Smyrl Insurance is celebrating 70 years of business in 2025, which is an impressive milestone for a small family business! We have been reflecting on our history of values and practices that helped us stand the test of time. We’re proud to note that while much has changed in the insurance business, and our own business, the underlying principles have remained the same for over 70 years.
We often share the impact of insurance on historical events, as well as that of historical events on the insurance industry. This time, we’d like to share our own history as a company. Although many of our clients have been with Smyrl Insurance for more than one generation, not everyone knows how we got our start and how we grew to be the independent agency we are today.
Before Insurance, There was Real Estate
When Robert Smyrl Sr. launched his own business in 1955, it was Smyrl Real Estate. Robert got his start as a real estate agent for a broker in Delaware County. He liked being a real estate agent, but he was unhappy in that first role. He was not treated or paid fairly at his office, so he looked for an opportunity to get a fresh start on his own. Although his first job was difficult, he acknowledged the blessing that being left alone to do the work of others allowed him to learn a great deal about the business.
When Robert was a newlywed, he and his wife, Edna, moved to Cheltenham. It was there that he saw his opportunity for that fresh start and opened Smyrl Real Estate on 4th Street in Philadelphia. Just two years later, Robert and Edna bought property on Ryers Avenue in Cheltenham. They moved the office to the first floor, while two insurance agents rented an upstairs unit. Robert got to know the agents and began to see the value in getting his own insurance license. He knew that buying a home is usually the largest investment in a person’s lifetime, and insurance is often the largest line item in their budget. He could better serve his clients by being an honest provider in both real estate and insurance.
Robert had a great deal of respect for the financial commitment of owning and insuring a home, and he wanted to do everything possible to make sure those transactions went smoothly and fairly for his clients. He personally prepared all of his agreements of sale, deeds, and quotes by hand or on a typewriter, ensuring that the final copy did not have a single strikethrough, eraser mark, or white out. Being trustworthy was his top priority, and that meant doing everything the right way. He developed a reputation for being able to fix problems that were caused by sloppy or incorrect paperwork done by other agents.
Working in Partnership
In the late 1960s, Robert joined with the insurance agents he had befriended to form The Central Agency, located on Central Avenue in Cheltenham. As a cluster of real estate and insurance agents, this professional partnership was able to work with more insurance companies and provide comprehensive options to clients.
Over time, The Central Agency dissolved due to partners retiring and moving on in other directions. In 1975, Robert moved Smyrl Real Estate & Insurance back to Ryers Avenue in a neighboring property to the original office.
Around this time, Robert started thinking about partnership in a new direction. His three children were getting older, and he wanted to provide professional opportunities for them. His oldest daughter, Joan, chose not to enter the family business. His daughter Nancy did show an interest, so Robert helped her get jobs at other insurance agencies. This helped her gain her own experience in the industry before coming to work with him. Robert’s youngest child, Robert Jr. (we all call him Bob), had a plan from early childhood to “take over his father’s business.”
Bob’s venture started as “taking care” of his father’s business before getting to take it over. He was put to work from the age of 10, cleaning the office, mowing the lawn, running errands, filing paperwork, and making himself useful. He joined his dad and Nancy, who had already transitioned into the family business, as a full-time employee in 1986.
Family Values in Business Practice
Robert, Nancy, and Bob worked very well together as a team. Robert was always happiest working on the real estate side of the business. Insurance was important to him as a client service, but it was not where he felt his talents were best put to use.
Nancy, on the other hand, had become an insurance expert through her experience in the field. She established the company’s standards and processes that aligned with the Smyrl reputation for doing things the right way. As she worked on the insurance-specific details, Bob began working on the back office aspects of keeping the family business running smoothly. He handled sales and accounting duties while also growing his insurance knowledge.
Nancy thought insurance education was extremely important to the business, and her commitment to continuing education influenced Bob to adopt the same priorities. Both were diligent in pursuit of continuing education, even before it was a requirement for maintaining licensure. Nancy earned her Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter (CPCU) designation, which is a highly respected credential that takes about 5 years to complete. This inspired Bob to earn his Certified Insurance Counselor (CIC) designation.
Through Nancy and Bob’s efforts, Smyrl’s insurance side of the business built the same reputation as the real estate side for being great to work with because the paperwork is always correct, complete, and well researched. Bob relied on that reputation in combination with his investment in insurance education and his natural relationship skills to significantly grow the agency through sales.
Transitions and Legacy
Eventually, Bob would see his dream of “taking over my father’s business” come true. In 1999, the current business property at 3339 Unionville Pike in Hatfield was purchased, and Smyrl Insurance moved there in November of 2000. Although Nancy continued working with Bob at this location, she eventually moved on to try a different career path. When Robert retired, the real estate wing of the business was also retired.
Robert and Bob worked openly on transitioning the business to Bob’s ownership. Bob valued his dad’s advice and wanted to honor both his legacy and their family name. Bob would run his ideas past Robert, whether it was a marketing idea, a new business angle, or thoughts on sales efforts. Robert’s natural focus on doing everything the right way and his years of experience helped Bob take a step back and view ideas through the lens of making sure the company’s actions never hurt a client.
Robert’s most important advice was to always be honest. Two particular quotes stand out:
“If you never lie, you never have to worry about crossing that lie.”
“Folks will know that if you lie for them, you will lie to them.”
Bob has found that this sound advice works in pretty much every circumstance. Honesty has and always will be a foundational principle of the Smyrl name in business. This honesty is especially important to Bob as a sales leader. He values his clients and is always looking out for their best interest. By building relationships through honest communication and always doing the right thing, Bob is proud to be the lifelong and multi-generational agent for many of his clients.
Smyrl Insurance after 70 Years
Today, Smyrl Insurance continues to provide personal, home, auto, life, and commercial insurance solutions with the same commitment to honesty and doing things the right way. Our tagline is that we educate, nurture, and empower people through insurance, which is a concise summary of what Robert started 70 years ago.
Robert educated his clients to make sure they understood the financial investment they were making. He even lost a few clients for trying to talk them out of a house they could not afford. Bob (and Nancy in her day) takes continuing education seriously so that he is the best resource his clients have to learn about their insurance policies.
Robert nurtured his clients by treating them like friends or family, always acting in a manner that was in their best interest. Bob takes time with clients, asking detailed questions, to deliver the insurance solutions that will truly protect them.
Robert empowered clients by equipping them with airtight paperwork and honest evaluations of the real estate at hand. Bob makes sure his clients fully understand their policies and how to use them, then advocates on their behalf when a claim arises.
What this looks like in action is that Bob recently wrote a business policy for the adult granddaughter of someone who became a Smyrl client with his first car as a teenager. This gentleman trusted Smyrl insurance for all of his family and business needs until his passing. His widow continues as a client (remembering Bob’s sons in the military in her prayers), as do two of his children, and now the grandkids. Three generations of one family have trusted Smyrl to care for their insurance needs. We take that trust very seriously and will work hard to continue earning it every year we get the privilege of remaining in business.
As we reflect on these 70 years, we are thankful for the trips down memory lane. We’re also glad to be reminded of the commitment to honesty that set the tone for this business. We are proud to continue upholding that commitment as it guides us into the next decade of educating, nurturing, and empowering our clients.
If you have been looking for an insurance agency who works with you to find the right policies for your specific needs, please contact us. Smyrl Insurance has been helping individuals, families, and businesses for over 70 years with honesty and integrity. We serve clients in Hatfield, Lansdale, Souderton, Harleysville, and throughout the region in Montgomery County and Bucks County, Pennsylvania.
