Defying the trends of mega-agencies and the odds against new small businesses, two of Florida's longtime insurance professionals have joined forces to open a "boutique" agency in Bonifay. Brenda Sturges and Philip Gambrell are the principals and sole employees of Gambrell & Sturges, LLC. Sturges has spent 30 years in the business, starting at the ground level doing policy issuance, quoting, and rating specialized excess-surplus lines with Hull & Co. in Ft. Lauderdale. Over the years she honed her skills at a number of other "big name" agencies — Willis, Brown & Brown, Poe and Brown, and Seitlin in Ft. Lauderdale, and Plastridge and Burke, Bogart & Brownell in Boca Raton. Gambrell took a more circuitous route, gaining experience with several transportation and chemical companies before moving into insurance. He spent almost nine years with Nationwide/the Don Stewart Agency in Gulf Breeze before joining Gilmore Insurance in Milton and finally People's First Insurance in Pensacola. In terms that football fans will recognize, Sturges is Ms. Inside, Gambrell is Mr. Outside. They are counting on this complementary joining of administrative skills and sales ability to bring them success.

Q. Although you have both worked in insurance for some time, heading up your own agency is a new experience for both of you. What drove you to take the leap now?

A. We both saw a trend developing where agencies were spending a great deal of time on their own agendas at the expense of servicing the clients. We wanted to be in an environment that would allow us to provide old-fashioned service, so we created our own! The recent spate of hurricanes brought to light a lot of problems in claim handling situations. We also saw shortcomings in the ability of many agents to educate the customers about what coverages were available, and what was really important. We believe we can address the clients' needs better than other agencies.