ABOUT US
Gateway/Pennsy Underwriters, Inc. is a third-generation, family-owned brokerage that has been assisting PA & MD agents with their insurance needs since 1956. Gateway/Pennsy Underwriters, Inc. is built on the belief that service comes first and no risk is too small to assist. We will take the time to understand each risk and determine the best markets for your customer. Gateway/Pennsy Underwriters, Inc. does not require a minimum amount of business to become appointed. Our office has agents with just a few pieces to agents with a large book. Unlike many brokers, Gateway/Pennsy Underwriters, Inc. places over 90% of our business with Admitted Carriers.
OUR VISION
Gateway/Pennsy Underwriters, Inc. is built on tradition and expertise. We don’t only provide insurance solutions to our agent. We provide advice, excellent customer service, integrity and honesty. We take personal responsibility and pride in everything we do and in the way we approach each risk. We have a great relationship with our agents and are proud of the relationships we have built since 1953.
OUR HISTORY
It all began with John H Barnett, who after working with Coal Operators Casualty Insurance Company for a few years, purchased the Pittsburgh office of a large insurance agency from Philadelphia, PA. in 1953. Gateway Underwriters started operating as a wholesaler and offering brokered insurance business. Its first office was in the Keystone Building in downtown Pittsburgh and then moved to the Investment Building on 4th Avenue. Shortly after, Mr. Barnett purchased a small insurance agency in Harrisburg, and created Pennsy Underwriters, Inc. In 1955, he merged Gateway Underwriters and Pennsy Underwriters and created Gateway/Pennsy Underwriters, Inc. In 1956, he opened another agency – Barnett Insurance Inc. as a separate entity to operate as an independent insurance agency. Mr. Barnett had two separate offices and staff to run the different entities. Then in 1977, he started New Horizons Insurance Agency, Inc. as a surplus lines broker and a new agency to introduce in the Maryland insurance market to work under the same staff as Gateway/Pennsy Underwriters, Inc. In the early 1980s, Mr. Barnett’s daughter, Diane Lemieux, started running Gateway/Pennsy Underwriters and New Horizons Insurance, while Mr. Barnett focused on the independent insurance agency. In 2004, Mrs. Lemieux’s son and daughter-in-law, Chad and Aleksandra Linden, joined Gateway/Pennsy Underwriters, adding the third generation to a very successful family operated business. Today, we are proud of the relationships with our agent and are focused on growing the agency on the same principles of honesty, integrity and excellent customer service.