Fred Loya Insurance is headquartered in El Paso, Texas, selling insurance in five states with plans to expand into two more.  It is one of the largest Hispanic businesses in the United States, with 2600 employees and three corporate offices.  Among the employees are 200 claims adjusters, an in-house legal department, over 100 appraisers and a claims department that handles over 6,500 claims per month.  The company began by selling insurance to customers that other agents avoided – low income clients who may not have great credit or driving history, which remains the company’s focus to this day.

Fred Loya Insurance began as one store in 1974, when Loya became an agent for Farmers Insurance.  Loya had recently arrived back in the United States, having left his wife at the family ranch in Chihuahua, Mexico.  At first, selling insurance was just something to supplement his income until the price of cattle rose again.  However, after the agent who he was sharing office space with moved out, Loya began to sell additional insurance to the other agent’s clients, in order to bring in more business.  In 1985 he left Farmers and in 1995, he decided to become a general agent and write his own policies.  Loya found that his forte was selling car insurance; he did not mind selling to low income people who may cancel their policy every three months or may lapse because of economic problems.  Business was rough at first but stabilized 1998, and in 2000, Loya’s son, Fred Loya, Jr. took over the business as CEO.  His daughter, Flower Loya, serves as President of the company, and Loya, Sr. remains in a consultation role as Chairman Emeritus.

Today, Fred Loya Insurance is found in California, Colorado, Illinois, New Mexico and Texas, with 361 agencies and plans to expand into Nevada and Arizona.  In 2009, the company had over 360,000 active policies, insuring over half a million drivers and writing over $400 million in premiums.  The company places emphasis on being “local” and currently has agencies in several grocery store chains such as Liborio Supermarkets, Cardenas and Superior in California.  In Texas, there are agencies located in Wal-Marts, Fiesta Marts and Big 8 Food Source stores.  The location of their agencies reflects their slogan, “Where being local matters.”

Fred Loya Insurance provides services that make insurance accessible to everyone, offering free quotes and competitive rates no matter your income, credit score or driving history.  The company also offers a variety of payment plans, online payments, and monthly renewal polices