Risk Strategies aims to protect Big Sky’s assets

Commercial and personal insurance firm rooted in the community

By Mira Brody CONTENT MARKETING STRATEGIST

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BIG SKY – Tom Beattie says he has fly fished with many of his clients—it has become a comfortable way of doing business for him. In addition to targeting 100 days on the river per year and being a 10-year resident of Big Sky, Beattie helmed an insurance and employee benefits firm for 30 years. Today, he is the newest addition to the Risk Strategies team after the Boston, Massachusetts-based firm purchased Beattie and Associates in August.

Risk Strategies is one of the top 10 privately held insurance brokerage firms in the country and, with Beattie as well as Risk Advisor Yale Rosen here locally, they are proud to bring their expertise to Big Sky. Executive Chairman Mike Christian originally founded the company in 1997 as a insurance consultancy and that DNA still runs through the firm 25 years after its founding the firm has evolved into a specialty insurance broker with a team of experts across the country.

“Being a part of a larger group is important because of the experience and expertise,” says Rosen. “But you still have a local team with boots on the ground. We’re here to help and it doesn’t always have to be in a phone call—we have the ability to be there in person.”

The firm covers personal and commercial insurance needs including development, construction, transportation and property management. Risk Strategies also has a private client group which is dedicated to the personal insurance needs of successful individuals and families. Acquiring Beattie’s St. Louis, Missouri-based firm will add strategic employee benefits coverage to this roster as well. Rosen has joined Risk Strategies with an education in economics, and background in baseball—he played professionally for the San Diego Padres organization for three years.

“I received four other offers to buy my business over the past three years,” says Beattie. “After learning about the business model and who they were doing business with both in the Midwest and Big Sky—I was confident they were the right fit. They must have felt the same way.”

While Big Sky is growing, its residents and business owners still hold a high value in relationships. That’s why, in an age where video and phone call meetings have taken up our daily lives, Beattie and Rosen will always meet with you in person.

“Locals help locals here in Montana, which is really important,” says Rosen. “While insurance can seem straightforward,  it can get complicated very quickly.  The relationships we have and the willingness to meet with people in Big Sky that is important to us. We can be on-site to get eyes on projects and understand the unique market we’re dealing with as well as the risks our clients face.  

Just as many of us, both Rosen and Beattie and their families fell in love with the area soon after they arrived. Rosen lives in Bozeman, Montana with his wife and two kids. They enjoy camping, fishing and all that the Montana lifestyle has to offer. After acquiring a home in 2012, Beattie’s family made the move full time to Big Sky in 2015 so his two youngest sons could be raised here.

Beattie says those personal, locally-rooted relationships in business are of the utmost importance—you want to protect your assets with the same team who lives and works in your community, who patrons your local restaurants, hikes your local trails and fishes the local rivers. It’s what makes this place special and why we choose to live and do business here.

Visit risk-strategies.com/ for more information.