Photograph by Kathy De La Torre

Herman Tang, personal lines manager for McMurtry & Bell, is seen through the window of the office at University Avenue and Main Street. The company has been in Los Gatos since 1900.

McMurtry & Bell hits the big 100

Direction has changed, but clients are still the focus of agency

By Nathan R. Huff

When George McMurtry and A.H. Bell founded McMurtry and Bell Insurance 100 years ago, doctors still made house calls, downtown had a grocery store and "carpool" meant two people on a horse.

Much has changed, but McMurtry and Bell Insurance remains, as does its client-oriented attitude. Bought in 1965 by Frederick Neebling, its current president, the office remains a fixture of downtown Los Gatos. Its business has expanded far beyond.

The late George McMurtry, whose father, Dr. W.S. McMurtry, built the town's first residence, was the town's first treasurer and served more than 40 years in that position. He also ran a family grocery store downtown before teaming up with Los Gatos Municipal Judge A.H. Bell to form McMurtry and Bell Insurance in 1900. The original general insurance office was located at the corner of Main Street and University Avenue.

In 1965, longtime Bay Area resident Neebling bought the business from Bell and McMurtry and moved the company to its current location on East Main Street. Neebling, who said he never once considered changing the name of the company, has since expanded, adding offices in Las Vegas and Studio City. The company acts as insurance broker for almost everything--individuals, casinos, racetracks, motion pictures and various local businesses.

"We insure everyone who walks through the door," Neebling said. "We have the ability to write an insurance contract for really anybody." The "we" refers to a total of 17 employees--five of whom work in the Los Gatos office--and the office cat, Jimmy. Neebling said the employees at the Los Gatos office, who have worked there for anywhere from 18 to 34 years, are the people who keep the business running.

As an insurance broker, not a carrier, Neebling said the company has made it through disasters like the Loma Prieta earthquake fairly easily. "People tend to buy insurance after those sort of events," he said, adding that the only way the company can really have a bad year is if they "don't come to work."

"We've opened up our doors every day," Neebling said. "Consistency is the basis of our success."

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