San Antonio-based Sanger & Altgelt LLC Insurance Agency, a locally and generationally owned family business serving primarily San Antonio and surrounding communities, announced the promotion of Mac Altgelt to the position of chief executive officer and Heather Haynes to serve as president. Longtime employees of the firm, Altgelt and Haynes both previously served as vice presidents and assumed their new offices at the start of this year.
“I am honored and excited to assume the position of CEO at such an exciting time in our firm’s long, honorable history,” said Altgelt, who has been with the firm for 16 years. “We are expanding our reach into new areas, while also remaining fully grounded in the principles that forged our success – family ownership that spans generations; a local focus; strong, lasting relationships; and outstanding client service.”
“It is gratifying to be elevated to president of a firm that I have put so much into for the past 24 years,” said Haynes. “Our main approach is to be risk managers for our clients, helping them find insurance, but also helping them manage assets and mitigate their risks. Beyond that, Sanger & Altgelt is truly in a class of its own. With so many agencies being acquired by large firms, being local is rare and very beneficial to our clients and the community. Although we do business all over the world, we remain strongly anchored in San Antonio and offer an unmatched level of individualized, personal service.”
As CEO, Altgelt focuses on reinforcing existing client relationships and cultivating new ones, developing and implementing creative growth strategies, and enhancing the company’s overall financial performance through increased revenue, expense management, and process efficiency. As president, Haynes’ manages commercial and personal risks for clients and oversees the agency, guiding its direction, policy, mission and vision. Both said they are more available and involved at the ground level with clients than officers in comparable positions in other firms.
“Customer service is number one,” said Altgelt. “Clients may leave us for a better rate, but often they will come back because the other firm cannot match the level of service that they have become accustomed to with us.”
Acquired by Jefferson Bank in 2011, Sanger & Altgelt provides a broad range of insurance and risk management solutions for its customers. Its personal lines offerings include homeowners and umbrella, automotive, individual and life, loss control, cyber security, travel risk, and farm and ranch coverages. On the commercial side, Sanger & Altgelt covers property and casualty, risk management, bonds, cyber security, employee benefits, surety, and professional liability exposures. Its proficiencies encompass commercial real estate, residential real estate developments, coastal properties, energy, farm and ranch, aviation, hunting, and sports and entertainment arenas, as well as unique risks, such as wineries and breweries, historical buildings, museums, a variety of international exposures, captive insurance and tech start-ups.
In the first and second quarters of the year, Sanger & Altgelt has added new clients at a tremendous rate, infiltrating new and diverse markets including bitcoin, CBD products, crypto mining and other industries. The firm has handled risk management for numerous tech start-ups and other hard-to-place emerging industries. Because of its geographic location, it covers many oil and gas, solar and other energy companies.
Looking ahead, Altgelt and Haynes enumerated a long list of plans and goals for Sanger & Altgelt, many of which have already begun to be implemented, including major investments in technology, software and staff training. It also has signed contracts with new insurance carriers, diversifying the types of coverages it can offer. With these advantages, Sanger & Altgelt can offer new and existing clients quotes from a diverse portfolio of carriers, increase pricing flexibility, and provide a full range of services to every client.
Under new leadership, the previously below-the-radar boutique firm has its sights set on growing its middle market and personal line of business, writing coverages for more small businesses in a burgeoning post-pandemic market and utilizing technology to further expand services. It will continue to provide coverage for unique, hard-to-place risks, as well as analysis of complicated risks. Additionally, it will continue to offer farm and ranch coverages, which is a large part of its portfolio. Sanger & Altgelt is one of the top farm and ranch agencies in Texas.
Not only does Sanger & Altgelt insure many local nonprofit organizations, it contributes to local agencies and its 16 employees provide volunteer services, as well.
“We are very proud of our hometown, San Antonio, and we want to be a part of and support all the growth the city is experiencing,” said Haynes. “We are not merely a business serving this community; we are part of it. We are raising our families here. We are San Antonio-centric and here to stay.”