wellington | professional
Bill Thomas Of Brightway Insurance Offers Quality Advice And Unique Expertise
Concierge Service STORY BY M. DENNIS TAYLOR | PHOTO BY ABNER PEDRAZA
Bill Thomas of Brightway Insurance has come a long way since growing up in Oyster Bay, Long Island. Back then, his goal was to fly. “I became a commercial pilot and was trying to fly for the airlines,” Thomas recalled. “Unfortunately, or fortunately, the airlines were furloughing pilots, so I went to school, to Queens College and St. John’s University Law School, became an attorney and worked as a real estate attorney in New York City.” It wasn’t long before he felt the lure of Florida’s sunshine. “Eventually, I started a factoring business, which I could run from anywhere, so I moved to Florida where my family and my wife’s family were living,” Thomas explained. “I found Wellington because I am a pilot and wanted to live at the Aero Club so I could fly my airplane.” While living in Florida, Thomas took on some work as an attorney doing closings for business brokers and eventually opened his own business brokerage. “It looked like more fun that working as an attorney,” he said. “I did so many sales as a business broker that I wrote and published a book, The SixFigure Business Broker, which sells on Amazon. It is designed to teach new agents how to sell businesses.” After years of helping others with their businesses, he found himself interested in the insurance industry. “After selling businesses for 10 years,
I started buying and selling them myself,” Thomas said. “After a year of researching insurance agencies to buy or to start, I decided that I would purchase a franchise.” Through his research, he liked what he learned about Brightway Insurance. “I chose the Brightway Insurance franchise because, after meeting with other agency owners and the principals of the company, I decided that they were a well-run organization, and they provided superior services to their
customers,” Thomas said. “They are also fast-growing and financially strong. This is the type of company that I’d like to associate with.” Thomas uses his experience and knowledge as an attorney to provide customers with quality advice and concierge service. “I say concierge because I’m very much hands-on and would rather handle my customers myself than hire agents and hand customers off to them,” Thomas explained. “When you call my
Bill Thomas helps clients with their insurance needs through his Brightway Insurance franchise. wellington the magazine | january 2020
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