Northfork Insurance Completes First Month in Business During Trying Times

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ROCHESTER — The opening of Northfork Insurance had been in the works for about a year. It just happened to land at the most inopportune time.

It started when owner Ryan Deskins opened his real estate company, Northfork Realty in Rochester, in April 2019. The hallmark of his business is creating and sustaining relationships with his customers, he said, so he wanted to find ways to continue to be involved with them and provide additional value.

While brainstorming ideas, Deskins and his team came up with the idea of starting an insurance company. He began researching insurance companies and found that Allstate Insurance is typically one of the most competitive companies for homeowners.

“Very conservative company but very stable,” Deskins said. “They had a good reputation, so we chose Allstate.”

They went through the process of getting qualified by passing certain tests through Allstate’s six-week training program. The novel coronavirus outbreak in Washington state hit mid-March, right in the middle of Deskins’ training in Bothell. Deskins was 10 minutes away from the Life Care Center nursing home in Kirkland, the epicenter of Washington’s coronavirus outbreak that has been linked to 37 coronavirus deaths. The onsite training was canceled and he was forced to finish it online via Zoom and Skype.

With Northfork Insurance’s grand opening slated for April 1, Deskins was worried the pandemic might be the death of his new business. He tried to delay the opening date date, but Allstate has strict requirements that include how many staff members Deskins would need to have.

“I thought, ‘Dear God, I am not opening during COVID-19,” Deskins said. “I tried not to but they kind of forced my hand and we had to open.”

Now Northfork Insurance is just trying to let potential customers know that it is open for business. It has had very little foot traffic these past five weeks and almost no signage to signal that they are open other than a little decal in the office window of the building it shares with Northfork Realty on Old Highway 99 next to Quiznos. The sign on the door and the marquee sign out next to the road are both missing because the signage companies have been listed as non-essential.

“There’s been a tremendous amount of delays and other things have hurt us,” Deskins said. “Our entire marketing plan had to be altered.”

Much like his real estate company the plan was to go out and be involved with the community. Now most of Northfork Insurance’s business has come in the form of internet leads and phone conversations — a difficult change. A client event where they would introduce the Allstate people was canceled, as well.



“We were birthed in the middle of an extreme challenge, so I figure we’re going to be a tough, long-lasting member of this community and a successful business,” said Deskins, who was named the Young Entrepreneur of the Year in Montana in 2004.

The insurance company just completed its first month, led by agency manager Daniel Murray, who Deskins praised for his tireless work operating a newly-started business during a pandemic. Not being able to go out, network and have face-to-face interactions with current and potential clients has been difficult, Murray said. It helps create word-of-mouth referrals and is a major part of the insurance business, especially in a small community.

“That to a large extent has been taken from us with COVID-19,” Murray said. “We just simply can’t do that. We are looking forward to the days where we can go back to a bit of normality and start building strong relationships in the community.”

It’s important that the Rochester and Grand Mound community is aware that Northfork Insurance is open, Murray said, as the nearest Allstate agencies are eight miles south in Centralia and 15 miles north in Tumwater.

“So we really want to reach out to our local community here and let people know we’re here,” Murray said. “And that we’re here to support them and help them with their insurance needs.”

Northfork Insurance specializes in creating custom-made plans for its customers, depending on their exposure, level of risk and where they are at in their lives. Insurance needs differ greatly depending on the client and we want to provide the best level of coverage at an affordable cost, Deskins said.

“We believe not everyone’s insurance needs are the same,” Deskins said. “A lot of people don’t understand that insurance is a transfer of risk. You’re transferring your risk to us and we’re protecting your assets and your future, so it’s super important that we take the time to get to know you to know that you’re insured properly.”

Picking a generic plan online with the lowest price is the worst decision a customer can make, Deskins said, because you don’t know if you’re underinsured until it’s too late.

“The Allstate motto ‘You’re in good hands,’ we believe that’s true,” Deskins said. “We love to take care of people. We want to have a relationship with our customers, not transactions.”

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Reporter Eric Trent can be reached at etrent@chronline.com. Visit chronline.com/business for more coverage of local businesses.