As the impacts of the pandemic begin to ebb in Orange County, Jessica Word has been able to bring back the annual events held by her Word and Brown General Agency.
In April, the firm hosted its brokers at a golfing event at The Resort at Pelican Hill on the Newport Coast.
“That was a lot of fun,” said Word, who became CEO of the insurance brokerage in 2021.
It also held a team-building event for 500 on Catalina Island. Then it held a week of webinars for continuing education where it granted a record number of certificates.
“We continue to grow every year,” she told the Business Journal. “We’ve have brought on several large agencies. We’re continuing to grow our market share. It’s amazing.”
Word started at the age of 7 at the company co-founded in 1985 by her father, John M. Word III, and Edward J. “Rusty” Brown Jr.
She eventually worked in every department of the Word & Brown General Agency, an Orange-based health insurance agency that has grown to 300 employees. It is the oldest division among the Word & Brown Family of Companies, which includes Choice Administrator and California PX Card.
The company represents every high-profile carrier available in California and Nevada,
including Aetna, Blue Shield of California and Kaiser Permanente. It also provides access to dental, vision, chiropractic, life, disability, and other ancillary options.
Since she won a Business Journal 28th annual Women in Business Awards last year, she’s also been recognized with a “Monaco 40 over 40” award, which is given to a select group of entrepreneurs, she said.
In September, she will publish a book about leadership in business called “Survive & Thrive,” which is co-authored with Joe Foster, the founder of Reebok. All the proceeds are for a charity to help a grammar school in Uganda.
She’s been invited to speak this October at the Vatican for its first-ever entrepreneur event for women.
“I’m excited and I’m not even Catholic,” she quipped.
This year, the company is on target to hit its annual sales goal and is hiring for its seasonal workload at the end of the year.
“We’re gearing up for fourth quarter, which is the busiest time of the year for us,” Word said.
