Our History

1924

In 1924, Calvin Coolidge was president, and the Worcester Panthers were playing baseball under Jesse Burkett. It was also the year that Harold Fielding opened the Harold Fielding Insurance Agency on Pearl Street. Now, 100 years later, the insurance agency remains. Many of our clients were home grown companies like Laipson’s Diary, and Widoff’s Bakery.  Now known as Insurance Marketing Agencies Inc., the firm is now a 4^th generation family-run and still in downtown Worcester. Harold always felt Worcester was his home and continued to do business in the city his entire life.

1950

The insurance business changed greatly throughout the '50s & '60s. After restrictions on multi-line underwriting are lifted, one of the oldest & largest insurance companies in the US applies to license a new product combining a range of different risk coverages into a single package, and homeowners insurance is born.

Harold Fielding Insurance Agency is 26 years old.

1964

It's 1964: the year the Civil Rights Act is passed, and America is subject to a brand new British Invasion. Somewhere among the moptops, Beatlesmania, and miniskirts, Harold Fielding Insurance Agency has quietly doubled in size.

Spurring this growth is the growing significance of the insurance industry as a whole. Over half of the population of the US has some form of hospital insurance, and NAIC is developing its Center for Insurance Policy and Research.

1967

The first crewed Apollo mission takes place, the Big Mac is introduced, the Vietnam War kicks into high gear, and a groundswell of cultural and social change result in both the "Summer of Love" and the "Long Hot Summer."

In Worcester, Harold Fielding Insurance Agency moves its headquarters to 332 Main St. The following year, the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) will be created, alleviating the risk of staggering losses caused by flooding to private insurers.

1971

Harold Fielding Insurance Agency moves to Mechanics Tower when it opens in 1971.

Mechanics Tower is part of the Worcester Center Galleria, an urban renewal project that occupies 1 million square feet in downtown Worcester. At the time it was completed, it contained the largest parking garage in the world, and was touted as the finest shopping center in the US by construction experts.

1976

The nation's 200th anniversary is also a big year in our history. The company officially passes to the second generation, with Sumner Herman taking the reigns as president. He acquires four other local agencies, which incorporate as Insurance Marketing Agencies and becomes the largest agency in the area. Our first logo - a tree with five branches - celebrates each company's unique roots and unified strength. 

1984

The year is 1984. Steve Jobs has just launched the Macintosh PC. Desmond Tutu will win the Nobel Peace Prize. The first minivans roll off the production line, and Ronald Reagan will soon be elected.

It’s an age of optimism, and in Worcester, IMA is enjoying a golden age all its own. In less than a decade, Sumner has seen the company double in size yet again, causing the team to relocate yet again, this time to its current home in the Day Building. Changes to banking regulations in the US have revolutionized banking and business, leading to a fundamental change in the needs and risks businesses faced. IMA creates a separate business department for the first time. Under the inspired leadership of Jack Kelly, IMA’s commercial and risk management arm expands rapidly.