Bender Insurance Solutions was founded over 80 years ago with a mission of providing protection, superior service and education to those who matter most, our customers. It’s a compelling commitment that continues to guide us, three generations later, the largest and only employee-owned, family-led commercial insurance brokerage in the Sacramento region.
Our success stems from client-focused communication and compassion. We help you answer the tough questions that will chart your security and ensure your prosperity. Providing you with the tools to maintain stability and strength is both our business and our passion.
Led by founder Warren G. Bender’s son, CEO Stephen Bender, and Stephen’s daughter, President Maggie Bender-Johnson, Bender Insurance Solutions provides custom-tailored coverage to a diversity of industries, including construction, commercial real estate, healthcare, manufacturing, technology, and agriculture. We also provide personal insurance, employee benefits, and surety coverage. And we actively give back to the community we serve.
The insurance industry moves fast. But we move faster, keeping our clients fully educated and our team trained to remain at the top of their game. It’s the way our business has operated since 1938, and it represents a promise we’ll always keep.
Bender Insurance Solutions was founded in 1938, when Warren G. Bender hung his shingle as a AAA Insurance agent. It was a move that would change the course of Sacramento history and chart a path for generations of the Bender family.
After a stint as a Travelers agent and time off to serve his country in World War II, Bender opened a new Sacramento office in 1949 at the corner of 18th and I Streets. In 1958, the Bender offices moved to El Camino Avenue to accommodate the company’s growth.
The Bender family grew, too. After graduating from college and serving as an underwriter, Warren’s son Stephen joined the family business in 1972 as a personal insurance and small commercial producer. Another second-generation Bender, James, joined the company in 1982 after several years in general construction management, bringing with him a wealth of industry experience and expertise.
Stephen took the helm of the company in 1983; two years later, Warren retired after nearly 50 years in the insurance industry.
In 1996, after outgrowing the El Camino office and moving its 18 employees to a bigger one on Auburn Avenue, the company welcomed the first third-generation family member, Christopher Bender, to its ranks as a personal insurance producer. By 2005, Stephen’s daughter, Maggie Bender-Johnson, joined as a small-business account executive; her sister, Jillian Bender-Cormier, joined three years later.
The company experienced tremendous growth in the early 2000s and was recognized as a regional A+ Employer. The team grew its Bond and Surety departments and added both a Benefits Department and Risk Management services.
Under Stephen’s leadership, the brokerage grew from three employees to more than 50, and from $725,000 in annual revenue to more than $10+ million today.
After 70 years in Sacramento, the company moved its headquarters to Roseville in 2008. Ten years later, in 2018, Maggie Bender-Johnson became the third generation of the family to lead the company when she was named President.
Today, Bender Insurance Solutions is proud to be the Sacramento region’s largest and only employee-owned and family-led commercial insurance brokerage. Our team offers a comprehensive suite of business and personal insurance products such as commercial insurance, surety bonds, homeowners insurance and auto insurance. We specialize in an array of industries including construction, commercial real estate, healthcare, manufacturing, technology, agriculture, and much more.
Our ties to the region run deep. We’re not just a local employer. We’re an active sponsor and donor to numerous charitable causes. We’ve helped to raise funds for organizations from the Salvation Army to the SPCA, as well as numerous local nonprofits. We’re the proud co-founders of the Annual Charity Fall Classic, a golf tournament that has raised more than $150,000 for local charities. We’ve also helped promising young students achieve their goals through the Warren G. Bender Memorial Scholarship.
And we hold a special place in our hearts for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, supporting its work to find a cure for a disease that strikes close to home for far too many people. We’re proud to support the annual Light The Night Walk, and have been named the event’s Top Corporate Fundraiser of the year on two separate occasions.
All told, Bender Insurance Solutions has helped to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars to help others. And we’ll keep doing so, year after year.
