Joe is the founding father of Mancuso-Nowak Insurance.  The business has been his life for 35 years.  He is the patriarch of this family agency and he oversees the day to day operations with an eye out for agency opportunities.  

How it all began…Joe went to college to become a teacher.  He taught for a few years and then a friend who was in the insurance business suggested he try out insurance for the summer.  If he didn’t like it he could go back to teaching in the fall.  And as they say, the rest is history.  That was in 1976 when he started working for Tully Insurance in West Boylston.  In 1983 Joe met Eddy Nowak through his accountant.  They decided it would be a smart idea to go into business together.  And it was!  Originally located right next door to our current location, Mancuso-Nowak started business in 1983.  In 1988 Joe bought the building next door, 252 Boston Turnpike, renovated it and the agency has been located here ever since.

Joe is a people person.  All of his great relationships with his customers make the business successful.  Many of his customers have been with him for years.  The same is true for the employees.  Kara, our office manager, has been working with Joe for 27yrs.  The office environment is friendly and welcoming, which comes from the way that Joe interacts with the employees.

On the weekends Joe enjoys going down the Cape, especially when his grandchildren are down with him.  Joe has a love of cars and his grandson is following in his footsteps.  Together they go to car shows and share stories of the amazing cars they see, endless hours of car talk.  Joe is a golfer and mostly enjoys it…if he is playing well.  Other days he is never playing golf again.

Mancuso-Nowak is a family business that works hard to make sure your family has the insurance coverage you need.  Joe and Tony are the family foundation of our agency!

Most of you know Tony – we know this because everyone who calls in to the office says I’m really good friends with Tony.  So half of Massachusetts is best friends with Tony.  Tony is the President of Mancuso-Nowak Insurance. He is one of our fearless leaders in this exciting field of insurance. Tony sells both personal and commercial insurance.  So he makes sure all of your insurance needs are met – home, auto, motorcycle, boat, umbrella.  If you own a business Tony can set you up with Workers Compensation, General Liability, and Commercial Auto policies.  In order to make sure our customers are happy Tony meets with customers to go over coverage and options with policies.  Tony also manages day to day office operations and the employees.

It was 12 years ago that Tony first entered the insurance business.  He was inspired by his wife’s uncle (Uncle Joe), Joe Mancuso.  Working for years in the restaurant industry, Tony realized he needed a change.  He knew nothing about insurance, but had a lot of respect for Joe.  It only took a few meetings for him to realize that this was the business for him.  Joe became Tony’s mentor.  From the start it was a great working relationship.

For Tony insurance is all about the people.  He enjoys working with the employees to find insurance coverage that best suits our customers.  Matching clients with coverage is what it is all about.  Tony says he truly loves what he does, and it shows.  And Tony’s duties aren’t just insurance sales, he is our janitor, our Poland Spring water restocker, and he is really good at buying lunch for everyone in the office too!

On the weekends Tony enjoys spending time with family and friends.  From sports with his son to golf to dinner, Tony knows how to have fun with the ones he cares about.  You can even find him at the latest workout facility…mostly because Kelley, his wife, drags him : ) We like Tony because he lets us make fun of him for going to Soul Cycle!

Mancuso-Nowak is a family business that works hard to make sure your family has the insurance coverage you need.  Tony and Joe are the family foundation of our agency.

Theresa’s warm smile brightens the office on Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings.  Theresa is the runner for our office.  As a runner she goes to the Registry of Motor Vehicles for renewals, registrations and new plates for our customers.  She is an invaluable part of our team, as she braves the chaos of the RMV a few times a week.  We do not charge our customers a fee to go to the registry for them, we do it as a courtesy.  When Theresa returns from the RMV she likes to sneak in a chocolate at the front desk.  That’s part of the job description, help eat the office chocolate : )

Theresa is Tony’s mom, so she was introduced into the insurance business through him.  The agency was looking for a runner and Theresa was excited to help out in the office, it was a perfect match.  We all enjoy working with Theresa and love hearing all her stories about the craziness at the RMV and what she has planned for the afternoon.  She is a joy to have as part of our team here at Mancuso-Nowak.

When Theresa isn’t working you can find her going to the gym, knitting and quilting.  On the weekends Theresa goes to church and her grandson’s sporting events.  Taking her granddaughter to lunch is one of her favorite things!  During the summer she takes pleasure in working in her flower gardens and enjoying her backyard pool with family and friends.

Melissa is a part time employee here at Mancuso-Nowak.  She is the one who will greet you if you come in, she sits front and center when you walk in to the agency.  She has all different daily tasks, from insurance renewals to social media to human resources (this could be an arbitrary designation?).  Now she is administrator for the Biggest Loser competition in the office, a very important job!  With the renewals Melissa is in charge of reviewing all the customers’ renewals and ensuring coverage and premium are in check.  Social media posts on Facebook and Twitter are done daily by Melissa.  She is the one always making the office pose for pictures to post : )

Melissa has insurance in her blood, literally, she is Joe Mancuso’s daughter and grew up in the business…and Tony is her cousin by marriage.  She went to Bryant University to study finance and received training at Liberty Mutual for insurance underwriting.  After having her children she moved back to the area and started working a few hours at the agency.  Now she continues to work while her children are at school.  There is no other place she would rather work surrounded by family.

When asked Melissa said her favorite part of working at Mancuso-Nowak is that her family has worked hard to have a small business to help local residents with their insurance needs.  Working with and for family has been very important to her.  Her co-workers (that aren’t related to her) have become her work family, so she has a lot of respect for them and their hard work in the agency.  Even though insurance is very fun, sometimes the entertainment from co-workers makes each day even more enjoyable.  She also loves greeting the customers when they come in to the office.  Our customers are the best and we want to be the agency they can depend on for their insurance needs.

If you are looking to eat healthy Melissa is your girl.  Because she has Celiac Disease she knows every grocery store aisle and restaurant that carries gluten free food.  She lives vicariously through everyone in the office when they are having Rocco’s donuts, cookies and candy.   She does lead the office in tater tot consumption though!

You can find Melissa volunteering in her childrens’ classrooms when she is not in the office.  On the weekends she is at her kids sporting events and spending time with her family and friends.  The Cape is her happy place, she loves beaching it during the summer.  During the winter she hibernates because she’s always cold!

With great mentors in the insurance business, Melissa looks forward to every day at the agency!

Anyone who has worked with us in the past 27 years knows Kara.  And they are happy to know her!  She is our rock and the glue that holds us all together.  She has been with Mancuso-Nowak the longest of all our employees.  Kara is the Office Manager and handles our finances.  As an Office Manager she provides support to the Customers Service employees in both Personal and Commercial lines.  In addition to all of that she handles some of our Commercial line accounts.

How did we get so lucky to have Kara?  She was going to college and a friend recommended her for a part time job at Saksa Insurance.  The year Kara graduated from college Mancuso-Nowak bought Saksa Insurance and Kara was offered a full time position.  Kara has been with us for 27 years (and she’s only 39! wink, wink).  The office is a better place with Kara here.  She makes us laugh….mostly at her “Monday is Diet Day”.  She’s all business with her diet on Monday, then by Tuesday the Twizzlers and chocolate are fair game.  She will always have the bowl on the front counter in the office full of candy.  She keeps us all happy, and well fed with junk food.

When asked about her favorite part about working at Mancuso-Nowak, she said all of the people who work here and the customers.  We couldn’t agree more.  The office works cohesively together and we have fun doing it.  And without our great customers we wouldn’t exist.

When Kara isn’t at work you can find her spending time with her family.  She is always at soccer, football and basketball games and track meets cheering on her two children.  And to wind down from her busy week you can find her watching Law & Order SVU, there isn’t an episode she has missed!

Kara does an amazing job steering this ship everyday.  Thank you Kara for your loyalty and dedication to us and all of our customers : )

Linda is the kindest, gentlest person we know.  Her sweetness shows through when she is helping our customers, that’s why we love her! Linda is a Customer Service Representative for our commercial lines.  She helps all of our business owners with their insurance needs – Workers Compensation, General Liability, Commercial Auto, Property and Bonds.  She answers client questions, processes their requests for policy changes and places new business.

Linda got into the insurance industry when an employment agency placed her with an agent in need of clerical help.  As the years went on she learned both personal and commercial lines of business, so she knows everything there is about insurance!  Whenever we have a question about coverage and regulations, Linda has the answer.  She is on top of all our companies that we write here at the agency.  Her 30 years of service in the insurance industry has made her an invaluable asset to our team.

When asked, Linda said her favorite thing about working at Mancuso-Nowak is that there are clearly defined roles and organization.  Our positions are well denoted which is awesome for type A personalities : )  Linda also likes that the office is friendly and we work well together.

On weekends you can find Linda walking her dog Brady.  We enjoy seeing pictures of Brady, he is the cutest. When the weather gets nicer Linda is out in her yard tending to her amazing garden.  We love all the delicious vegetables she brings in for us!  In the evening you might catch Linda having a cocktail with her husband on her deck, relaxing.

We are so lucky to have Linda in our office!

April is a busy month preparing our yards for the spring and summer weather, repairing our house and spring cleaning.  What about our cars that take us everywhere we go?  We rely on their dependability, but are we doing our job to make sure they are running properly?  We take it for granted that our cars will transport us safely to our destination.  Here are a few things we can do to help maintain our cars:

• Check & change your oil.  Changing your oil allows your the internal parts of your engine to be protected, especially in the hot summer months.
• During your oil change ask the technician to inspect the breaking system and all belts and hoses.
• Check your coolant.  Coolant helps your engine not to overheat, which can cause engine failure.
• Check power steering fluid, transmission fluid, and brake fluid.
• Windshield washer fluid should be topped off.
• Check the tire pressure in all tires, including the spare tire.
• Have your tires rotated, so they wear evenly.
• Have your battery tested if it is older than 3 yrs.
• Check to see if air filters need to be replaced.  Dirt can do a lot of damage to the engine.
• Check wiper blades and replace once a year.
• Check all interior and exterior lights (double check those reverse lights and directionals).

Many costly repairs can be avoided by properly maintaining your car.  For Care Care Month take the few extra minutes to extend the life of your car.  Happy Driving!

The short answer is yes.  Many people believe that a standard Homeowners Policy will cover a home-based business.  This is an incorrect assumption.  Here is why it is important for you to have a Business Policy.  Let’s look at a popular home-based business, Beauty Counter (these examples can be used for many different goods and services you can sell, not just beauty supplies), and some situations that could arise.

 

Not Covered by Homeowners, Covered by Business Owners: 

• There is a fire and your Beauty Counter inventory is ruined
• From that fire you not only lost your inventory, but your business income has been interrupted
• Someone slips, falls and is injured at one of your parties at your house
• The UPS delivery person slips on your property and is injured while delivering a box of Beauty Counter products
• Someone from one of your Beauty Counter parties has a little too much to drink and gets in an accident on the way home
• A hacker steals all of your Beauty Counter client information, including credit card numbers

Now that you want to protect yourself from these types of situations, you will need to set up a Business Policy.

Most popular options for coverage:

• A Rider to your Homeowners Policy will provide limited coverage, but is a low cost option (this is better than nothing!).
• A Business Owners Policy (BOP) will have more comprehensive coverage to protect against the losses above and many others.

According to the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America, 61% of at-home businesses do not have adequate coverage.  Do not be one of those people.  Call us today to find out more information about protecting your home-based business!  www.mancuso-nowak.com.