We are fortunate to have formed excellent relationships and true partnerships with many of our clients. From local independent insurance agencies to top 100 property and casualty agencies, we are proud to provide best-in-class service to all our partners.

“FIRST embodies the philosophies we all aspire to as service organizations: flexibility, out-of-the-box thinking, quick turnaround times, and truly personalized service. When we have exhausted all internal and carrier bill payment options I always ask, ‘Did you call FIRST?’ That single phone call typically ends with a resolution that works for everyone. From developing unique payment arrangements to personalized customer follow-up, FIRST is our agency’s only premium finance option. No one else measures up.”

- Kristin Scholtens, VP & Commercial Manager

“Wintrust and Lake Forest and their subsidiary First Insurance Funding is the single best relationship our insurance agency in Tucson, Arizona has with any company we have ever done business with since our inception. Frank Burke, Mark Steenberg, Chris Baker, Ben Rubin, Jon Wicks, Jim Miller, Norm Thomas, etc. and, of course, Ed, took a chance on us when others wouldn’t. They are responsible for changing the trajectory of my life and our 170 teammates at Crest Insurance Group. In addition we have been able to serve our customers and our employees and their families with great service, great compensation and a quality of life. Today we have six offices in Arizona, California, and Colorado. We also have been able to be great partners in the communities we serve and model our corporate behavior after the great example that Wintrust provides. I am very grateful Ed had the vision to start Wintrust in 1991 and have the faith in us to provide us our seed money to start our business, Crest Insurance Group, in 2010. I highly recommend Wintrust and their family of companies to businesses and individuals.”

- Cody Ritchie, Managing Director