Celebrating ten years at the Ralph Borsella Agency for Allstate, Sara Borsella has gained an enduring knowledge of Rye.

 

By Peter Jovanovich

 

Celebrating ten years at the Ralph Borsella Agency for Allstate, Sara Borsella has gained an enduring knowledge of Rye.

 

“When I started working for my father at the agency, flooding was not the first thing that came to my mind in terms of insurance,” says Ms. Borsella. “But the 2007 floods changed everything.” As she explained, the changing of the weather has affected the entire insurance industry, notably what gets insured and at what price.

 

“I devote a lot of time to helping clients understand what’s covered and what’s not, and making sure they get the coverage they need — including flood insurance — in case of a disaster,” she said.

 

The Borsella Agency, which sells all kinds of insurance, experienced the floods firsthand at their 21 Elm Place offices the handsome mid-19th century building, which Mr. Borsella bought and renovated, felt the full fury of last summer’s Hurricane Irene.

 

Sara recalls: “We had to move everything up to the second floor (the basement was completely flooded), field hundreds of calls from clients, and begin to help them deal with the damage to their homes.”

 

Selling insurance must be a big change from what she trained for. After graduating from Iona College with a degree in Social Work, she worked for two-plus years counseling young people dealing with drug prevention, social skills, and many other issues. “Actually, there’s much that’s similar about the two professions. What I like about both fields is helping people to prevent loss, and if it happens, helping them recover.”

 

She adds: “And helping people understand their policies! Insurance policies are written in a language that’s very hard to understand.”

 

We asked, “What’s it like working for your dad?” She took a long pause before answering: “Great. There’s a fine line between work and family, and we both respect that. My dad is a very hard worker, as was my grandfather who worked with my father for ten years. They set a wonderful model to follow.”