present system, it’s hard to guess what a person’s rate will be. Having a number of companies to represent allows me to get the best rates for my customers,” said Coburn. “I like to educate my insured to get them the right policy.”
Coburn grew up in Brandon, attended Neshobe, and graduated from Otter Valley before venturing off to Pittsburgh for college, where she got her degree in business management. She got her insurance training from local agents Steve Kellog and Paul Gladding. Stacey then worked for Lake Sunapee Bank, running their Vermont insurance program. She followed that up with a stint at Farm Family Insurance as a vice president. There was not enough customer contact in that job to sustain her interest, so she left to pursue independent insurance marketing. Soon after, she opened her own shop.
Stacey has 2 grown sons. In 2000, she was Mrs. Vermont American and met Pat Morita (Mr. Miyagi from The Karate Kid) at the national pageant in Hawaii. Stacey remembers, “he paused and stared at me for a moment and then asked ‘Are you pregnant?’ I said yes and he asked if he could touch my belly. He said ‘You’re having a boy’ after I told him he could.” That was her older son, Douglas. Then she was Mrs. Vermont United States in 2012 and won Mrs. Congeniality at the national competition in Las Vegas. This is the definition of “A small-town girl makes good!”
