March 29th 2007

Sterner Insurance has completed their second agency purchase in less than a year by acquiring Business Insurance Specialists of Carbon county.

Friendship turned into a win-win this month as the owners of two insurance agencies at opposite ends of the Lehigh Valley reached out to each other when Sterner Insurance in Coopersburg purchased Business Insurance Specialists in Carbon County. The decision to sell the business came when the founding partner of Business Insurance Specialists retired and Michelle Grace, the remaining partner decided to seek a strategic alliance through the sale of the agency to a third party. “The list of agencies I was willing to entrust the livelihood of our employees and the future of our clients with was very short, but it was Alan Sterner who seemed to be looking for what we had to offer while being able to address some of my concerns”, said Grace. “It’s great to be able to bring more value to our existing clients by offering access to many more insurance companies and services. We are very well positioned to compete for future business as opportunities expand with the growth of Carbon County and the surrounding area.”

Sterner Insurance is one of 11 agencies of The Alliance of Central Pennsylvania. Alliance members have access to over 40 insurance companies. According to Alan Sterner, President of Sterner Insurance, and the new owner of Business Insurance Specialists, “having a partnership with that many insurance companies means we are able to serve a very broad spectrum of clients with products well suited to their individual needs. We are also able to share some of our state of the art technology that will make managing existing clients easier for the staff and faster for the clients”

Sterner is retaining all the current BIS employees. “When I audited their files, it was as if my own staff was already handling these clients. This was a good strategic match as our work ethics and service philosophy are the same. The only change we will be making is a move to a new office up the road about a mile. The new address will be 701 Bridge Street, Suite 205 Lehighton, PA 18235. Our phone and fax numbers will remain the same as before.:

In addition to the main office in Coopersburg, and the new office in Lehighton, Sterner also has an office in Doylestown. Sterner Insurance is proud to serve the insurance needs of over 2500 businesses and families in Eastern Pennsylvania.