Shields Insurance Specializes In Startups

Business View – November 2020 / Small Business of the Month

Owner Bry Shields and Ashley Victory are pictured at the insurance agency’s Mobile office. The company also has an office in Birmingham and their third employee, Matthew Castro, is based in the Philippines. Photo by Jeff Tesney Photography

Three years ago, Bry Shields made the decision to open his own insurance agency. From there it has grown to include locations in both Mobile and Birmingham. With three full-time employees, Shields Insurance Agency is licensed to write property and casualty insurance for clients across the Gulf Coast, from Texas to Florida, and into Tennessee. This includes commercial and personal insurance.

Shields Insurance Agency is the Mobile Area Chamber’s Small Business of the Month. “I have many clients I would not have if it weren’t for my involvement at Chamber events,” said Shields.

He says some of the agency’s primary specialties – industries in which they are the most competitive – include construction and contractors, real estate (landlords), healthcare providers, restaurants/food service, nonprofit/religious, auto services, retail store and ecommerce, manufacturing and distribution, marine and professional services.

Shields Insurance has also found a niche in startup businesses. “As you start your business, it’s important to cover yourself and your team for the potential risks that come with it,” Shields says. As a business owner, if you don’t have insurance coverage, you’ll have to pay out-of-pocket for any damages or legal claims made against you, and that’s the last thing you want when starting up.”

‘As you start your business, it is important to cover yourself and your team for the potential risks that come with it.’

He says startup insurance policies businesses need to consider are a business owner’s policy, general liability, commercial property insurance, worker’s compensation, commercial auto, flood and umbrella, and professional liability. Shields works with clients to help them evaluate their risks, apply for coverage and review quotes before issuing coverage.

Potential and existing clients can stay up to date with the latest trends in insurance and more by subscribing to the company’s blog, social media and YouTube channel, where there’s information ranging from tips to keep a company safe from cyber-attacks to the best risk management strategies to what millennials need to know about life insurance.

In the community, Shields has been actively involved in raising money and awareness for several nonprofits, including this spring when he worked with Feeding the Gulf Coast on a project to provide food for school-aged children and their families. “As a company, we provide an annual donation of our profits to a selected charity,” Shields said. In 2018, it was Dumas Wesley, and last year it was Via! Health, Fitness, Enrichment.

COMPANY NAME: Shields Insurance Agency

OWNER: Bry Shields

PHONE: 251.283.3800

WEBSITE: Shields Insurance

Click here to read the Business View – November 2020

Additional information is on the Mobile Area Chamber of Commerce’s website at mobilechamber.com, on Facebook at @MobileChamber, Instagram at @mobile-area-chamber and Twitter at @MobileChamber.