By Vernon Robison

Moapa Valley Progress

Lisa McCormick-Blair returned home to southern Nevada last fall. The Moapa Valley native had been living the past year and a half in the small town of Licking, Missouri. Now she is back and has just opened a new local business: an American Family Insurance Agency located at the Wally’s Plaza in the former Moapa Valley Credit Union Logandale office.

Lisa grew up in Glendale and graduated from Virgin Valley High School.

She has extensive experience in the insurance industry. She worked at the local Valley Leavitt Insurance for 15 years. When she moved to Missouri she went to work as an Agent Assistant at an American Family Insurance agency there.

While in Missouri she also was happily married to Jim Blair who is a Missouri native. Blair was working as a Corrections Officer at the time and was about to retire.

Around that time, Lisa learned that American Family Insurance was hiring new agents back in her home state. So she convinced Jim to come back with her to Nevada on a new adventure.

“It has been good to be back,” Lisa said.

She was not fond of the 110 degree days with near 100% humidity that were common during the Missouri summers.

“You couldn’t breathe, it was just horrible!” she said. “And I didn’t miss the snow in the winter either.”

Another reason for moving back west was to be closer to her family. Lisa has five children and five grandchildren in the area.

After moving back in September, Lisa started her agency working in North Las Vegas. But she had her eye on Moapa Valley.

“I finally brought my boss out here and drove him around the community,” she said. “I told him that it would be a great place to open an office and he agreed.”

Lisa officially opened her Logandale office in early March. Since that time, she reports that things have slowly started to pick up for her business.

“Thus far I’ve not had a lot of walk-in business,” she said. “But I have gotten quite a bit of referrals from satisfied customers.”

Not as common in the southwestern United States, American Family Insurance is a standard carrier in the midwest, Lisa said. Founded in 1927 in Madison, Wisconsin, the company has had a presence in Nevada for eleven years now.

“They are a good solid company with over $5.4 billion in policyholder equity,” Lisa said. “It is a good company to work for.”

Lisa offers a wide variety of insurance products including property, auto, life and health. She also does insurance lines on all types of business and even can offer farm insurance packages.

Lisa encourages local residents to give her a call and let her give them a quote on their insurance.

“We have some very competitive rates,” she said. “Our property rates are almost untouchable right now. When it comes to insurance, it never hurts to shop once in a while and see what is out there.”

Lisa shares the large office space with a couple of other small local businesses. Reyanna Jarrell of Rey Of Light Photography operates a small studio in a little space in the same office. Lisa is also in cooperation with local property manager/realtor Jay Hills of Falcon Ridge Realty.

“We are now accepting rent payments for Jay’s property management clients,” Lisa said. “So people who need to make their rent payments can bring them in here.”

In addition, the Moapa Valley Credit Union ATM machine is still in operation on the corner of the Wally’s Plaza building in front of Lisa’s office.

To speak with Lisa about American Family Insurance offerings call her at 702-398-7711.