As a kid, Donald Giamei thought he might like to be an FBI agent or a lawyer. In college, though, he found himself drawn to business and graduated with a bachelor’s in finance—and in 1999, when State Farm Insurance offered him a job right after college, he saw the possibilities of helping to safeguard people in a whole different way. In 2002, he moved over to Allstate, becoming key person there.
Stone Ridge Insurance offers auto, homeowners’, and business policies his way to people who’d rather not poke through 17 layers of automated menus when they need to speak with their insurance person.
In 2008, as a new dad with a decade of industry experience, he opted to strike out on his own and founded Stone Ridge Insurance, offering auto, homeowners’ and business policies his way to people who’d rather not poke through 17 layers of automated menus when they need to speak with their insurance person. It’s a difference that has led the company to five-star reviews on Facebook amid praise for excellent customer service.
Insurance, Giamei believes, can and should serve the client’s needs and be done right. “I think insurance is honestly underappreciated,” he says, “and in many cases it’s become a fast-food-type commodity instead of a value-based service. It wasn’t really like that when I started in 1999, but it’s gotten that way. By going independent, I could support my family while sticking with that value-based service style: helping clients understand their insurance and how to maximize what they get from it. It’s not just something that you have to have—the right coverage has considerable value when you understand how to use it appropriately.”
“Over the last year or so, we're just trying to help clients save money where at all possible. Not that we don’t still love to educate people, but we prioritize helping them stretch their budgets right now.” – Donald Giamei
He’s committed to helping clients navigate what has become a challenging insurance climate. “Prior to the pandemic and the unprecedented inflation that followed, we always tried to help clients understand the value of their insurance policies while getting them the best coverage at a reasonable price. Over the last year or so, we're just trying to help clients save money where at all possible. Not that we don’t still love to educate people, but we prioritize helping them stretch their budgets right now.”
Stone Ridge Insurance clients get free consultations dedicated to finding coverage that fits: auto policies for just about any vehicle you can imagine, regardless of your driving history; and personal in-depth consultation on exactly how to best protect your home or business. Giamei says that starting his own company when he did protected something of infinite value. “I get to be there on my own schedule as my boys grow up,” he says. “I get to provide for my family and help all kinds of people from our diverse community understand the insurance industry and use it to meet their needs.”
“[Insurance is] not just something that you have to have—the right coverage has considerable value when you understand how to use it appropriately.” – Donald Giamei
Except for a few early years in Saratoga, Giamei has always been an Ulster County guy, and now that he’s grown himself a 16-year-old business and a couple of amazing kids, he cherishes being the neighborhood indie insurance guy, a safe harbor from the sea of fast-food-level sharks. “We really are a small-town agency,” he says. “It’s just me and my key person, Michele Aversano, so when you need us, you get one of us, someone you know. It’s not ‘please hold for the next available representative.’ I’m thinking of growing the company by adding one more person, but it has to be the absolute right person.”
stone ridge insurance
3669 Main St, Stone Ridge
845-687-2828
stoneridgeinsurance.net
