The J. Morey Company History

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Since its inception, The J. Morey Company, Inc. has served individuals, families, and businesses with high quality insurance products and professional, reliable service. John, Jack, and James Morey founded The J. Morey Company, Inc. in 1980 and established the first office in Cerritos, California. The single office started operations with five employees, including the three principals, and they wrote personal, commercial property, and casualty insurance.

The company soon decided to focus on expansion and in 1982, they acquired the oldest existing Japanese American insurance brokerage at the time in California called The Hirohata Insurance Agency. Although they first focused on serving the Southern California communities, they expanded operations to Northern California, opening an office in San Jose after purchasing The Mineta Insurance Agency.

The Addition of Affiliate Companies

Our company has always strived to identify and include services that we think would be helpful to our clients and their unique needs. We currently have affiliate companies that specialize in custom designed retail insurance packages, health and life insurance plans, and serving Spanish speaking business owners and communities.

In 1995, the company introduced a separate wholesale insurance operation, Arrowood Insurance Services, to offer retail insurance brokers custom designed niche programs in the Japanese and Japanese American community. In addition, the wholesale brokerage provides approved sub-producing retail brokers access to specific preferred market insurance carriers. The operation is currently located in Huntington Beach, California.

Recognizing the need for a specifically trained team to service the Japanese and Japanese bilingual community, the company introduced a separate entity in 2003 called “Nakazawa Insurance Services.” The full service staff was trained in personal and commercial property, casualty, life, and health and human benefits. Nakazawa Insurance Services was sold in late 2015, independently continuing their operations in Torrance and Irvine.

In 2004, the company began to offer health, life, and long term care coverage. As a result of a positive response from clients, M.I. Insurance Services, Inc. was established in 2006 as a separate and independent entity to specifically handle the needs of these clients.

With the success of Nakazawa Insurance Services, the company also saw a need for an entity that focused on the Spanish speaking business owner and the personal insurance needs of the Spanish speaking community. In late 2005, LatinAgencia Servicios de Seguros was established in Bellflower, CA as a community based retail agency and brokerage. Over the past several years, the company has gained brand recognition in the Spanish speaking community.

Today, the highest priority of The J. Morey Company, Inc. and its affiliate companies remains their commitment to service, professionalism, and insurance knowledge. They look to provide clients with value added services and high quality products that are cost sensitive to their needs and budgetary requirements.

Client Centered

While The J. Morey Company was founded in 1980, the Morey family’s foundation in business and the Japanese American community has been deeply rooted since the early 20th century. In 1907, the Morey family immigrated to the United States from Japan and opened a general store called The Asia Company in Little Tokyo, Downtown Los Angeles. Read more about their story here.

Continuing his legacy and commitment to the community, The J. Morey Company has since opened offices in Anaheim, Torrance, and San Jose. In 2012, fourth generation Joshua Morey brought things full circle when he established an office in Little Tokyo on the same street his great-grandfather owned his business over 100 years earlier.

In 2021, The J. Morey Company merged with Alliance 360° Insurance Solutions to form Ori-genThe Ori-gen Family of Companies is a portfolio of legacy-owned businesses committed to uplifting and sustaining the communities they serve. As an Ori-gen Family Company, The J. Morey Company continues to offer a broad scope of services to best meet the needs of our clients.

This podcast episode from Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of California features father and son John & Joshua Morey explaining how the company was founded and the values that still hold true 40 years later.