Blake Finney prides his Shelter Insurance office in excellent customer service. They aim to provide the best service, including quality answers, to their customers — quickly.

“Shelter is a large enough company to take care of any claim, but a small enough company where relationships and clients truly matter,” said Finney, who has been in the business for 14 years. “We want to make sure that our office provides value in what we are doing.”

Finney’s office has been named the state agent of the year for five years and has qualified for the company’s Conference of Champions designation, which is the highest award possible, for 12 years in a row now. Part of his team’s goal is to properly communicate with clients, making sure they understand what they have and what they need in terms of coverage.

“We face the challenge of clients not understanding their coverage,” he said. “So many times, people are underinsured and would run the risk of taking a huge financial hit because their present agent/carrier hasn’t properly educated them.”

Finney and his team are available whenever their clients need them. In fact, during “off hours,” the office phone rolls over to his cell phone, as does his email.

“When an insured has a claim they will be able to reach me,” he said. “We are very involved in the claims process versus giving our client a 1-800 number.”

Finney grew up in Manchester, Tennessee and graduated from MTSU with an education degree. He taught school for two years, one year in Coffee County and one year at Oakland in Murfreesboro, prior to opening his Shelter agency in 2004. Professionally, he has served as local president and state board member of the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors. His agency, which includes two staff members, is very committed to Murfreesboro Young Life, which is the recipient of most of the agency’s philanthropic efforts.

Beyond that, he also contributes to other local organizations, including serving as a board member of Crimestoppers for the past 10 years. He has also been a member of BRAA for 12 years.

Finney is married to wife Kristen and they have a two-year-old daughter, Kennedy. He is a member of New Vision Baptist and also enjoys spending his downtime doing outdoor activities. He loves sports, and just recently became an assistant football coach for the PCA middle school football team.