ST. CLOUD – The Lyle Group, an Allstate agency located in St. Cloud announced their acquisition of the Toby Steinmetz Agency. The purchase of the agency was completed on Jan 1.

“I’d like to thank Toby for his incredible commitment to his customers and for trusting us to carry on thelegacy of his business,” Lyle Group President Peter Lyle said in their media release. “I’m excited to welcome our new customers from the Steinmetz Agency to our family. This acquisition is designed to enhance the customer experience for every customer in our portfolio. We have an incredible staff who welcomes the opportunity to form new relationships and provide the best coverage for their families.”

Lyle shared with the Times that the number of customers that his business will be serving has grown by around 50 percent since Jan. 1. The exact number of new customers can't be shared due to privacy concerns.

"There will be no difference in ratings," Lyle said. "What we can do for people is review what they currently have, [like] their policies and their needs, and we can right-size a product and protection for them. For some customers that haven't reviewed their policy in over a decade, it's worth their time to come in and have a chat with us. There may be some additional savings opportunities and there may be some risk that they haven't considered."

Lyle did emphasize that Allstate, their parent company, are responsible for setting their customers' premiums.

The Lyle Group, located at 30 15th Ave S in St. Cloud, began servicing all clients from the Tony Steinmetz Agency on January 1, with all service performed at The Lyle Group headquarters. The Waite Park office, formerly the Steinmetz Agency, closed on the same day. Lyle said his business moved to a more "retail setting" so people would have easier access to private conversations regarding their individual services.

As for the next steps for the Lyle Group, Lyle said "We're going to continue to grow. We haven't identified if there is an acquisition in the future or around the horizon, but we're going to continue to grow."

Part of his plan is to be more lingually connected with his customer base. He shared that he has Somali speaking staff and is actively hiring additional staff that can speak Spanish.

When speaking with the Times, Lyle took pride in his overall business culture and atmosphere that he expects to showcase to all his new customers. He also shared he has an office dog, Cash, that greets every customer that walks into their door. Some customers just come back to say hi to Cash.

The Lyle Group is an Allstate agency providing clients with home, auto, recreational, marine, life and small business insurance. They've worked in the St. Cloud area for over two decades.

“We are proud to serve our community, not only through what we offer in our business, but also through our community service,” said Lyle in his media release. He concluded “Our team and I know that we can only be as successful as our community allows us to be and by providing time off to perform acts of service gives them the opportunity to help our community grow and thrive.”

This article originally appeared on St. Cloud Times: The Lyle Group Announces Acquisition of Toby Steinmetz Agency