by Liz Daube
Staff Writer
The oldest insurance company in Florida may be nearing the end of its family owned and operated legacy — but it’s had quite a run.
Haynes, Peters and Bond has been selling insurance since 1877, when company president Caldwell L. “Hank” Haynes’ great grandfather started it all. Since then, the company has been passed down from generation to generation, father to son.
“An awful lot of businesses that try to have the father and son work together don’t work,” said Haynes. “(But) I would introduce him (my father) as ‘My dad, my business partner and my best friend.’ It’s just amazing to have four generations of fathers and sons that got along well enough to work together.”
That streak of luck may not last, Haynes said. He’s almost 65 years old and his two daughters have careers outside the insurance industry. Unless he meets a protege to take over in the near future, Haynes said he’ll eventually have to merge with another company when he retires.
“It’s a personal business,” said Haynes, adding that any incoming company would probably try to keep the Haynes, Peters and Bond name intact as a division. “I don’t want to just hand my clients over.”
Future worries aside, Haynes is proud of the company’s 129 years of success. Because they’re insurance brokers rather than providers, Haynes, Peters and Bond is surviving the insurance industry’s hurricane damage woes. The company has been featured in books and newspapers for its unique longevity in the competitive insurance field.
A stable, trustworthy reputation and old-fashioned customer service keep clients loyal, and, according to Haynes, the company doesn’t have to advertise, either.
“Referrals keep us just as busy as can be,” said Haynes, adding the company’s customer retention rate is about 96 percent, which includes clients who die or move. “We make them feel like a part of our family. They know they can call me at home, on the weekend, whenever.”
Haynes said his father, “Chick,” taught him how to run the business before he retired in 1981. Thankfully, Haynes said, he got a chance to see the world before settling in Jacksonville. He went to college, became a wrestling champion in the early 1960s and traveled with the Navy during the Vietnam War.
“My dad said, ‘I don’t want you to be mad at me for pushing you into the insurance business,’” said Haynes. “But I wanted to try it.”
So Haynes shadowed his father, working at a small corner of his father’s mahogany desk for $100 a week. Now Haynes sit behind the same desk, surrounded by pictures, novelties and newspaper clippings from days gone by.
“My dad thought the good ol’ days in the insurance business were over,” said Haynes. “(But) I’ve just had a ball. I have never met anybody that enjoys going to work as much as I do.”
Haynes loves interacting with employees and clients, he said. He didn’t always feel so confident, though, and there was a time when Haynes thought his father’s shoes would be tough to fill.
“When my dad retired, I was scared to death because I thought he was the key to everything,” said Haynes. “It was very intimidating trying to deal with his friends, trying to take care of them like he took care of them.”
Jacksonville has grown enormously over the years, Haynes said, making customer loyalty and family reputation an important means of maintaining the business. He’s found the changing environment challenging both professionally and personally.
“I just feel like it’s grown enough,” said Haynes. “I used to know almost every business in town. I used to be a big fish in a small pond, and now I’m a little fish in a big pond.”
Haynes has tried to stay involved with the growing community. He’s involved with nonprofit organizations like daniel and Ronald McDonald House, and he’s a former chairman of The Players Championship.
Haynes said his wife worked with the airlines for 21 years, so he’s been able to take flights all over the world. But none of his travels have tempted him to leave his family business or his hometown.
“I have never been anywhere that, after four or five days, I wasn’t ready to come back to Jacksonville,” said Haynes. “I’ve never met anybody that I’d want to trade places with.”