Covering the Door

For over 85 years, Door County has been able to turn to the Koepsel family for one-on-one help planning for crises and dealing with them afterward.

After 39 years, Don Koepsel retired from American Family Insurance. His wife, Donna, has stayed on to help the new agent transition into the job.

But those 39 years with a license weren’t the only ones Koepsel spent in the insurance game. He grew up in a big farmhouse on Highway 57 with his brothers, sisters, parents and grandparents under one roof. Also under the roof was an office where Koepsel’s grandfather August sold insurance and Koepsel’s mother kept the records.

“Basically like any office, people would come in to pay their premiums, take out a policy, whatever,” Koepsel said. “They’d come to the farm and do their business.”

After returning from the Vietnam War in 1972, Koepsel decided to become licensed as an insurance agent. For the next 17 years he worked part-time as an insurance agent and also helped with the family farm and market. When work as an agent picked up, he and his wife Donna decided to devote themselves to their work at American Family Insurance.

That devotion meant answering the phone after 5 pm and on the weekends, because insurance needs don’t wait for business hours.

“The phone would ring any time of the day, and of course we were there to answer and help the people,” Koepsel said.

That kind of personal touch is what’s missing from many insurance agencies now, Koepsel said. Since big companies like Geico and Progressive have gotten into the market, things have changed. People buy plans over the internet, and no longer have a personal connection with their agents.

“You don’t have an agent to call [anymore],” Koepsel said. “If you have a claim you don’t have an agent that you can call and report the claim to, and help you go through it. It’s an 800 number you call. The value of having a local agent is immense.”

The types of policies people can purchase have changed too, Koepsel said. Now customers can bundle plans, like home and auto insurance, and can save some money by fine-tuning their insurance to their needs.

Jennifer Boeckman will take over Koepsel’s place at American Family Insurance, and Koepsel’s wife Donna will remain with the agency for a few years to help with the transition.

In retirement Koepsel plans to build furniture, spend time with his grandsons, travel, fish, hunt and work in his big summertime garden.