FEATURE STORY
MELISSA GALLARO speaks at the opening of the new GEICO Insurance Agency office in Kansas City, Kan.
INSURED SUCCESS AS PRESIDENT OF THE GEICO INSURANCE AGENCY, MELISSA GALLARO DRAWS UPON HER EDUCATION FROM LIU IN HER ROLE AS AN EXECUTIVE AT THE NATION’S SECOND LARGEST AUTO INSURER
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hen Melissa Gallaro tells someone she works at GEICO, the response often goes one of two ways.
“Usually, it’s about the Gecko or one of our commercials,” she said. “Someone very brilliant made a really good choice with our marketing campaign. People love our commercials.” Few companies are more synonymous with a slogan than GEICO and its catchy: “Fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance.” However, Gallaro’s current role at the company is not specifically focused on car insurance. Earlier this year she was named president of the GEICO Insurance Agency (GIA), which manages partner companies for personal lines insurance products on behalf of GEICO, such as homeowners, renters, and other specialty policies. Gallaro joined GEICO (which stands for Government Employees Insurance Company) in 2002 and pivoted to GIA in 2009.
Melissa Gallaro
“We basically give our customers the same service, but it’s not actually our underwriting paper,” she said. “We work with other carriers in the industry that want to write homeowners and we do the pairing for them.” Although it may not maintain the same national recognition as GEICO’s auto insurance, GIA has locations in Fredericksburg, Virginia Beach, Buffalo and Kansas
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LIUMAGAZINE | December 2019