Village of Oregon native Charlie Hagstrom has retired after 30 years in the insurance business, but his former policyholders won’t have to travel far to visit the office that purchased Hagstrom Insurance.
The office of William R. Torhorst & Associaagtes, located at 104 N. Main St. in downtown Oregon, is directly across the street from 113 N. Main St., where Hagstrom Insurance had operated since the early 1960s.
Hagstrom joined his father as a broker at the Hagstrom Agency in downtown Oregon in 1984. He operated the business until Jan. 1, when he sold it to fellow insurance broker Bill Torhorst.
“Back in the beginning when this (negotiations) started, Charlie said he wants to keep this as low-key as possible,” Torhorst said. “We’ve mailed out letters to all the policyholders.
“His dad started the business and the best part is, it’s not leaving town,” Torhorst added. “Local service, local flavor, local people – that was very important to Charlie and to me.”
Hagstrom said the agency was actually started by the late Bill Dunn, whose son eventually ran the business until he sold it to Hagstrom in the early ‘60s, before moving to New Mexico.
“It’s in the fourth generation of ownership,” Hagstrom said of the business.
Torhorst and Hagstrom have been longtime friends, so Hagstrom selling to his former business competitor made perfect sense. He said it was more like “a merger” than actually selling the business.
“Bill was the natural buyer,” Hagstrom said.
Torhorst has been in the insurance business since 1978 and has operated an office in Oregon since ’86, he said. He has three full-time employees.
“We understand that we are employed and have jobs because local people do business with us,” he said. “We truly appreciate that, and we are all about customer service.”
In retirement, Hagstrom plans to spend more time with his family enjoying their cabin in northern Wisconsin, where he is an avid ice fisherman and outdoorsman.
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http://www.unifiednewsgroup.com/oregon_observer/business/longtime-oregon-insurance-broker-hagstrom-sells-business-retires/article_da12bd5c-45f7-5148-b391-a5a8f72da813.html