For more than five decades, Lawton Insurance has maintained a presence in Owensboro, evolving through several transitions while continuing to emphasize personalized service and local relationships.
According to Lori Byers, an agent with the company’s Owensboro office, the agency first opened locally in 1969 as Horn Insurance before later becoming Horn and France Insurance in the 1980s. The Owensboro office joined the Lawton group of agencies in 2016.
The Lawton name itself traces back more than 125 years in Kentucky insurance history. The company’s website notes that founder Clyde Allison Lawton Sr. established the independent agency in Central City in 1899, with the business continuing through multiple generations before transitioning to current ownership.
Today, the Lawton group includes offices in Owensboro, Central City, Bowling Green, Greenville, and Hartford.
“We’re honored to be a part of this community and part of the business community in Owensboro,” Byers said. “We pride ourselves on supporting the community.”
Byers said the agency regularly supports local schools and athletics programs, while also participating in charitable initiatives throughout the region. One recent effort involved providing devotional books to local students entering military service after graduation.
The Owensboro office, located at 200 E. Third St., Suite 101, shares a building with the Greater Owensboro Chamber of Commerce.
As an independent insurance agency, Lawton Insurance offers a wide range of personal and commercial products, including auto, home, life, health, business, and group health insurance coverage.
“We represent just about every personal and commercial carrier that an independent agency can have, so we have a wide variety of options,” Byers said. “We have the ability to shop for you, so you don’t have to do that yourself.”
The company’s website highlights offerings ranging from personal property and vehicle insurance to commercial liability, employee benefits, and life insurance products.
Byers said Lawton works with businesses of all sizes, including municipalities and large commercial accounts, while still trying to maintain what she described as a “hometown insurance agency feel.”
“So many independent agencies are being bought by larger insurance carriers,” she said. “We are still pretty much locally owned, and we still try to provide that hometown service to hometown people.”
That local service became especially important following severe weather events across the region, including the major hailstorm that impacted Owensboro last year.
“We personally handled those claims and turned them in, and tried to help walk people through that claims process ourselves,” Byers said. “We didn’t just give them a 1-800 number to a claims department.”
Byers said the increase in severe weather events has made many customers more aware of the importance of proper insurance coverage and responsive service.
“The good thing is that’s why we do have insurance,” she said. “If we do have those events, we’re here.”
Customers interested in obtaining a quote can either call the Owensboro office directly or visit Lawton Insurance’s website to submit information through the company’s online quote tool.
The Chamber Member of the Week program is a Greater Owensboro Chamber of Commerce membership benefit. Founded in 1913, the Chamber has worked to provide valuable benefits and services to member businesses and individuals for over a century.
Today, with nearly 1,000 members, the Chamber is a guiding force in community and business development initiatives and serves as the center of business advocacy for the Greater Owensboro region.
To learn more about becoming the Chamber Member of the Week or inquire about Chamber membership, contact Kitty Jones, director of membership, at 270-926-1860 or kjones@owensboro.com.
By John Kirkpatrick The Owensboro Times