Jerry Robillard

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I retired from from law enforcement after six years with the City of Anaheim because of an on-duty injury. With two kids and one on the way, I went to work for insurance company. Within two weeks, I was asked to attend agent training as part of a management training program. At age 30, I became an Allstate agent, then district sales manager. The corporate environment was not very satisfying after riding a Harley Davidson motorcycle as a traffic officer - and not nearly as much fun. Eighteen months after leaving law enforcement, I started an independent insurance agency with the help of Safeco Insurance. The agency was called G. A. Robillard & Associates. In the beginning, the only associates were my wife, Carol and our toddler, Ronda. Within two years, the agency was representing most major carriers; The Hartford, INA, Travelers, Industrial Indemnity, Royal Globe, Mercury Casualty and Employers Casualty. Because Orange County was in a boom of business growth, my work was focused on commercial insurance.

Over the next twenty years, I earned credentials as a Certified Insurance Consultant, and attended Chartered Property and Casualty Underwriter training.

1989 seemed to be a good year to make the good move from California to the Puget Sound. After a hiatus of two years, and dabbling in insurance agency software development, I returned to insurance by opening the agency in Langley. In 1992, South Whidbey was an unlikely place to open a new insurance agency because there were few people and even fewer businesses. Doing business here is so different from Southern California where it was a very tough and competitive environment. I now work at a slower pace and can enjoy the people we serve. I can also represent only those insurance companies that will do the job for us.

It was not long until Joan Watson joined me, and was with the agency until she retired in 2002. Annamarie Voss started working for us in 2001, and Donna Carter joined us later that year.

The insurance business has satisfied my need to be of real help to people. It may not be as good as saving a life as I did as a police officer, but when I can pitch in and help a client trying to deal with a claim problem, or set up a risk management program for a business operation, it comes as close as it can get for an old guy like me.