History | Present and the Future
As the 3rd fastest growing agency in the country, IOA attributes its steady double-digit growth since its inception to the unique idea of partnering with insurance agents. CEO John Ritenour’s experience in the insurance industry had convinced him that the traditional form of ownership in an independent insurance agency left a lot of room for improvement. Strong insurance agents rarely had the opportunity to transition to stock ownership, or have a vested interest in the “book” of business they develop after years of working hard and building a substantial client base. There had to be a better way. And so in January of 1988, Mr. Ritenour founded Insurance Office of Florida in Apopka, Florida, and later changed the name to Insurance Office of America after opening up the first branch in New Jersey.
The idea of partnering with insurance agents and sharing commissions was innovative, and when combined with vested interest of the book, it became revolutionary. Our belief is that every successful producer wants to own stock in the insurance agency and build value for retirement from the book of business.
As the idea of partnering with successful insurance agents (much like a law firm) developed and attracted more insurance agent partners and insurance agencies, it became clear that the idea was too big to limit to the Orlando area. In 1997, the agency opened offices in Mount Laurel, New Jersey; Palm Beach, Florida; and Tampa, Florida. The number of insurance agents doubled that year.
Since that time we have added branch offices in Jacksonville, Bonita Springs, Destin, Tallahassee, and Ft. Lauderdale, FL; Atlanta and Gainesville, GA; Huntsville, AL; Baltimore, MD; Charlotte, NC; and Columbia, SC. We are currently interviewing prospective insurance agents in major
cities throughout the U.S.
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