Observer photo/Stuart Hedstrom TRASK STAFF — The staff at Trask Insurance are front, Fred Trask; back, from left, Lorrie Gerrish, Kim Robinson, Candy Clukey and Julie Andrews. All five are from the area and graduates of either Milo High School or Penquis Valley High School. Trask Insurance was founded 70 years ago in 1938 by Trask’s father, the late Claude Trask.

By Stuart Hedstrom
Staff Writer

MILO — Trask Insurance has reached a milestone, marking 70 years in business in 2008. Originally opened by the late Claude Trask on October 27, 1938, today Trask Insurance is operated by his son Fred Trask, who joined the business in 1974, and includes five employees who all are natives of the Milo area.

Trask Insurance began when Claude Trask purchased the Howard Howatt Insurance Agency of LaGrange, and moved operations to his First Street home in Derby. Trask purchased the John MacDonald Insurance Agency in LaGrange in 1941, and relocated the business to Park St. in Milo.

Trask bought the Hodgman Agency of Brownville Jct. in 1952, and purchased the Milo Farmers Union Building on Main St. in 1967 which today continues to house Trask Insurance. The younger Trask came aboard in 1974, after graduating from Husson College — as did his father — and having worked in personnel at Guilford of Maine, Simplex Wire and Cable in North Berwick and the Milo Community Hospital

“For a small agency we have quite a market,” said Fred Trask about the various insurance offerings. He mentioned homeowners, life, health, seasonal properties, ATV, snowmobiles, classic automobiles, worker’s comp and business property, liability and auto as types of insurance offered through Trask Insurance.

Trask said that automobile insurance is among the most popular forms of insurance through the agency, and Trask Insurance also does a lot of business with homeowners insurance.

Trask mentioned the impact of technology as the biggest change he has seen to the insurance industry. “It has changed how we do business,” said Trask. He mentioned that when he started, potential policy holders simply needed to provide basic information such as their name and address and a few other details for their policies.

Today Trask said there are more “in-depth questions to ask” and the technology allows for “a more detailed check on a person’s life.”

The addition of computers has made “hand-written policies a thing of the past,” said Trask, adding that the agency is in the process of adjusting to a completely “paper-less system.” Computers also can provide for detailed information on the range of premiums based on client data such as driving records and credit rating.

Trask mentioned that Trask Insurance gives back to the community, taking part in community events such as parades and sponsoring activities at local schools, and asked for residents “to give local people a chance to let a local business write their policies.” He added most of the time the agency may be able to beat the rates on insurance companies from away, and working with Trask Insurance keeps the monies in town.

All five employees of Trask Insurance, who continually stay up to date on changes within the insurance industry, are from the area and are either graduates of the former Milo High School or Penquis Valley High School.

Kim Robinson has been with Trask Insurance for nearly 22 years, and handles commercial lines such as worker’s compensation and property insurance for businesses. Robinson said the advent of computers has changed the insurance industry as “we have gone from a file cabinet full of folders to a management system on computer.”

Observer photo/Stuart Hedstrom MILO LOCATION — Trask Insurance is located at 3 Main Street in Milo. The agency has been at its current location for over 40 years after being at several other addresses in the early decades of its 70 years in business.

When asked what she likes best about her job, Robinson said “all the people that I see.” She continued, “I’m here to help them when something unfortunate has happened, such as a car being damaged or somebody is injured.”

Candy Clukey has been with Trask Insurance for nearly two years, and has worked in the industry for a decade. A 1997 Penquis Valley graduate, Clukey said she enjoys working with clients in the town she grew up in and “putting a personal touch” to insurance “that at a larger agency is not there.”

Having lived in Derby, Milo and Brownville, Lorrie Gerrish first worked for Trask Insurance from 1976-1995 and then took a decade off before coming back to work for the past three years. Gerrish works in bookkeeping, and she likes “all the people that I work with and the people I see” best about her job.

Julie Andrews has been with Trask Insurance since September 1996, when she returned to the area where she grew up after living in Pennsylvania. Andrews said she likes teaching about insurance the best. She said that if 10 people were asked what they know about insurance, eight would say they know very little and two might say they know something.

“It’s important to understand what we have and how (clients) can benefit,” said Andrews. “Once you establish a good business relationship and you can have a good friendship, and it’s win-win.”

While the official seventieth anniversary date will be on October 27, Trask Insurance is planning a customer appreciation event for the summer and details will be announced in the coming months.

Trask Insurance is located at 3 Main St. in Milo. For more information, please call 943-7746.