Dinesh Tanna is the founder of Tanna Insurance Inc. He came to this country in 1979. Unlike most other immigrants who were engineers and doctors migrating from India at that time, he was a business major. Financial sector was huge and he decided to either go into banking or insurance. He got a job in the insurance  industry and has now been in it for over 35 years. He worked for several global, national and regional companies before starting Tanna Insurance Inc. The company has had impressive growth over the years and the number of customers they service is over 1500.

 

He is married to Ketki and they have  three children, one daughter and two sons. Ketki is a partner and a major part of Tanna Insurance Inc. She runs the day to day operations.   

 

He talked to Lokvani about the company and his interests. 

I worked for several years in the insurance industry for Global, National and Regional companies. I moved around to various cities with one of them and finally got frustrated with the corporate culture. I decided to start my own business however, in order to get an appointment from any insurance company, I would have needed a book of business (customers) which I did not have. So, I approached an acquaintance who owned an agency and asked him if I could place my customers with the companies that they represented. We agreed on the terms and I was off and running. After 10 years and over 1000 customers, I decided to take my business and set up my own agency. I did that starting on 1/1/2014 and also with two other agents, created our own network called Insurance Agency Services.

 

Tanna Insurance represents several insurance companies to fulfill the needs of our business and personal lines customers. We offer all kinds of business insurance including property, liability, professional liability, directors & officers, employment practices liability, cyber liability, crime, commercial auto, workers compensation, builders risk, etc. Our book consists of several technology and life science companies, large commercial properties, medical offices and buildings, retail operations, restaurants and hotels. On the personal side, we offer home, auto, umbrella and much more. We have a very good understanding of the needs of many of our clients who own homes that are worth more than $1,000,000.

 

In addition to the above, my older son is involved in all aspects of financial planning with a major national company so if any of our clients have a need for that or if his clients have a need for what we offer, we refer them to each other.

 

We work to provide appropriate coverage and provide the best service possible. Price is always a factor however, getting the best coverage and advise is even more important.

 I have been in this business for over 35 years both on the company and agency side and have a good understanding of the exposures that many businesses face. I try to help them understand their exposures, consider worst case scenarios, get competitive quotes and make a decision based not only on price but the coverages, company and the agent. I have seen people get burnt, no pun intended, because they based their insurance buying decision solely based on price.

I do it because it’s the right thing to do and I have had tremendous support from the community too. As I go through the perpetuation process in the agency, my hope is to get even more involved in the community events over the next few years.   

In spite of all the technology, it is still a people business. If you are looking for quick gratification, this is not the right business for you. If you are a people person, patient and looking at this long term, it can be lucrative and satisfying.

Good question. When we were discussing, in 2007, whether she should quit her job and come work at Tanna Insurance, we certainly considered whether working together would be the right decision. There were 3 factors that helped us make this an easy decision. One, I really needed help so what better person to have and trust than your own spouse. Secondly, I was spending quite a bit of time outside the office so we figured it would not be an issue and lastly, we felt that the important thing was the success of the business so all our energy was channeled in that direction.  

 

In hindsight, it was one of our better decisions.

 I want to thank my clients and the community for the support.