r By Andra Cefalo
The members of the Payson Santaquin Area Chamber of Commerce have chosen Behling Insurance Agency in Payson as their September Business of the month. Behling Insurance Agency has been around for over 52 years. This business got its start back in 1966 when the agency’s founder, Rex Behling opened his first office. Rex made his mark on Payson by being the first agent for many of the insurance companies that do business in Payson. In 1984 Richard Behling joined the office as a fill-in file clerk. Rex soon convinced Richard to get his license and the rest is history. Approximately five years later Richard became the owner of the agency. Today, they have added the expertise of a new partner, Dan Sherwood, cementing the future of the agency going forward.
They are proud of their employees. They currently have Teresa Sant and Sandra Rasmussen in the Payson office. Both of these ladies have worked for the agency for 25 plus years. They really take ownership and love to help people with their insurance needs. They recently added Tamara Morgan to the Payson office. She loves her work and looks forward to helping customers with their insurance needs as well. They also have Joseph (Joe) Burkley, who works out of the Salt Lake City office with Dan when Dan is not in Payson.
We asked Richard what he likes about being a business owner in the Payson Santaquin area. “Payson and Santaquin, or should I say the south end of Utah County, has been good for our Agency. The small-town feel is getting stretched a bit now but over all the people in Payson and Santaquin are why we are in business. Many of our customers want to continue to do business with us even when they move. It is because of these people that we have become licensed in nine other states (soon to be ten) and are growing in those states at the same time.”
Behling Insurance Agency likes to tell people that they do everything but Crop Insurance. Their main lines of insurance offered are Home, Auto, ATV/RV, Life, Commercial, Wealth Management and Farm. Richard was the first Agribusiness and Farm Insurance Specialist in the state of Utah. The ability to write insurance for the hard to write client, being licensed in multiple states and having Richard who is an Agribusiness Specialist is what sets Behling Insurance apart. Richard himself is a farmer so he really understands the industry. Richard said, “Behling Insurance really is Payson/Santaquin’s hometown insurance agency. No other agency can say that they have served this area longer and we are looking forward to the next 50 years.”
