About Knox Insurance

Company History   Commitment to the Community

Thank you for visiting our website. On behalf of our staff and member companies, I hope you find this site both informative and useful.

Since the early 1990’s in particular, our agency has experienced overwhelming growth. At a time when many small-town agencies have either gone out of business or have been acquired by larger, impersonal agencies, we have had the good fortune to increase agency business through internal growth as well as the addition of numerous new clients. Additionally, we have maintained and developed strong relationships with a variety of financially sound insurance companies to provide our clients with competitively priced products. All of this leads to our ability to provide unparalleled personal service to our customers.

As part of this growth, we have invested a substantial amount of time and money into technology. This has enabled us to handle clients' problems more efficiently as well as comply with our companies' technological demands.

As noted in our agency history, the Knox family and this agency are no newcomers to the insurance field. Although we pride ourselves on competitive pricing, outstanding companies affiliations and cutting edge technology, these are merely secondary to the real reason behind our success: our relationship with our customers. We do not and will not, look at our business as a "financial" business; instead, we view it as a "people" business. As my father used to say, "Sell insurance as though you're selling it to your mother."

Technology and pricing have certainly changed a great deal in our agency’s long history. However, the principles of strong relationships with our clients, trustworthiness and knowledge of insurance products will certainly remain our foremost goals as we look to the future.

Thanks again for your visit.

Sincerely,
Carl Knox
President and CEO

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Company history

The photo to the right dated January 26, 1883 depicts the aftermath of a fire that destroyed a large part of what is now downtown McArthur. As a direct result of that devastating fire, a local businessman named O.F. Pilcher decided to begin selling fire insurance to local businesses and farmers as an independent agent. On May 1, 1885, Mr. Pilcher was appointed to write insurance for Ohio Farmers Insurance Company. Although the insurance company is now known as Westfield Insurance Company, this affiliation still remains today. Ironically, Knox Insurance's current office is located on the same block that was destroyed by the fire.

In the early 1920s, Leroy Pilcher joined O.F. Pilcher, and then 20 years later, George A. Knox joined the Pilcher agency. In the 1950’s, Mr. Knox’s son, George L. Knox began working in the agency and the name was changed to George A. Knox and Son. In 1969, the agency incorporated and adopted its current name, Knox Insurance Agency, Inc.

The third generation of Knoxes joined the agency in 1991 when George L.’s son, Carl Knox, went to work for his father. Carl became the President of Knox Insurance in 1995 and currently serves as the President and Agency Principal.

From the 1800’s until today, Knox Insurance remains an independent agency that places a high value on building long-lasting relationships with clients and companies. We value our long history and are proud to be able to say we have truly provided “Quality Service Since 1885”.

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Commitment to the Community

Knox Insurance recognizes the importance of contributing toward the betterment of our community and strives to sponsor and support a number of charities and organizations. In addition to providing financial support, the employees at Knox Insurance volunteer their time and effort to many local groups and social events. We are proud of our affiliation with the following organizations:

• Vinton County Chamber of Commerce member
• Vinton County Relay for Life
• VCHS Athletic Boosters Varsity Level sponsor
• Pee-Wee Baseball Team sponsor
• Vinton County Junior Miss Scholarship Program sponsor
• Vinton County 4-H sponsor
• American Legion Baseball sponsor
• Pee-Wee Basketball team sponsor
• FFA sponsor
• Ronald McDonald House sponsor
• Christmas in Downtown participant
• Friends of Lake Alma
• Charitable golf events sponsor
• Crime Prevention donor through Vinton County Sheriff’s Office

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