★★★★★
"They have the best rates around, and Lisa Golden makes the oh-so-fun experience of handling insurance easy and pleasant. Quick to respond, a pleasure to work with."
Lisa C.
Yelp · Feb 2020
For nearly fifty years, Ark Assurance Group has done one thing: sit on the customer's side of the desk. Here's how that started — and why it still matters.
In 1977, a small insurance office opened on the east side of Tyler — built on the unfashionable idea that an independent agent should work for the client, not the carrier. It was started to help the people of East Texas protect their homes, their businesses, and their livelihoods with the right coverage.
A few years in, then-president Criss Sudduth changed the name. The agency had been named after a man. He renamed it after an idea — the ark — the vessel that protected Noah's family when the world got rough. That's still the work: you bring the family, we build the boat.
Today Ark is run by the Hinsley family, with the third generation already at the desk. The agents who answer the phone — Lisa, Linda, Gary, Craig — have been here long enough to remember your renewal date before you do. We've been BBB accredited since 1993, and we carry a 5-star rating across 140 published reviews.
A small independent office opens in Tyler to help East Texans protect what they've built.
President Criss Sudduth renames the agency after the vessel that kept Noah's family safe — security, not a surname.
Ark earns Better Business Bureau accreditation — a standard it has held ever since.
John Hinsley leads the agency as President, growing it into one of the area's top independent producers.
Judson and Anna Hinsley join the family business, with 14 team members and a dozen-plus carriers on the shelf.
A captive agent can only sell you their one company's policy. We pull quotes from more than a dozen carriers, line them up against your life, and let the math do the convincing.
Every carrier below is a verified appointment, listed publicly on Nationwide, Acuity, Progressive, and independent-agent directories. We shop them — we don't endorse them.
Plus Acuity and selected regional carriers · ask us
"They have the best rates around, and Lisa Golden makes the oh-so-fun experience of handling insurance easy and pleasant. Quick to respond, a pleasure to work with."
"Almost $80 a month cheaper than what we were paying — and the agent had over twenty years of experience walking us through every line on the policy."
"100% recommend — the team treats you like family, not a policy number. That's rare in this business and it shows up every time we call."