Kingsgate Insurance Center has moved into a state-of-the-art facility in the heart of downtown Fort Dodge – 924 Central Ave. The agency is now located not far from where it was launched in 1990 by Ed and Denise Smith in the Boston Centre.

“We kind of came back home,” Denise Smith said of the return to Central Avenue.

Kingsgate Insurance has grown from a two-person startup into one of the state’s most successful independent insurance agencies. Today it has a team of 12 licensed agents and does business not only all across Iowa, but also in neighboring states and Arizona.

Growth has been a constant theme for the enterprise since the beginning. In 1995, to accommodate expansion, the Smiths moved what was originally named Ag Business Associates to 114 N. 25th St. – the Kingsgate shopping center – and adopted the present name for their flourishing venture.

The return to downtown took place because additional room for more expansion was needed.

“We had basically outgrown the space we had,” Ed Smith said, noting that the agency’s 5,000-square-foot new home is more than three times the size of its previous venue. Additionally, the Smiths now own the building their agency occupies.

Before the move, the downtown site was massively renovated.

“We basically gutted it,” Ed Smith said. “All new wiring, plumbing, windows, the whole works.”

The furniture is also all new and the agency’s technology has been upgraded. The result is a fully state-of-the-art office complex that give the business ample room for expansion, Smith said.

“The interior has a modern feel to it as a professional office,” said Ryan Smith, who co-owns the business with Ed and Denise Smith, his parents.

Being back in the city’s historic commercial center was one of the attractions of the move, according to the Smiths.

“We’re encouraged by the direction downtown is heading – the crosstown connector, some of the other development that’s happening down here,” Ryan Smith said. “We just felt it offered the right opportunity and fit for us.”

One-stop shop

Kingsgate Insurance provides an extensive array of options and services to both individual and commercial clients.

“It’s a broad mix of things, but revenue-wise commercial makes up probably 75 percent of the business,” Ed Smith said. “Property and casualty has always been our biggest source of revenue. We’re an independent agency so we’re committed to all lines.”

His son said the diversity of what the agency can offer is one of the things that distinguishes it.

“We want to be that one-stop shop,” he said. “We do insurance. We do financial planning. Our goal is always to be a complete solution for our customers – personal, commercial, benefits, financial planning.”

Ryan Smith said the agency puts heavy emphasis on having team members who have the precise expertise customers require.

“We take a lot of pride in our investment in education,” he said. “We have had staff that have been with us for a good period of time and are on par with anyone in the industry. We endeavor to provide professional advice that goes beyond the insurance – more of an active role of risk management rather than just selling insurance policies.”

Smith said the agency encourages staff members to specialize so the team as a whole has the benefit of an array of experts.

“We don’t expect individuals within the company be to be a jack-of-all-trades, master-of-none,” he said. “We want them to specialize.”

Getting bigger is very much a part of the agenda at Kingsgate Insurance.

“We certainly want to grow and evolve as far as the services we provide our customers,” Ryan Smith said. “We want to continue to recruit top talent to help us achieve that. I think the facility gives us the ability to do that. It shows that we are a dynamic organization. We’re excited about the future. Growth is a big part of that.”

Meet the Smiths

Ed Smith is originally from Griswold. He graduated from high school there in 1968. Then it was on to Northwest Missouri State where in 1973 he completed a Bachelor of Science degree in agribusiness.

College is where he met his future wife, Denise Heaton. She had grown up in Cedar Rapids and graduated from George Washington High School in 1970. Denise Heaton Smith graduated from Northwest Missouri State in 1973 with a bachelor’s degree in education.

“The reason we came to Fort Dodge was a job brought me here in 1987 as a farm manager,” Ed Smith said. “That’s how we established relationships to start an agency. … I began as a farmer. I had that independent streak in me. The opportunity was there, so I took it. I felt like we could do more and better things on our own.”

The initial focus of the agency was property and casualty insurance.

“When we first started it was mostly farm and crop,” Denise Smith said.

Ryan Smith, who was 9 when the family arrived in Fort Dodge, is a 1997 graduate of Fort Dodge Senior High. He subsequently studied business administration at the University of Northern Iowa and received a Bachelor of Arts degree in December 2001. In January 2002, he joined the family’s business.

Ryan Smith said he is impressed by the initiative and courage his parents showed in deciding to establish a brand-new insurance agency.

“In 1990, when they started the insurance business, they did it from scratch without a customer when they opened the doors,” he said. “Most people when they get into this line of work they may acquire an agency so there is already a revenue stream. So, it was a pretty big decision for them. I take a lot of pride in the origin story.”

Both Denise and Ed Smith said they have benefited from a family that encouraged and supported them. They have recognized that contribution by naming two key rooms in the new headquarters after family members. The Naida L. Helm Conference Room honors Denise Smith’s mother. The E. Merle Smith Training Center pays tribute to Ed Smith’s father.

“We had a lot of support from my family and Ed’s family,” Denise Smith said. “They were always there for us.”

All three Smiths said they find being part of the insurance world satisfying both personally and professionally.

“I enjoy the relationships and helping people at difficult times in their life,” Ed Smith said, adding that having longtime clients is also rewarding. “We have a lot of the customers we started with. Now we have their kids and grandkids.”

His wife is also enthusiastic about being part of Kingsgate Insurance Center.

“I’ve enjoyed watching it grow,” Denise Smith said. “It’s a family business. So, it’s nice to be with my family.”

Their son said the diversity of the work especially appeals to him.

“As an insurance agent you are privy to a lot of information from a client,” Ryan Smith said. “They lean on you for advice. You get to wear a lot of different hats and you get to learn about any industry that you want to learn more about.”