Home-grown, 62-year-old insurance company beats the odds

When a longtime client of North Bay Insurance received a form from the government that she couldn’t understand, she stuck it in her purse and walked the few blocks from the Post Office on Broadway to the insurance company’s offices on McDonell Street and knocked on the door. Though it was late on a Saturday, and the office was closed, partner Tony Schmoll was inside catching up on some paperwork. Hearing the knock, he answered the door and was presented with the offending form. After casting a professional eye on it, he advised the client to leave it with him, that he would take care of it, and not to worry. The woman thanked him and went about enjoying her Saturday.
That’s a far cry from the practices of larger insurance companies, which are isolated from the public and most often located in inaccessible offices housed in huge high-rise towers. But North Bay Insurance has deep roots in Sonoma. Donald Canevari, a third-generation Sonoman, opened the company in 1954 with a used typewriter, an old desk and no staff. In 1972, he was joined by Harry Weise, another native Sonoman, whose family had first settled in Sonoma in the 1850s. Together, they made a success of the business and built the company offices on McDonnell Street, where the staff now numbers eight.
Today, partners Tony Schmoll and Patricia Wallace continue North Bay’s tradition of more than a half-century of community involvement and accessibility.
“Insurance, like much else, has become more and more complicated in the past 50 years,” said Schmoll. “We try to make the subject simple for people to understand and make good decisions about.”
To that end, the company has on staff an associate fluent in Spanish. Other members specialize in commercial businesses such as wineries or manufacturing and even high-tech. For those interested in perusing information in the middle of the night, there is a well-developed Web site to help them in their quest, and there are electronic newsletters for the various categories of insurance: personal insurance, worker’s compensation, business to business, construction and risk management.
As an independent agency, North Bay Insurance can search for the best match of insurance product to a given customer’s need. But Schmoll cautions against making decisions based solely on price.
“A low-cost policy can sound good until you have to use it,” he said. “What we can do is help you navigate the options and get a plan with good value that will take care of you if or when you need it.”
Dull as it may sound, insurance of one sort or another is something we all must have during our lives. And it’s much more fun to have a policy with a company where the customers still bring in homemade cakes and pies as a thank-you. Especially if you happen to be visiting your agent at that particular time.

North Bay Insurance is at 25 McDonell St., Sonoma; 707.996.6738; www.northbayinsurance.com.