LLSA Chamber Small Business of the Year Awards: Secur-All Insurance

The competition is bigger.

Secur-All Insurance Longboat Key branch owners George and Sandra Ceshker don’t deny that fact.

“The competition is intense,” George Ceshker says. “There’s a lot of big-name competition, and for a new guy to come in and try and compete, it’s a challenge.”

But although owning a small company was a hurdle for the Ceshkers, it has also turned out to be an asset.

“When you call here, you’re talking to us,” George Ceshker says.

Just a few years ago, neither Ceshker could have imagined sitting side-by-side together selling insurance.
For most of his life, George Ceshker’s office was a cockpit, having worked as a commercial pilot since age 23 and later as a private pilot for the Rev. Paula White, pastor at Without Walls International Church, in Tampa.

Sandra Ceshker’s career had included work in retail and property management before she became a tennis coordinator on Longboat Key. Her parents ran an insurance business, and her brother, Adam Smith, followed them into the business. When Without Walls International Church went into bankruptcy in 2008, the idea of opening an insurance branch began to appeal to both Ceshkers.

“We establish relationships with our clients so that they can make the best financial decisions throughout their lifetimes,” Sandra Ceshker says.

BUSINESS BASICS

Address: 4134 Gulf of Mexico Drive

Start date: June 2009

Number of employees when started: Two

Number of employees today: Two

Advice: “Be honest, work hard, do your job with due diligence and you will be rewarded,” George Ceshker says.