2023 Award Winners

catering to an array of low- to moderate-risk businesses, including heat and air contractors, plumbers, electricians, light manufacturing, auto repair, retail stores and restaurants. The firm also now offers other commercial lines coverage such as general liability, cyber liability and property policies on a limited basis. COMP Risk has been providing superior policy service for more than three decades.

Small Agency of the Year VIP Insurance, Edmond

Company of the Year Mid-Continent Group

Established in 1947, Mid-Continent Group is a specialty insurer committed to helping independent agencies secure insurance coverage quickly, easily and profitably. Specialized expertise and an entrepreneurial, relationship-based approach allow them to offer insurance solutions that meet the unique needs of agents and insureds. Mid-Continent Group focuses on General Liability, Umbrella, Commercial Auto and Inland Marine Protection. As a member of Great American Insurance Group (headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio), Mid-Continent Group benefits from the resources of one of the largest insurance and financial services providers in the United States. Mid-Continent can write coverage in all 50 states on an admitted and nonadmitted basis. The member companies of Mid-Continent Group carry an A+ VIII (Superior) A.M. BEST financial rating and include: Mid-Continent Casualty Company, Oklahoma Surety Company, MidContinent Assurance Company, and Mid-Continent Excess & Surplus Insurance Company. MidContinent Group partners exclusively with designated retail and wholesale agencies that share a vision of creating value through knowledge, relationships, ease of doing business, and identification of underserved markets. This has provided decades of success in underwriting individual accounts, as well as developing specialty niche programs with their appointed agents. Strong family values drive the company’s culture, fostering a supportive, collaborative and compassionate work environment. Mid-Continent Group recognizes that its core values, servant leadership and employee-centric culture remain part of their competitive advantage.

Kathy Reeser was abruptly made a widow in ‘01 due to cancer. She was fortunate enough to continue being a stay-athome mom because of her late husband’s choice to have life insurance. When she went back to work, she decided to open a Farmers agency. She knew firsthand exactly how life-changing insurance is in one’s time of need. She recruited her daughter Theresa Scioli, and they quickly decided captive wasn’t for them when they hated answering the phones! Both single moms, they decided to take the leap of faith and start all over again as an Independent Agency. They went to a Big I trade show shortly after opening VIP Insurance and the blinders were taken off! They quickly realized how many opportunities there were with different companies and products. They wouldn’t be where they are today, without the relationships from company reps and other agents to guide them.

Medium Agency of the Year

Berrong Insurance, Weatherford

Founded in 1948, Berrong Insurance Agency is now celebrating 75 years in business and has been owned and operated by the Berrong family for three generations. With locations in Weatherford and Edmond, the agency has worked to be known throughout Oklahoma as “The Agency Service Built.” Berrong Insurance Agency is a commercial and personal lines generalist agency with a focus in the oil and gas industry and has been recognized as a Best Practices Agency for 25 of the past 28 years. The agency is committed to each other as a team while diligently serving its clients, carriers and community with integrity, honesty and compassion. The agency’s owners and employees have been intensely active in both the insurance industry and the civic, political and cultural life of the community and state. Its staff has achieved many industry designations, including multiple CICs, a CRM, CISR Elite, and a CISR. They understand the importance of giving back to the industry and are proud to currently employ four FILO graduates, the Young Agents chair-elect, the BIGiOK president-elect, as well as two past Big I board members and a past chairman. Throughout our history, members of this agency have served terms as mayor of Weatherford and state senator and have chaired and served upon countless boards and civic committees, including the Weatherford Regional Hospital, the Great Plains Family YMCA, Rotary, the Oklahoma Policy Institute, various economic development endeavors, and even performing in musical productions at Southwest Playhouse.

2023 Award Winners

Large Agency of the Year

Dillingham Insurance, Enid

Dillingham Insurance is an independently owned, fourthgeneration, family-run insurance firm specializing in public entity and corporate business insurance, group benefits, risk management, loss control services and human resource consulting services. They were founded in 1927; however, the family’s insurance heritage can be traced back to 1889, when Tom Boyd Dillingham wrote the first insurance policy issued in the Cherokee Strip Outlet of Indian Territory in Oklahoma. With their headquarters in Enid, Dillingham Insurance has additional locations in Oklahoma City, Tulsa and Woodward, as well as Kansas City. They are honored to work with thousands of clients located in 38 states, with varied needs across multiple industries. A great insurance agency isn’t just marked by sales, but company culture, client satisfaction and exceeding growth goals year after year.

Their mission? To empower their team to provide agile, innovative and transparent service while bringing personalized consulting and thoughtful, comprehensive insurance solutions that help clients manage risk and grow their business. They are so proud of the 70 employees and the countless clients that choose their agency as their work and risk management home, and they can’t wait to see what the next 96 years have in store for them!