By Hayleigh Gowans
Staff Writer
When insurance businessmen Gary Meyer and Joseph Convertino Jr. met over breakfast through a mutual friend in 2004, they hit it off well. And from that day, the two men have worked together to provide a unique service — insurance that is aimed to protect those who are part of the deaf and hard of hearing community.
CH Insurance Agency is a Syracuse-based insurance company that provides personal and commercial insurance, including home, auto, workers compensation and employee benefits. The company has 28 employees, and Convertino, the company’s president and a Manlius resident, said the split of insurance revenues for CH Insurance is about 25 percent personal and 75 percent commercial.
Deaf and Hard of Hearing Agency (DHH) is a division of CH Insurance. It was started in Rochester, N.Y., in 1999 by Meyer, who was born deaf and moved to the area from his birthplace of Chicago because of the strong deaf community there.
DHH provides insurance programs for sign language interpreters, interpreter agencies, non-profits and deaf-owned businesses, as well as personal insurance for deaf and hard of hearing clients. Meyer works closely with organizations, like the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf, and is able to provide thousands of interpreters and deaf clients across the nation with insurance.
Before joining forces with CH Insurance in 2004, Meyer said he was mainly providing personal insurance to a small population, but he now provides insurance to a wider range of entities in the deaf and hard of hearing community nationwide.
Joining forces so CH Insurance provides the marketing and administrative support for DHH was something Convertino said he saw as a positive opportunity.
“I saw it as something unique in the industry, no one else was really providing these services,” said Convertino. “I saw the opportunity for this relationship to work for both Gary and our company.”
“It was a no-brainer. At the end of the day, we both wanted the same thing — to provide insurance coverage to all people,” said Meyer.
Meyer uses technology, similar to iPhone’s Facetime, to communicate with clients. He said he believes he provides a better outlet of communication for deaf and hard of hearing clients to find insurance that will better serve their needs than they would find at another insurance broker.
“By talking directly with my clients, I’m able to personally connect with them and get them the coverage that is right for them,” said Meyer. “It’s not about doing a good enough job. I have an ongoing passion to go one step above.”
Meyer is well-known in the deaf and hard of hearing community, being the only insurance provider in the nation that provides insurance specialized for these clients. Through the support of CH Insurance, Meyer is able to attend expos and conferences throughout the country to expand his coverage area.
Starting in the fall, Meyer will begin to telecommute and teach insurance related courses at Gallaudet University, a private university that specializes in the education of the deaf and hard of hearing located in Washington, D.C.
For the future, both Meyer and Convertino hope to continue their business relationship to expand the services of DHH to clients across the country.
For more information on Deaf and Hard of Hearing Agency, go to dhhinsurance.com, call 1-866-371-8830 or like them on Facebook, “DHH Insurance Agency.” For more information on CH Insurance Agency, go to chinsurance.cc, call 234-7500 or like them on Facebook, “CH Insurance.”
