Spun off from the financial services department of Coakley, Pierpan, Dolan, and Collins, True North’s history is marked by steady growth, specialized services, and personal attention. As its name implies, True North offers stability and integrity, as well as secure, responsible financial stewardship.

Expertise and Specialization: a New Company is Formed

True North’s first five employees – Dick Lamb, Wayne LoPresto, Henry Pierpan, Linda Shepard, and Sue O’Neil, – originally worked in the financial services department of Coakley, Pierpan, Dolan, and Collins. There, they offered life insurance, annuities, mutual funds and an array of other products. Together, Bob Collins and Dick Lamb recognized a need for greater specialization in financial services. Responding to this need, Lamb spun off a wholly independent company, True North Financial Services in May 1997.

The company’s first headquarters were on the first floor of 26 Union Street, a building once occupied by the Wall Streeter Shoe Company. True North offices sat just below those of Coakley, Pierpan, Dolan, and Collins – a testament to the friendly relationship the two companies have always enjoyed.

New Ownership, New Opportunities

In late 1998, Hoosac Bank offered to buy True North, provided the agency became an authorized broker/dealer. True North's application for registration as a broker/dealer was approved in July of 1999. In taking on the role of registered broker/dealer, True North became subject to the same regulatory system as large brokerage houses. At the time, True North was among the smallest financial services firms in the nation to be licensed as a broker/dealer, and one of the first to be created under the newly allowable provisions of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act.

Ownership of the agency was transferred to Hoosac Bank – a transition that was seamless to the customer, but which provided capital to invest in technology and other resources for improved customer experiences. In 2007, less than a decade after it was founded, True North has 26 employees and 4 branch offices.

True North Insurance Agency operates as a subsidiary of True North Financial Services, Inc. In addition to individual life, disability and long term care insurance products, True North Insurance operates the largest employee benefits brokerage in Berkshire County. The Employee Benefits Division represents nearly 200 businesses and 20,000 lives. The agency’s clients include some of Berkshire County’s largest and most prestigious employers. It also provides the same level of service to many smaller, family-run businesses.

Through its team of specialists, True North provides Berkshire County businesses with a full range of financial services: from company Health and Dental Plans to 401(k) Retirement Plans to Key Man Life Insurance and Financial Planning for business owners.

Caring for our Customers…and the Community

Like all MountainOne companies, TrueNorth has always offered personalized services that go above and beyond the norm. Whether it’s hunting down the value of tattered stock certificates that a client finds in a safe deposit box, helping customers support their favorite charities or bolster a child or grandchild’s college fund, True North gives clients the detailed, personalized attention they deserve. After all, we work with people…not simply numbers.

Since our founding, we have quietly supported many of our community’s most important agencies – from the health system to local colleges, and dozens of community institutions in between – providing financial support, as well as an equally precious resource: personal time.