Paul Ostrander says company mascot Sophie, a cavalier King Charles spaniel, tends to sleep on the job, unlike the Ostrander Insurance team.

Ostrander Insurance doesn’t do Super Bowl ads or talking geckos, but the company has an office dog named Sophie and can save clients thousands of dollars, says Paul Ostrander, director of agency operations. “I think the misconception is that if you don’t have a big, national carrier that you’re not getting savings,” he says, “which is completely false.”

Ostrander’s father, Dick Ostrander, founded the company nearly 42 years ago. “I always joked with my dad that I would join him someday,” recalls Ostrander, who grew up in Hopkinton. After working in different jobs after college, he decided to give insurance a shot. The plan was to work at a different agency first, and if he liked the industry, he’d join his father. “I love insurance,” Ostrander discovered, “and eventually I came home to the mother ship.”

Ostrander Insurance offers auto, homeowners, business and personal umbrella insurance. Clients of the locally owned and operated company benefit from personalized service and also find that Ostrander Insurance’s prices tend to be better than national carriers. Customers save $1,500 on average, for example, when they switch their home and auto insurance from Liberty Mutual to Ostrander Insurance, Ostrander says.

Customers often are shocked by their savings, Ostrander says, but it’s a result of being a local agency working with Massachusetts carriers who know the market. Plus, Ostrander Insurance proactively shops policies around to continue saving customers money.

“We try to provide solutions without customers having to ask us,” Ostrander explains. “Whether you’re going to a tax accountant, the deli or a roller rink —  if you aren’t in any of those professions, you don’t know what you don’t know. You rely on those people to give you good, sound advice and to do the right thing. That’s what we try to do.”

Client relationships are what Ostrander loves about the business. Years ago, he worked at a larger insurance agency but didn’t have the chance to develop connections. “I was really interested in getting to know Mr. and Mrs. Smith down the street and building that long-term relationship, which is a lot of fun,” he shares.

Some of that fun has included sponsoring the Hopkinton Moms Group. Ostrander Insurance supported the group’s Halloween party last fall, which led to another event sponsorship and a performance opportunity for Ostrander. He overheard that the group was lacking a Santa for its upcoming Christmas event. “So me, being a little bit of a knucklehead, I said, ‘Well, I’ll be your Santa,’ ” Ostrander says with a laugh.

“I have so many positive memories of growing up in Hopkinton,” Ostrander adds. “I feel like the town’s just given me so much, and that doing little things like that are important.” One of the newest town residents is baby Austin, born to Ostrander and his wife, Jessie, in September.

Ostrander Insurance is headquartered in Bellingham, but Ostrander has a dream of opening an additional office in Hopkinton one day. In the meantime, he looks forward to growing the business and continuing to forge connections in his hometown.

To learn more, visit OstranderInsurance.com or call 508-966-1116.

Business Profiles are advertising features designed to provide information and background about Hopkinton Independent advertisers.