The People That Help You Get Accurate Coverage

The Southern Agency was founded by agent Derek Wirz. Derek created a framework of insuring a business by “systematizing” the way a business buys insurance and views their exposures. This is because the insurance industry applications do not give quite enough information about the applicant’s “back story.” This framework is what The Southern Agency calls The Southern Agency Underwriting Narrative.

When one of our agents submits an application with this narrative for the business, it will give the underwriters the feel of being on a tour of your daily operations. The Southern Agency has created this formula by highlighting your business through the 9 P’s of insurance. This builds confidence in the underwriters decision. The “9 P’s” include:

1. Profile – brief description of business operations
2. People – brief overview of the people involved in the business
3. Product – an overview of what the business makes or does
4. Process – an overview of how the business operates
5. Plant – an overview on the building and equipment the business uses to operate
6. Prevention – an overview on steps taken to mitigate hazards and reduce risk – additionally, we show that you have a Pre-Loss and Post-Loss Plan of action
7. Pain – what the current shortcomings are in the current policy
8. Price – we do not set the premium but we negotiate and this system helps – a lot
9. Persuade – this is your forum to convince the underwriter that you are an excellent risk and how sincere you are

This creates a top-of-the-stack applications for your business. That’s what every business needs but few will ever get.

Derek is a licensed insurance agent in most states across the U.S. He writes all lines of insurance, while specializing in commercial lines. Over his 40+ years in the business, Derek has always been passionate about meeting his client’s needs.

Derek is active in many associations having served as the President of the Professional Insurance Agents of Tennessee, and as a Trustee of the National Association of Professional Insurance Agents. He holds many designations including the Certified Insurance Counselor (CIC) and the Certified Workers Compensation Professional (CWCP).

Derek graduated from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UTC). He is married to Tracey, and they have two children.

Tracey serves as our agency’s manager and financial officer.

Tracey graduated from the University of Tennessee (UTK). She is married to Derek and they have two children.

Chris is the Vice President of The Southern Agency, where he is in charge of Operations and Claims. He is licensed both as an adjuster and an agent in multiple states. This gives our clients a guide to preventing claims, identifying risks that need to be covered, as well as providing assistance to both our clients and carriers when a claim occurs.

In addition to his duties at The Southern Agency, he has recently served on the State of Tennessee Bureau of Workers Compensation Telehealth Advisory Committee as well as the Utilization Review Advisory Committee that helped develop the rules and statutes. In addition, he serves on the United Heartland Insurance Company Claims Advisory Council. Previously, he served as President of the Tennessee State Claims Association, and 15 years as President of Chattanooga Claims Association.

Chris has over 30 years in the insurance industry involving multi-million-dollar property and liability claims, as well as large risk pools and self-insured employer claims. At the age of 25 he became Workers’ Compensation Division Manager for a multi-line, third party administrator. He worked at this company for 27 years handling workers’ compensation, liability, property, and bond claims.

He graduated from University of Tennessee Chattanooga and holds a B.S. in Finance with a minor in Economics. Chris and his wife, Stacey, have two children. Tyler is a graduate of the United States Naval Academy and currently serves as a Naval Flight Officer for the P- 8 Poseidon. Lauren is a Business Major at University of Tennessee Chattanooga and is the current President of the American Marketing Association Collegiate Chapter. Chris and Lauren have a podcast together called, Work Comp Chaos.

LaVonda serves as the Office Manager and Account Manager, leading the team of account managers with a strong commitment to client satisfaction. Her passion for helping people motivated her to obtain an Insurance Producer’s license, enabling her to assist clients with their insurance needs more effectively.

Outside of her professional life, LaVonda is a family-oriented individual. She and her husband are proud parents of three children and have four grandchildren. In her leisure time, she enjoys gardening and engaging in various outdoor activities, reflecting her love for nature and family.

Rachael has been at The Southern Agency since the beginning of 2022. She tackles a dual role as our Accounting Manager / Marketing Manager.

Rachael is married to our Personal Lines Agent/Manger Brandon Crowe and together they have 2 children, Aaidan and Addyson who keep them busy with golfing and cheerleading.

Brandon is a licensed insurance agent. He has over 10 years experience in leading a team or division throughout his career. Brandon is currently our Personal Lines Manager while being committed to serving our clients with their home, auto, life, and personal insurance coverages. 

Brandon is passionate to provide the best service that each client deserves to receive. His humble and openness presents each client the opportunity to structure the most accurate policy to best fit their needs. He believes that with his ministry and leadership experience he offers a well-rounded approach to serve all clients with their insurance needs. 

Brandon and his wife, Rachael, are proud parents of two children, Aaidan and Addyson. They love spending time playing sports, swimming, and being with family in their Ringgold, GA community! 

Austin is a licensed insurance agent. Austin specializes in Franchise insurance programs as well as insuring contractors, homebuilders, and many other industries. He has created programs for Franchise’s on the Fastest Growing Franchise list by Entrepreneur.

A graduate of the University of Tennessee Knoxville, Austin holds a B.S. in Public Relations with a minor in Business Administration. Austin has always been a top performer at his job. His knowledge of the insurance industry coupled with his servant approach, leads him to finding his customers the coverage they deserve.

John was born and raised in Chattanooga, TN. He graduated from UTC with a Degree in Business Administration. He and his wife Kristin have raised three boys in the Chattanooga area.

John has over thirty years of experience working in different capacities for small and large businesses throughout his career. He joined The Southern Agency in April 2023 as a Commercial Producer.

Allen is a licensed insurance agent with over 20 years of industry experience. His focus is helping to meet his customers’ needs by finding the most complete insurance package to help protect assets. He is focused on service above self and believes that the more you give the more you will gain in return.

Allen has been a volunteer recreation coach, guest services coordinator at his church, and has been very involved in the Statesboro – Bulloch County Chamber of Commerce serving in many roles including Leadership Chair, Treasurer and Chairman.

Allen graduated from Georgia Southern University with a Finance degree and still lives in Statesboro, Ga. He is married to Mindy and has three boys. Playing and coaching sports, live music, and building strong relationships with friends and family are his passions.

For more than 20 years, I’ve proudly called Destin/30A Florida my home, where I’ve raised my two children. Though originally from St. Louis, I’ve lived in various cities throughout the country before settling in Destin in 2003, trading the hustle and bustle of Chicago for the tranquility of the beach.

Prior to motherhood, I acquired a degree in Broadcast Journalism and enjoyed a successful 10-year career in sales. For the past four years, I’ve sold real estate at the beach. For this next chapter, I’m excited to represent the Southern Agency in insurance sales. I am dedicated to providing exceptional service, ensuring that my clients feel heard, supported, protected, and ultimately, unmatched by any other agent. What often begins as a professional relationship turns into something more personal, enriching my life as I come to know not only my clients but also their clients, families and friends.

I am genuinely thrilled at the prospect of representing you, building a lasting relationship, and guiding you through every step of your insurance journey with satisfaction, fulfillment, and protection as our ultimate goals. Let’s embark on this exciting adventure together!

Will is a licensed insurance agent. He is located in Nashville, TN where he will be managing our Nashville branch, and grew up in Chattanooga, TN. Will is focused primarily on Commercial insurance policies and partners with businesses of all sizes to ensure they have the proper coverage.

Will graduated from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville where he obtained a degree in Finance with a minor in Marketing. He joined the Southern Agency in July of 2024 as a Commercial Producer.

Jennifer began her insurance career 14 years ago and is a licensed insurance agent. She writes all lines of insurance, while specializing in commercial lines. She currently is one of our commercial lines account managers.

Jennifer is originally from Long Island, NY, moving to upstate Pennsylvania, and then to Georgia to be close to family. In her free time, Jennifer enjoys spending time with her daughter, reading, gardening, crafting, doing volunteer work, and taking her dog for walks.

Kelly began her insurance career in 1999, serving as a personal and commercial lines account manager until 2019. In June 2019, she transitioned to The Southern Agency, where she focuses exclusively on commercial accounts.

Throughout her career, Kelly has demonstrated a strong passion for helping people and building professional relationships with her clients.

In her personal life, Kelly enjoys spending quality time with her husband, three sons, and their families. She is also a proud grandmother to Margo and two bonus granddaughters. Kelly loves watching her granddaughters participate in sports and cheerleading, and she cherishes family time in the mountains and at the beach.In her free time, Kelly enjoys spending time with her family. They enjoy activities that range anywhere between hiking trips in the mountains to lounging on the beach.

Stacey is originally from the east coast of Florida and moved to Chattanooga in 2007 and came to us in 2021 as a Commercial Account Manager.

She is wife to her husband Ron, mother to Travis and Kyle and grandmother to Amelia. Oh! And let’s not forget mom to her French bulldog Porkchop. She enjoys anything outdoors, especially horseback riding.

Joanie is originally from Upstate NY in the Finger Lakes region and moved here in 2021.  She has been in the Insurance business for over 30 years and is currently an Account Manager here at the agency in the Personal Lines Department.

She enjoys the beauty of TN and in her free time she likes to spend time with her son and daughter-in-law here in TN as well as traveling back to NY and enjoying her oldest son, daughter in law and precious grandbabies!

Shelly joined the Southern Agency team in August of 2023. She has been in the insurance industry for a total of 13 years with experience in both personal and commercial lines. As a commercial account manager, she enjoys building relationships with the insureds and learning the aspects of their businesses so that she can better serve the insured.

Shelley has two beautiful daughters and enjoys spending time with them. She loves riding motorcycles through the mountains and being outdoors.

Cherie was born and raised in Michigan and has lived in Tennessee for about 2.5 years. She has 4 grown kids, a granddaughter and 4 fur babies. She has been in insurance for a very long time and when she is not at work, she enjoys being on her property and taking walks in the woods.