Roni Bell - HealthMarkets Insurance celebrates growing business with ribbon-cutting ceremony

BRUNSWICK — Agency owner Roni Bell celebrated expanding her insurance agency to a larger space with a ribbon-cutting ceremony hosted by the Northern Medina County Chamber Alliance on Thursday. Roni Bell — HealthMarkets Insurance is now at 811 Pearl Road in Brunswick, and the relocation happened earlier this year. The agency helps with Medicare, health insurance, life insurance, dental, vision and supplemental insurance. Bell's husband was an insurance agent before she was, and she left her career to help him grow his business. She then became an independent insurance agent in 1999 and has continued working in the field for the past 26 years. "I used to go into people's homes, and then I decided it would be more efficient and safer to open up a storefront," she said. "I was down the street at 1039 Pearl Road for 10 years, and I outgrew it, so then I came here." When Bell started, she was a "one-man show." There are now three licensed agents who work alongside her, along with two people in admin roles and seasonal workers who are brought in during open enrollment periods. "Every next move has been about what do we need to do to help the clients? When I feel like I'm not going to be able to help, I hire somebody to make sure that we're keeping up," she said. "It feels good to have a comfortable space with a lovely parking lot, so that we can do the seminars again and everybody has offices." Chamber Executive Director Debbie Boehmke described Bell as a "true hometown success story" since she has been a Brunswick resident since 2002. "Roni is more than just an agent," Boehmke said. "She's a neighbor. She's a friend and a valuable resource to so many." Bell said her goal is to keep growing the agency. "The goal has always been to be deep in the community rather than needing to help everybody all across the United States," she said. "It's really about being a local go-to place for health insurance and Medicare. We have room now to hire more agents to continue to be able to help our clients as well as the referrals and the new people coming in to see us." Contact reporter Madisyn Woodring at (330) 721-4049 or mwoodring@medina-gazette.com.