By Jennifer McDaniel
jim newhouse
Keeping the wheels rolling for over five decades
J im Newhouse smiles as he runs his hand over the smooth curves forming the fender of his Model A Ford. As he brushes away a thin coat of dust, his reflection is revealed in the glossy black finish.
The automobile is one of three acquired over the years, along with a Model T he picked up along the way. In the tranquility of a Saturday morning, Newhouse stands in the garage in the rear of his Wichita insurance agency, M & M Insurance Associates, admiring the vehicle.
Originally built in 1930 for a Studebaker dealership, the building has been the agency’ s home since Oct. 2, 1999 – the day Newhouse closed on the property. For much of his life, Newhouse has had a love affair with the American automobile, and so it was only fitting his insurance agency would be firmly rooted in a building with a rich auto history.
The early days
When Newhouse decided to venture into business for himself 50 years ago, he had little money.
A few bills and some change was all the young man had when he was suddenly faced with a proposal that would change his life forever.
Once the business was up and running, his friend told his insurance associates about Newhouse’ s services. In no time, he had eight new clients. However, one day, one of those agents called, and asked if the two could meet. Newhouse would learn his associate was bankrupt, and was in desperate need of money. Broke and scared, the man asked the young entrepreneur to buy his insurance agency so he could pay his bills.
“ I told him I didn’ t know anything about the insurance business,” Newhouse said.“ But he told told me that if I hired him as an employee, he would show me what to do and teach me the business.”
So in 1966, Newhouse formed M & M Insurance. At first, the agency focused on auto and homeowner insurance, but when his son, Jimmy, joined the business in 1982, the business expanded to handle commercial accounts. Today, the fullservice agency has grown to 32 full-time and three part-time employees and offers life, health, personal and commercial insurance.
For the next decade, Newhouse continued financing insurance premiums in addition to selling insurance. Eventually, he called it quits.
A recent widower and single father of two, Newhouse struggled to find a way to support his young children and get back on his feet. The offer couldn’ t have come at a better time.
“ I think I had $ 200, truthfully, to my name,” he said.“ And so I told my parents how my friend wanted me to start a finance company to finance insurance premiums.”
Newhouse’ s parents agreed to give him the seed capital to start the business, and on Dec. 8, 1965, M & M Finance Co. was born. At that time, he said, there were few, if any, companies solely backing insurance premiums. However, Newhouse’ s friend – an insurance agent – sold a number of policies and wanted a finance company to fund the premiums instead of relying on a bank.
Jim Newhouse stands next to a Model A Ford – one of three he’ s collected during the years. Newhouse not only drives the car around Wichita, but also incorporates the antique cars, including a vintage Model T, into window displays on the second floor of his agency, M & M Insurance Associates.
| January-February 2016 | KANSAS INSURANCE AGENT & BROKER
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