Industry honors McClain Insurance for leadership

  • By Christina Harper For The Herald Business Journal
  • Sunday, November 17, 2013 8:23pm
  • Business

Claudia McClain was a newlywed when she started her Everett insurance business in 1977. She and her husband, Pat, had moved to the area from Southern California when he took the position of Everett Chamber of Commerce manager.

McClain started out on her own working with PEMCO, a company that had a small, regional and very much a family feel, McClain said.

Her other observation about PEMCO was important too: the company liked to give back.

This sentiment has been deeply held by McClain, now president of McClain Insurance Services, who recently received the Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of Washington State “Agent of the Year” Award for her leadership and inspiration in the insurance industry.

“That was quite an honor,” McClain said.

As well as the agent of the year award, McClain and her five staff were honored with the Corporations for Communities 2013 award by the Secretary of State for outstanding leadership in the insurance industry and the local community.

McClain Insurance Services is one of five companies on the 2013 list that includes Weyerhaeuser and IKEA.

“This town and all of Snohomish County has been so good for our family,” McClain said. “As we have grown a bit and we have the resources, it just feels right to give back.”

And give back is exactly what this small company of six does on a regular basis by hosting events such as defensive driving classes, shredding and ID theft prevention fairs, electronics recycling, and supporting local causes from Christmas House and Cocoon House to school supply drives and July 4th firework events.

Every June 14, Flag Day, McClain buys new flags so that people can come and exchange their old U.S. flag for a new one.

“The Boy Scouts do a respectful retirement ceremony for the old flags,” McClain said.

Staff at the McClain Insurance Services has a proactive approach to giving. Part of their mission is that they want to find ways to support charities, especially nonprofits that do good work for families and children, ones that educate and support families.

When insurance agent Nick Pembroke and his wife were expecting their first child in 2011, he was made aware that the government program Women, Infants and Children (WIC) that supports low-income women and children up to the age of 5 with nutrition, does not provide diapers.

This inspired Pembroke and other staff at McClain Insurance Services to host a diaper drive.

“It got a lot of traction,” Pembroke said.

People began donating diapers and formula that filled a baby “‘pack and play” with additional stacks on either side. Staff collected between 1,500 to 2,500 pounds of diapers and formula.

“We contacted VOA (Volunteers of America),” McClain said. A truck came and took the supplies away.

McClain credits clients whose support has been invaluable throughout the years.

When a client gives the insurance company a referral, a donation is made to a charity of the month as a thank you.

“It is rewarding,” McClain said. “Clients get to hear about organizations that they would not have otherwise known about.”

The staff at McClain Insurance Services gets 16 hours per year to work with a local organization. One woman did her 16 hours in one weekend. Others opt for lunch-buddy roles that take an hour per week.

“It’s their choice on what they want to do,” McClain said.

Clients have been responsive in many ways, turning up at the Everett office with back to school supplies, and baby items.

“Oh my gosh,” McClain said. “People are so generous.”

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Business

Black Press Media operates Sound Publishing, the largest community news organization in Washington State with dailies and community news outlets in Alaska.
Black Press Media concludes transition of ownership

Black Press Media, which operates Sound Publishing, completed its sale Monday (March 25), following the formerly announced corporate restructuring.

Maygen Hetherington, executive director of the Historic Downtown Snohomish Association, laughs during an interview in her office on Thursday, Feb. 15, 2024, in Snohomish, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Maygen Hetherington: tireless advocate for the city of Snohomish

Historic Downtown Snohomish Association receives the Opportunity Lives Here award from Economic Alliance.

FILE - Washington Secretary of State Steve Hobbs poses in front of photos of the 15 people who previously held the office on Nov. 22, 2021, after he was sworn in at the Capitol in Olympia, Wash. Hobbs faces several challengers as he runs for election to the office he was appointed to last fall. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, File)
Secretary of State Steve Hobbs: ‘I wanted to serve my country’

Hobbs, a former Lake Stevens senator, is the recipient of the Henry M. Jackson Award from Economic Alliance Snohomish County.

Mark Duffy poses for a photo in his office at the Mountain Pacific Bank headquarters on Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
Mark Duffy: Building a hometown bank; giving kids an opportunity

Mountain Pacific Bank’s founder is the recipient of the Fluke Award from Economic Alliance Snohomish County.

Barb Tolbert poses for a photo at Silver Scoop Ice Cream on Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024 in Arlington, Washington. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
Barb Tolbert: Former mayor piloted Arlington out of economic brink

Tolbert won the Elson S. Floyd Award, honoring a leader who has “created lasting opportunities” for the underserved.

Photo provided by 
Economic Alliance
Economic Alliance presented one of the Washington Rising Stem Awards to Katie Larios, a senior at Mountlake Terrace High School.
Mountlake Terrace High School senior wins state STEM award

Katie Larios was honored at an Economic Alliance gathering: “A champion for other young women of color in STEM.”

The Westwood Rainier is one of the seven ships in the Westwood line. The ships serve ports in the Pacific Northwest and Northeast Asia. (Photo provided by Swire Shipping)
Westwood Shipping Lines, an Everett mainstay, has new name

The four green-hulled Westwood vessels will keep their names, but the ships will display the Swire Shipping flag.

A Keyport ship docked at Lake Union in Seattle in June 2018. The ship spends most of the year in Alaska harvesting Golden King crab in the Bering Sea. During the summer it ties up for maintenance and repairs at Lake Union. (Keyport LLC)
In crabbers’ turbulent moment, Edmonds seafood processor ‘saved our season’

When a processing plant in Alaska closed, Edmonds-based business Keyport stepped up to solve a “no-win situation.”

Angela Harris, Executive Director of the Port of Edmonds, stands at the port’s marina on Wednesday, Jan. 24, 2024, in Edmonds, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Leadership, love for the Port of Edmonds got exec the job

Shoring up an aging seawall is the first order of business for Angela Harris, the first woman to lead the Edmonds port.

The Cascade Warbirds fly over Naval Station Everett. (Sue Misao / The Herald file)
Bothell High School senior awarded $2,500 to keep on flying

Cascade Warbirds scholarship helps students 16-21 continue flight training and earn a private pilot’s certificate.

Rachel Gardner, the owner of Musicology Co., a new music boutique record store on Thursday, Jan. 18, 2024 in Edmonds, Washington. Musicology Co. will open in February, selling used and new vinyl, CDs and other music-related merchandise. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
New Edmonds record shop intends to be a ‘destination for every musician’

Rachel Gardner opened Musicology Co. this month, filling a record store gap in Edmonds.

MyMyToyStore.com owner Tom Harrison at his brick and mortar storefront on Tuesday, Sept. 6, 2022 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Burst pipe permanently closes downtown Everett toy store

After a pipe flooded the store, MyMyToystore in downtown Everett closed. Owner Tom Harrison is already on to his next venture.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.