Welcome to P.W. Wood & Son, Inc.

About Us

Our People

Photo of our group in front of our building

 

portrait photo of Jamie A. Ferris

Jamie A. Ferris, CIC, CPIA, AAI, became president of The Wood Office in 2010. He had previously worked for the company as an account executive since 1992. Jamie is licensed for both Property & Casualty and Life & Health Insurance from New York State. He has earned the following designations: Certified Insurance Counselor, Certified Professional Insurance Agent, and Accredited Advisor in Insurance. Jamie earned a bachelor's degree in marketing from State University of New York at Oswego. He is currently the Chair for the NYS 4H Foundation J. David Ferris Memorial 4-H Golf Open, and Immediate Past-President of the Professional Insurance Agents of NY. He has also served on the boards of The Community Arts Partnership of Tompkins County as Chairman, the Corporate Development Committee of Lansing Central School District, the Youth Ministries Committee and SPRC of the Lansing United Methodist Church. Jamie, who lives in Lansing, enjoys spending his leisure time with his wife Melissa and their three daughters.


portrait photo of Jeffrey Dende

Jeffrey Dende, Vice President - Commercial Lines, CIC, CPIA has been an Account Executive at The Wood Office since 2015. Dende is a licensed in NY for both Property & Casualty Insurance and Life, Accident & Health Insurance; focusing on both personal and commercial insurance. A graduate of Ithaca College with a degree in business administration, Jeff has also earned the Certified Insurance Counselor® designation from the National Alliance for Insurance Education and Research in 2018 and the Certified Professional Insurance Agent designation from the American Insurance and Sales Society in 2019. A Groton resident, Jeffrey is the Fly Fishing Program Manager for the Strengthen Your Mind Initiative where he volunteers and manages fly fishing trips for first responders and military personnel as part of their PTSD and/or substance abuse therapy. In his free time he enjoys fly fishing, fly tying and woodworking.


portrait photo of Sara Rose

Sara Rose, Vice President - Personal Lines, PLCS, CPIA, is a NY licensed account executive specializing in Personal Lines and has worked at The Wood Office since 2003. Sara studied at The Hartford School of Insurance, earning the Personal Lines Coverage Specialist certification. Additionally she has earned the Certified Professional Insurance Agent designation from the American Insurance and Sales Society and is currently working on completing the Certified Insurance Service Representative designation from the National Alliance for Insurance Education and Research. Sara lives on a small farm in Freeville with her husband and youngest son, volunteers with the Off-Track Thoroughbred Rescue. She enjoys horseback riding, recreational vehicles, hunting, and relaxing on the deck or around the camp fire with family and friends.


portrait photo of Rick Hartman

Rick Hartman has been in the accounting department at The Wood Office since 2016.He is responsible for operational and administrative duties for the office. He is licensed for Property & Casualty Insurance from New York State. He graduated from the University of Scranton with a B.S. degree. He volunteers with a few local history organizations. A Cayuga Heights resident since 1996, Rick enjoys spending time with his family.


portrait Erin Shoemaker

Erin Shoemaker returned to the Wood Office in 2017 after moving back to New York State. Erin is the Contracts and Agreements Coordinator for large Commercial Accounts. She lives in Ithaca with her three children. In her leisure time, she enjoys movies, baking, and spending time with family and friends.


A Tribute to J. David Ferris

portrait photo of J. David Ferris J. David Ferris was a veteran of the insurance industry who brought a new approach to protecting businesses from risk in the Ithaca area. Not only did he help his clients find the insurance that would meet their needs, but he also worked with them to change their business procedures to mitigate their risk.

"He brought in this concept when it wasn't apparent to the industry," said Jamie Ferris, Dave's youngest son and president of The Wood Office. "He was kind of ahead of the curve."

Dave learned the insurance business through years of working with clients and through a high level of education in the field. After earning his master's degree from Goddard College in Vermont, he created his own distance learning program with Greenwich University in Hawaii to earn his PhD in risk management.

The oldest of five children, Dave grew up on a dairy farm in Otego, New York, and ran the operation from the age of 14. After enlisting in the Army and being stationed in Fort Sam Houston, Dave entered the insurance business with New York Life in New York City and later transferred to Liberty Mutual.

Hoping to return to Upstate New York, Dave was then hired at Cooper, Ackerman & Sampson Insurance Agency in Binghamton. Looking to make another career change, Dave applied for a job at an insurance agency in downtown Ithaca in 1977.

During the interview, Dave was told that he would be trained to sell insurance, a skill he already knew. So immediately headed to the office of Richard Hughes, who owned P.W. Wood & Son in downtown Ithaca. Hughes had written an article in Independent Agent's Magazine about the lack of young people in the industry, and Dave walked into his office with the magazine article and asked to see him. Dave was hired at P.W. Wood on a handshake, and two years later, he bought the agency from Hughes.

Because of his strong interest in education, Dave taught risk management at the School of Hotel Administration at Cornell and in the MBA program at Ithaca College. At the same time, he began working as a risk management consultant for educational institutions, law firms, and government agencies across the country. Among his clients was the Port of Pascagoula in Biloxi, Miss., which needed help filing claims after it sustained damage during Hurricane Katrina.

Since taking over The Wood Office, Dave expanded its clientele, and the company became the agency of record for several Canadian firms launching operations in the United States. The Wood Office now has commercial clients in more than 30 states and Canada.

Dave, who passed away in 2014, not only dedicated his time to his business, but also served on more than a dozen community boards, including the United Way of Tompkins County, the Tompkins County Chamber of Commerce and the Tompkins Cortland Community College Board of Trustees. An avid hunter, he also taught hunting safety classes, served as a Boy Scout Leader, and was chair of the New York State 4-H Foundation Board of Trustees.

Our Partners

Along with the many insurance products and services listed you can also expect The Wood Office to be committed to a high standard of excellence in all that we do and to establish a firm relationship of mutual trust and service with each of our clients.

We expect the same from the carriers we trust with your coverage.

Some of the strong carriers we work with include the following:

 

Adirondack Insurance Exchange
P.O. Box 50
Buffalo, NY 14240-0050
Billing & Claims: 877-248-0555
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AmTrust North America
800 Superior Avenue E., 21st Floor
Cleveland, OH 44114
Billing & Claims: 877.528.7878
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Chautauqua Patrons Insurance Company
529 W. Third Street
Jamestown, NY 14702
Billing & Claims: 716-664-5813
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Dryden Mutual Insurance Company
12 Ellis Drive
Dryden, New York 13053
Billing: 800-694-8271
Claims:
- During office hours: 800-782-0154
- Nights & weekends only: 607-428-0176 or 800-556-5802
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Encompass Insurance
3100 Sanders Road, Suite K4
Northbrook, IL 60062
Billing: 866-430-2916
Claims: 800-588-7400
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Erie and Niagara Insurance Association
8800 Sheridan Drive
Box 9062
Williamsville, New York 14231-9062
Billing & Claims: 716-632-5433
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Farmers Insurance
P.O. Box 2478, Terminal Annex
Los Angeles, CA 90051
Billing: 800-327-6377
Claims: 800-435-7764

Finger Lakes Fire and Casualty Company
6905 Route 227
P.O. Box 550
Trumansburg, New York 14886
Billing & Claims: (800) 724-4032
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Hanover Insurance
440 Lincoln Street
Worcester, MA 01653-0002
Billing: 800-853-0456
Claims: 800-628-0250
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The Hartford
One Hartford Plaza
Hartford, CT 06155
Billing/Service: 800-624-5578
Claims: 800-243-5860
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Liberty Mutual Insurance
175 Berkeley Street
Boston, MA 02116
Claims: 800-362-0000
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The Main Street America Group
4601 Touchton Road East, Suite 3400
Jacksonville, FL 32246
Billing/Service: 800-611-0958
Claims: 877-425-2467
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Midstate Mututal Insurance Company
5612 Route 34 South, PO Box 430
Auburn, NY 13021
Phone: 800-826-8520
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NYCM Insurance
1899 Central Plaza East
Edmeston, NY 13335
Customer Service/Claims: 800-234-6926
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Philadelphia Insurance Companies
231 St. Asaph's Rd., Suite 100
Bala Cynwyd, PA 19004-0950
Billing/Service: 800-873-4552
Customer Service: 800-873-4552
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Preferred Mutual Insurance Company
1 Preferred Way
New Berlin, NY 13441
Billing/Service: 888-511-2455
Claims: 800-333-7642
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Progressive
6300 Wilson Mills Road, W33
Mayfield Village, OH 44123-2182
Billing: 800-876-5581
Claims: 800-274-4641
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Safeco Insurance, Member of Liberty Mutual Group
Safeco Plaza, 1001 Fourth Avenue
Seattle, WA 98154
Billing/Service: 800-332-3226
Claims: 800-332-3226
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Security Mutual
2417 N. Triphammer Road
PO Box 4620
Ithaca, New York 14852-4620
607-257-5000
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Selective Insurance
40 Wantage Avenue
Branchville, NJ 07890
Billing & Claims: 800-777-9656
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ShelterPoint
600 Northern Boulevard, Ste. 310
Great Neck, NY 11021
Phone: 800-365-4999
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Travelers
One Tower Square
Hartford, CT 06183-1001
Billing/Service: 800-842-5075
Claims: 800-252-4633
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Utica National Insurance Group
180 Genesee Street
New Hartford, NY 13413-2299
Billing/Service:
Claims 800-216-1420
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Zurich
1400 American Lane
Schaumburg, IL 60196-1056
Billing/Service: 800-382-2150
Claims: 800-987-3373
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Our History


Serving Individuals,
Families & Businesses
Since 1853

portrait photo of Percy W. Wood
Percy W. Wood

portrait photo of Percy O. Wood
Percy O. Wood

portrait photo of Richard Hughes
Richard Hughes

portrait photo of J. David Ferris
J. David Ferris

portrait photo of Jamie A. Ferris
Jamie A. Ferris, Pres.

The Wood Office has been meeting the insurance needs of satisfied clients since 1853, when Percy W. Wood opened the doors of P.W. Wood & Son in Ithaca. Percy operated the agency on the principal of providing the right coverage for each of his clients. Perhaps his most famous local account was the first insurance policy he wrote for his friend Ezra Cornell on the new college Ezra was founding, Cornell University.

The agency was operated by the Wood family until 1956, when it was sold to Richard Hughes. In 1977, J. David Ferris, a Binghamton insurance agent, made a cold call on Hughes at his downtown Ithaca office, using an editorial Hughes had written for Independent Agent's Magazine about the lack of younger people in the business as a means of securing an interview. The meeting was a success, and Ferris came to work at P.W. Wood on a handshake. Two years later, Ferris purchased the agency from Hughes.

In 1992, P.W. Wood & Son became a family insurance business once again when Ferris's youngest son, Jamie, joined the agency as a full-time account executive. Jamie became president of the company in 2010 and became sole owner when his father passed away in 2014. Today, The Wood Office is a multi-million dollar company with personal and commercial clients in more than 30 states and Canada. We strive to be our clients' one source for all their personal insurance policy and risk management needs. We understand that our clients cannot thrive under the burden of unnecessary insurance premiums, and we invite you to work with us to develop a prioritized insurance program that spends your insurance dollars wisely.

Associations & Links


3S Agencies
3sagencies.com

Business Networking International
bni.com

Business Networking International
Thumbs Up Chapter
ithacathumbsup.com

Independent Insurance Agent of New York
iiaba.net
iiabny.org


New York State Insurance Department
www.dfs.ny.gov

Professional Insurance Agents
piaonline.org

Tompkins County Chamber of Commerce
tompkinschamber.org