History of Fast Insurance Services Ltd.
In the late 1950s, Harry Fast came to Winnipeg from Steinbach. With little formal education under his belt, Harry was armed with a winning personality, and incomparable work ethic and a burning desire to make a living in the business world. For 10 years, he was employed at Penner Dodge where he learned the basics of business accounting, salesmanship and the skills involved in managing people.
After a decade in the auto industry, Harry worked for Investors Syndicate for six years. During that time, a contractor friend expressed unhappiness with his general insurance broker and suggested to Harry that he enter the field. Harry and wife Marion started the business out of the basement of their St. Vital home in November of 1967.
Contacts from business and church began coming to Harry with their insurance needs. The business was growing nicely when, in the early 1970s, the province brought in public automobile insurance. All of a sudden, the rules were different. To continue marketing auto insurance, brokers were now required to have a 50-50 split between auto and P&C accounts. This ratio was going to be tough to reach for the young brokerage whose majority of business lay in the P&C realm. That's when one of Harry's business allies came through for him. Penner Dodge, his old employer, opted to insure its entire lease fleet through Fast Insurance. The brokerage met the government's ratio and there was no looking back.
In 1974, Harry moved the brokerage into a strip mall on St. Mary's Road. While we have moved within the mall, the business has been at the same location ever since. On December 14, 1977, Fast Insurance Services Ltd. became incorporated.
Fast Insurance Services Ltd. is the essence of "family business". In 1984 Janet started working in the business part-time while raising the family and Allan joined in 1986. In 1989, Allan and Janet purchased the family business from Harry & Marion.
Today, Fast Insurance Services Ltd. is still growing! The brokerage employs four people, including their daughter Kara.
