Hummingbird Insurance was founded on one principal: the golden rule. “Everything that we do puts this first,” explains Geoffrey Ferland, who is the owner and founder of the company. He created Hummingbird Insurance in the summer of 2014, and in the first year, was able to help several hundred people get health insurance coverage for 2015. And since then, they’ve only gotten bigger. Today, Geoff and his team are proud to say that they run the top rated health insurance company in North Carolina. We sat down with him to learn more about the secrets to his success.
Hummingbird was founded in 2014, in the second year of the ACA. I had the opportunity to startup Hummingbird myself after helping establish a new agency the year before as the managing Director of Business. We have grown quickly over the past few years, always focusing on providing the highest quality customer service and free help to our clients.
Despite our small size, Hummingbird is the #1-rated agency in North Carolina by customers overall! This is based on the number of reviews multiplied by the average rating on Google, facebook and Yelp.
I’m thankful for the work that we do, for a few reasons. First- I love helping individuals, families and employers figure out their own healthcare puzzle while also usually saving money and providing more complete coverage overall. Also, I’m grateful for my agents – they are a group of awesome people who support our WNC community in every way possible. I can’t say enough about the quality of their professionalism and assistance to all, regardless of income.
Keep it Local! We try to practice this as much as possible ourselves in our everyday business and personal lives, as well. By supporting other local businesses, we help keep the economic dollars in our own community.
Starting a business from bootstraps is not easy. It takes a lot of time, money, energy and optimism. I think that many small business entrepreneurs tend to under-reinvest their income back into the company first, preferring to maximize their take-home draws too early. I’m thankful that my family has been patient with me paying into my business’ growth first, while we’ve lived personally on a more fixed budget at home.
We are hoping to provide the ‘Hummingbird Experience’ to more clients and in more markets – we just opened our second branch office in Gainesville, Florida! Everything is based on your experience – we aim to provide the best help, honest advice and informative consultation possible within our industry. Folks can get signed up for insurance just about anywhere or even on their own without affecting premiums in any way, but we feel that our clients are best served with our free help – including our assistance directly with our carriers after enrollment, and with claim troubleshooting.
Our very business model is centered around helping all individuals, families and employers in our communities with free help navigating some of the most complicated decisions to make regarding their coverage and expenses. For employers, we offer free consultations and presentations for their employees who do not qualify for a group plan – most part-time workers should qualify for low or no-cost plans in the ACA Marketplace. For individuals and self-employed folks, our phone and online appointments are always free and can be booked easily on our website!
Call: 828-372-0101
Email: hello@hummingbirdins.com
Open by appointment only at 4 Vermont Ave, Suite 2.