Tairiol Insurance Acquires New Agency

7/4/1991

(Weirton Daily Times)

On June 1, the J.S. Tairiol Insurance Company purchased the Leach-Childers Insurance Agency at 3620 West St. Weirton.

The Leach-Childers agency officially merged with J.S. Tairiol on July 1. Leach-Childers’ owner, John McGinty, a 33-year-insurance veteran, remains with J.S. Tairiol to head the Wheeling office at 1133 Main St.

“We pride ourselves on being customer oriented,” said Matthew A. Magnone, executive vice president and chairman of the board for J.S. Tairiol. “The purpose of this merger is to strengthen our customer base, allowing us to offer better service to every J.S. Tairiol client.”

J.S. Tairiol is an independent insurance company and one of the area’s largest writers for several major insurance companies, including American States Insurance Co. (subsidiary of Lincoln National Insurance Co.), Continental Insurance Company (Continental Group), General Accident Insurance Companies, Northbrook Insurance Co., (Allstate owned), New Hampshire Insurance Company (AIG Group), Maryland Casualty Insurance Co. (Zurich/American Group), and the Westfield Companies.

Based in Weirton,  J.S. Tairiol is one of the oldest insurance agencies in the state, with offices in Wellsburg, Wheeling, Chester and Morgantown.

Joseph Sante Tairiol, an Italian immigrant, established the J.S. Tairiol Company in Weirton on Dec. 28, 1920. Beginning as a real estate agency, the new company soon diversified into insurance.

With the death of Joseph Tairiol in 1962, his daughter, Dolores June, and son-in-law, Matthew Magnone, took over. Management changed again in 1984 when Matthew A. Magnone, a WVU graduate with a marketing degree, joined the company.

In 1984, J.S. Tairiol had three employees and 1,000 policyholders. The company currently employs 20 people and insures over 12,000 policyholders.