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            The McFerrin Insurance Agency has been ingrained in Port Neches for over seven decades. From the humble beginnings of cold calling and selling home insurance door-to-door, the business grew through ingraining the company in community involvement, being part of local organizations, and creating personal relationships with the public, that led to the expansion of commercial insurance and the continued success of the business.

“The history and evolution of McFerrin Insurance began two generations back in April of 1950 by Tom McFerrin as a Farmers Insurance Agent,” Terry Schwertner, president of McFerrin Insurance said. “And that’s back when, when the state of Texas said you had to have auto, auto liability insurance. So, they started selling Farmers Insurance in 1950 and he and he worked at Nature’s Butane and sold automobile liability insurance through Farmers. Then he started selling homeowner insurance and he would go door-to-door, selling the three-year policy. He worked out of his house and his wife, Irene, would type the policies.”

The agency, initially selling auto and homeowner insurance door-to-door, grew significantly under Tom McFerrin Jr., expanding into commercial business.

“Ten years later, Tom’s son joined the company and it kind of blew up,” he said. “Not only did they get into commercial business and grow the agency, Tom McFerrin Jr. was big part of the community as a school board member. This decision was a turning point for the company.”

In 1979, Terry Schwertner joins the company as a agent.

“When I first went to work there, our computer system was a cab,” he said. “It was a cabinet about six foot tall, and it had discs that were like two feet around. I mean, they were huge. In the early 80s, we got a rating computer that looked like a Pac Man game. Then everybody got the monitors at the desk, and they were better. They were little bitty, and the computer box looked like a suitcase that the employees could take home with them.”

Ten years later, Schwertner buys the business.

“Now we’ve transitioned to a flat screen, and the boxes looks like something you get from DirectTV,” he said. “But that hasn’t lasted long, I mean, now we’re doing away with that, and it’s all in the cloud. And at one time, we had 20 filing cabinets with paper in it, and now this year, we shredded it. Now, we’re paperless.”

Although the rise in technology has offered the agency many advantages, one thing remains to be irreplaceable, creating in-person connections.

“To celebrate our 75th anniversary, we were involved with the creation of the Tugboat Island Playground,” he said. “We were on the committee to build Tugboat Island, and after that project, we went into River Fest to help set up and we are currently doing that. I think that personal relationships with people and taking care of them when they need somebody is the driving force of this company. We focus on personal contact and referrals for customer acquisition.”

McFerrin Insurance is located at 1323 Port Neches Ave in Port Neches.