Bailey Place Insurance to expand with Lansing office

LANSING — The Cortland–based Bailey Place Insurance agency is about to open an office in Lansing, which would represent its second location in Tompkins County and third overall.

The company already operates an office in Dryden.

Bailey Place Insurance will open its third location on Sept. 15 at 2428 North Triphammer Road, at the intersection with Craft Road, in Lansing (north of Ithaca), according to Stephen Franco, president of Bailey Place Insurance.

Businesses need to grow, says Franco. “It doesn’t matter what industry you’re in, you need to grow.”

Franco spoke with the Business Journal News Network on Aug. 28.

He believes the agency is performing well in both Cortland and Dryden, but believes opportunities to grow in the communities could be “limited.”

Bailey Place views the Ithaca market as a “vibrant community,” says Franco, where it already has a “strong commercial presence.”

“We do quite a bit of commercial work there. We just looked at [the Lansing office] as … a natural progression for the expansion of the business,” he adds.

Without getting specific, he also noted that banks and “large regional agencies” have acquired five or six “high quality” independent-insurance agencies in Ithaca in the last several years.

“It think that … leaves a pretty good opportunity for us to grow in that market,” says Franco.

The agency bought the 1,800-square-foot building for its Lansing office from Joyce Rendano for $335,000, according to the website of the Tompkins County Office of Real Property Tax Services.

“We’ve made a commitment by buying the building and it basically has been fully [and] completely renovated,” Franco says.

The work included a new roof and exterior on the outside.

“We’ve made a pretty substantial investment in that space … We’re all in at this point,” he adds.

The agency financed the building purchase and the renovation work involved, says Franco.

Several contractors worked on the office build-out, including Goddard Roofing in Homer; Ernz Co. Painting, LLC of Cortland provided the interior painting; K&B Plumbing & Heating of Cortland installed the heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning system; and Mollie Riley Interiors, Inc. of Homer handled the interior work on the office, says Franco.

With 22 full-time employees, Bailey Place Insurance describes itself as “one of the largest privately owned, independent agencies in Central New York.” The description was part of a July 25 news release announcing the agency’s plans for the third office that the Tompkins County Chamber of Commerce posted on its website

The current employee count includes 22 people between the Cortland and Dryden offices, which includes 17 licensed agents. Franco expects the number of employees to rise to 26 once the Lansing office is fully operational.

The agency has already hired a receptionist and an account manager for the Lansing office, he says.

Bailey Place represents most “major” insurance companies and provides insurance and risk-management services for families, businesses, municipalities, and nonprofit organizations across the region.

Bailey Place represents carriers such as Hartford, Conn.–based Travelers Indemnity Co. (NYSE: TRV); Fairfield, Ohio–based Cincinnati Insurance Company (NASDAQ: CINF); Erie, Pa.–based Erie Indemnity Co. (NASDAQ: ERIE).

Half of Bailey Place’s business is personal lines, which is auto, home, and life-insurance policies, and the other half covers commercial businesses and nonprofit organizations.

It also insures 16 different municipalities in Cortland and Tompkins Counties, says Franco.

The agency said has had a presence in Tompkins County since 1936 when George B. Bailey opened up the Bailey Agency from his garage on Library Street in Dryden, according to the news release.

The George B. Bailey Agency and Place Insurance merged in 2013 to form Bailey Place Insurance.

Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com