Elaina Stewart learned about hard work from her father, who believed in a good education and career. She grew up in the metro Jackson area, starting school at St. Andrews, before her parents built a house in Madison and she attended Madison-Ridgeland Academy. When her dad wanted to move out to the country, the family moved to Canton and Elaina graduated from Canton Academy.

 

Deciding she wanted to study business, Elaina went to Millsaps and got married while she was still in college. “I had a goal of finishing college.” After college, Elaina worked for a brokerage firm for five years. “I got my insurance license in 1998 and worked at a few agencies until I started Riverside Insurance Agency in 2001.   I just went from there and I’ve been clicking along ever since.”

 

Admitting that it may have been easier to go to work for one company, Elaina says that as an independent insurance agency, she gets to work with many different companies. “That’s what makes it so good for our clients. We have the ability to move people around within the agency to keep them happy.”

 

While she sells a variety of personal lines of insurance as well as commercial insurance, her company, Riverside Insurance, has a strong focus on home insurance. “We work with mortgage lenders from the beginning of the process. Some of the clients are first-time home buyers and need insurance for their new homes. Others may have an agent, but they want to get quotes to be sure they get the best rate. We shop with all of our companies to provide our clients with the best coverage for the best rate.”

 

Elaina says she also works with Realtors®. “They often want to get rates on home insurance. And often, we can get a better rate if we bundle with auto insurance.” Realtors® and mortgage brokers like that the turnaround time Elaina and her company provides is quick. “We can often get a quote within 30 minutes, provided that we have all of the information at hand. We work as fast as we can because we know it is important to them.”

 

She has seen many changes in the industry since she started. “The industry has become way more automated,” Elaina says. “We used to do hand-written triplicate paper applications. We would often have to send it to the insurance companies and wait for a quote. Now technology has made us so much more efficient.”

 

Educating people on the benefits of an independent insurance agency is a big part of Elaina’s job. “The big companies advertise while the independent agencies don’t. We represent many different companies, so we can shop for our clients.”

 

Elaina has one daughter and one grandson. “He is ten years old, she says. “He plays quarterback on his school’s football team.” When she is not working or spending time with her family, Elaina enjoys traveling, especially if it’s going to see a concert. “I love going to concerts out of town,” she says. “I am a huge Rolling Stones fan and I saw them play in New Orleans, in Denver, and at a three-day concert in the desert in California. There were six bands there and it was a blast!”

 

Elaina also loves college football. “You will almost always find me in front of a television on Saturdays during football season.” Even though she went to Millsaps, Elaina says she loves watching Ole Miss football.