by Corrine Casanova

What’s the value of serving 36 years in a single industry? According to Mike Menath, president of Menath Insurance, the answer is both predictable and precise: “Experience.” Being in the daily business of unforeseen emergencies, he’s witnessed just about everything you could imagine.

He’s been the calm in the storm as his clients have dealt with forest fires, raging snowstorms, company car accidents, crushed roofs, burst pipes, legal entanglements and thefts of all kinds.

Mike and his team take their role seriously of being a corporate safety net for the businesses and individuals they serve. The Menath Insurance philosophy is to be a trusting friend when disasters occur and also to provide knowledge proactively to help avoid them from happening in the first place.

“People think of insurance primarily as peace of mind, something you hope you never need and it is. But the best kind of insurance is the foresight and expertise to reduce the level of daily risk in your business. Just about anyone can sell you insurance. Very few agents can provide you with enterprise-wide risk reduction strategies. That capability comes directly from experience. Insurance is oftentimes the last thing people want to talk about and deal with but it is the one thing that can save your business and keep you from being shut down in an instant. Our job is to plan for the worst and make sure you’re protected. That’s the task of an experienced agent,” Menath shared.

Menath said, “Our clients are busy business owners in a challenging corporate environment. The last thing they have is time to worry constantly about everything that could go wrong. We take it on ourselves to lift the burden of risk reduction from their shoulders.”

Mike and his wife, Lisa, started Menath Insurance in 1981. Prior to this, Lisa was a teacher and Mike was a military officer and later the Director of Tourism for the State of Nevada. They chose to open the agency because they wanted to be in business for themselves, be involved in the local community and raise their kids in a good environment.

They launched and grew their business the old-fashioned way. Mike recalls working long, hard hours to gain those initial clients and even climbing over huge Lake Tahoe snowbanks to knock on doors. Meanwhile, Lisa was working the phones and cold calling in the evening hours to generate prospects.

The business has grown since its inception. In addition to Incline Village, Menath has offices in Reno and South Lake Tahoe and provides services across the Western United States. The agency currently includes 28 producers and service personnel.

The Menaths’ are also founders of Westbridge Insurance Network (WIN), the largest network of independent agencies in Nevada, with partners in Las Vegas, Reno/Sparks, South Lake Tahoe and Minden/Gardnerville. WIN also extends to several different states and has formal partnerships with other agencies. This collaborative organization allows Menath Insurance and its partners to share expertise and specialization so that their clients can get the benefits of a large agency, while retaining a hometown, personalized experience.

This individualized approach allows Menath to provide customized packages across a wide spectrum of businesses; from Homeowners Associations to Assisted Living facilities to construction companies to home and auto insurance and everything in between.

As an independent insurance broker, Mike and his team are able to offer a world of options to their clients, something that can’t be done with the single carrier agencies. “These organizations only have one package of coverage to sell; whereas we have a multitude of carriers to choose from. This allows us to provide a level of customization to our clients that really can’t be matched. It also means we can provide those difficult-to-find solutions. Where others quit, we’re just getting started,” Menath said.

As founders of a long-established business, the Menath Agency feels strongly about giving back to their community, both in action and resources. “It’s a blessing for us to be able to share our success by supporting the great causes throughout our neighborhoods,” Menath shared. This has become a family tradition as Mike’s son Scott, who runs the Reno office, is on the board of directors of three non-profits.

The Menath Insurance motto can be captured in two words, “We care.” They care if a business succeeds, they care for people and they care that they are doing the right thing for their customers, employees and the community.

“Experience is valuable in every aspect of what we do. Yet, it’s when you combine caring with that experience…that’s when you have something truly special to offer. That’s what brings joy to the work we do each and every day, Menath concluded.

Menath Insurance is an independent insurance agency with headquarters in Incline Village, NV and an office in Reno, NV.