Our Story
We have deep roots in Prince George, but we cover Western Canada.
Brownridge Insurance is a fiercely independent brokerage that combines local insight with the systems and expertise more typical of national firms. We have a driven and highly professional team who are focused on the relationships with their clients and providing a truly unique level of care and advice.
Our firm was established in 1990 as Brownridge & Van Der Hoek Insurance Services, originally in partnership with TOS Insurance, a Vancouver-based brokerage group. In 1995 we became Brownridge & Company Insurance upon departure of one of the original partners. The TOS partnership ended in 1999, upon their sale to an international brokerage group.
Our founder, Brian Brownridge, had an extensive background in the Prince George business community and also in municipal politics when he made the move from the lumber industry and property development and decided to start the brokerage. Originally with only three employees, the first decade of operations had a significant focus on commercial insurance, and in commercial auto and mobile road service for auto dealers.
For the next decade plus, while maintaining a significant presence on both personal and auto coverage, our strength continued to be on commercial insurance and risk management advice. We have since expanded to service clients throughout BC, Alberta, the Yukon and Nunavut from our Prince George office.
In 2018, we experienced a great deal of loss and an important transition in the evolution of the firm. Upon the passing of Brian Brownridge, and later that year the retirement of his wife Jacy, ownership changed in 2019 to brothers Gord Brownridge (already President since 2016), TR Brownridge (V.P. Operations), and Sean Friend (V.P. Commercial). Most recently, we welcomed Ryley Newman as a partner in 2021, who continues in his role as a Commercial Account Executive.
We are still the same brokerage with many of the same people as in our first three decades, but with the passion and excitement of a startup. Our consistency and familiar faces are combined with a growing number of advisors in our Brownridge “family.” We are a driven and focused group who are incredibly excited about what we are building, and how our firm and its people are contributing to our city and region.
We are genuinely passionate about our clients, their personal insurance needs, and in the success and protection of their businesses. Our firm is unique in the region in that we have local ownership and decision makers here, working with our clientele every day. Our brokerage and our team have developed a reputation for excellence, not only with our clients, but also with our insurer partners, which enables us to have the scale and depth to provide advice and market choice that we will put up against anyone. We are obsessive (and so proud) of the quality of our people, and the difference they make for our customers every day.