What Sets us Apart
Choice
As an independent insurance agency we have great relationships with many well-known, reputable insurance companies, giving you the power of choice.
Expertise
Our insurance advisors have years of experience in the insurance industry and serve as your advocate from selecting coverage through filing a claim.
Service
The Flanders Group is passionate about insurance and protecting what you value most. We treat our customers with the highest regard.
The Flanders Group is a 30-person business insurance agency located in Rochester, New York. We have been around since 1981 and have decades of experience in creating customized solutions for our business insurance clients.
We work with a wide variety of businesses in Rochester, Buffalo, Syracuse, Albany and NYC, specializing in Nursery & Landscape Insurance, Real Estate Insurance, Manufacturer Insurance, Refuse and Recycling Insurance, and Dealership Insurance.
Our agency name comes from the Flanders region of Belgium, where as early as the 8th century A.D., groups or guilds of businesses came together to provide mutual assistance to each other in case of peril. The chief objective was to safeguard their welfare and to mutually insure against risk, the origins of commercial insurance.
The Flanders Group was built on our expertise in Workers’ Compensation Safety Groups for the Nursery/Landscape, Real Estate, Manufacturing, and RV/PowerSports/Auto Dealers. Today we deliver insurance solutions that reach far beyond these crevices thanks to our growing number of insurance company partners who share our passion for delivering concierge level service.
Our Mission
The difference is in The Flanders Group
- We Ask
- We Listen
- We Really Think
Our tradition continues…Providing unexpected value while fulfilling our tenacious desire to be the best.
“A Pride of Lions”
Our Founder, Chris McVicker
Chris McVicker founded The Flanders Group on August 27, 1981, coincidentally, the same day his wife, Bernadette Guzzardo, gave birth to their triplet daughters Alexis, Brittany and Courtney.
Chris chose the Flanders name because commercial insurance originated in Flanders, Belgium. The Flanders logo is a rampant lion, which is found on the shield of the Count of Flanders. This is the basis for the company’s motto “A Pride of Insurance Experts.”
He was very proud of the many awards the agency has won, among them being named to the Rochester Top 100 five times, which is an award for being one of Rochester’s fastest growing, privately-held companies — the first insurance agency ever to qualify and be named to this prestigious group. Chris was named Marketeer of the Year by IMMS and The Flanders Group was chosen as the Rough Notes Marketing Agency of the Month and voted Marketing Agency of the Year by their readers. The Flanders Group was also named Agency of the Year by the Institute of Work Comp Professionals. In addition, Chris was named Small Business Person of the Year by The Small Business Council of Rochester.
He was passionate about giving back to the community he loved and participated on several boards including: Rochester Broadway Theater League Executive Committee, SUNY Geneseo Jones School of Business Advisory Council and the Empire State Marine Trades Association. He also served the insurance industry by participating on the Editorial Board of Rough Notes magazine and was a founding member of the Greenwich Group.
Chris set the example for excellence both personally and professionally and we are honored to carry on his legacy.
Rochester Top 100
– Five time winner – award for being one of Rochester’s fastest growing, privately-held companies
Marketeer of the Year
by IMMS
Rough Notes Marketing Agency of the Month
and voted Marketing Agency of the Year by their readers
Agency of the Year
by the Institute of Work Comp Professionals