By Ken McEntee

By the time she donned her mustang green Strongsville High School graduation gown and received her diploma, Brittany Hoyas had already worked in the insurance business for several years.

“I was 15 when I started working around the office doing filing and basic administrative work,” Brittany recalls. “My plan was to go to law school, but my dad presented me with an opportunity I couldn’t really turn down.”

Today, Brittany is an insurance agent and Strongsville office manager at Hoyas Insurance Group, the agency that her dad, Gus, established in 2007. The new Strongsville location opened in December.

“I grew to love the insurance business because of the opportunity to work with people every day,” she says.

Hoyas Insurance is an independent agency that offers a generous variety of home, automobile, life and business policy options from 10 different providers, like Nationwide, Westfield, Liberty and Progressive.

“Being an independent agent with a lot of choices, we can save you money—but more importantly, we can make sure that you’re properly covered with the policy that is the absolute best for you and your family,” Gus assures.

Gus and his wife Liliana launched the family business almost 17 years ago with an office in Twinsburg.

“I was vice president of operations and sales administration for Nationwide when we had an opportunity to purchase an agency,” Gus says. “Within seven years we tripled the agency’s annual premiums from $1 million to $3 million. We’re now at around $6 million, which is very solid for a family business like ours. We’ve been very blessed.”

Hoyas started as a captive agency for Nationwide. In 2018, the agency became independent, giving it the flexibility of offering insurance from additional providers. In the same year, the company expanded with two new locations in North Ridgeville and Elyria. During the pandemic, Gus closed the Twinsburg and North Ridgeville locations, keeping the Elyria office open.

“One of the big reasons was that being from an Hispanic culture, we wanted to serve the Hispanic communities in Lorain County,” Gus explains.

The company now has expanded to the Hoyas’ hometown.

“Strongsville is an excellent community and we’re looking forward to working in this market,” Gus shares. “Brittany is heading up a solid team that is eager to help new customers find the right insurance.”

The team includes Liliana, who Gus notes “has been working with me since day one.”

Other team members are

• William Andrick, who “does everything” and has more than 12 years of experience in the insurance business, Gus says.

• Elizabeth Myers, who specializes in commercial insurance.

• Kelsey Marder, who has been with Hoyas for more than 10 years. “She’s incredible,” Gus insists.

• Shanelle Bush, who joined the agency about a year ago.

Gus encourages people to call or drop by the office to get a “second opinion” about their current insurance policies.

“Price shopping is one of the biggest mistakes people make when they buy insurance,” he says. “Being underinsured can be very costly in the long run. You owe it to yourself to make sure you’re protected.”

And you can do it at a competitive rate, Brittany adds.

“It’s a common misconception that all insurance is expensive,” she says. “We have affordable insurance plans that we can tailor to anybody’s needs. As an independent agency, we have the liberty of shopping around to get you the best deal.”

You can be sure that your policy is the best for you by contacting Hoyas Insurance Group, at 440-324-3331, or by stopping in at 11925 Pearl Road, in Strongsville. You can learn more by visiting HoyasInsuranceGroup.com.