Lonnie Hooper moved to Tulare in May 1977 to open his own business, the Lonnie Hooper Insurance Agency, on West Inyo Street.  He began writing for Farmers Insurance, starting from scratch.  Many of his competitors said he would never make it, because he wasn’t a “home-town boy”, but with his personality, desire for knowledge and determination, he began building his agency, which blossomed and grew very rapidly.  In November of 1977, he outgrew his office space on W. Inyo and moved into an office at 162 No. “M” St.  In June of 1980, he found that he needed an even larger office and moved to 128 No. “M” St., where he would have more room to grow.  The Agency remained at 128 No. “M” St. until August of 1996 at which time he moved to 133 No. “L” St. to a more serviceable location. 

By June of 1979, Lonnie found that he was writing more and more commercial business and that Farmers did not have the markets to underwrite his business, so he obtained an appointment with the Insurance Company of North America (INA) and in 1980, he terminated his association with Farmers and from there, picked up several different companies, becoming an independent agent.  Within the first four years, Lonnie’s agency had grown significantly and he was approached by an agent in Bakersfield to open another agency there.

On October 1, 1984, Lonnie merged with the Spuhler & Sturgeon, Inc., which was founded in 1922 and together they formed the partnership of Hooper, Spuhler & Sturgeon Insurance Services and moved into Lonnie’s office location in Tulare.  They had a staff of seven clerical employees and four producers. The Hooper, Spuhler & Sturgeon Insurance Services incorporated on September 1, 1985 and in October 1986, Lonnie bought out the principals of Spuhler & Sturgeon Inc.  The staff has continued to grow significantly over the years.

On January 1, 2009 Lonnie brought Michael Muller in as a partner in the agency.  Mike has worked for HSS since 2000 and is a great asset to the company. Kristi Koetsier, who has worked for the agency since 1990 and is the daughter of Lonnie Hooper, has also been made a partner in the company.

HOOPER, SPUHLER & STURGEON INSURANCE SERVICES is one of the strongest and most progressive independent insurance agencies in the San Joaquin Valley, dedicated to helping you protect what is yours.