About Us

Carlson & Carlson, Incorporated:
A History of Insurance Service

Since its inception, Carlson & Carlson has identified and responded to the personal and business insurance needs of clients who are intent on achieving success and maintaining the security of their assets.

In 1920, John H. Carlson (grandfather & great grandfather of Carlson & Carlson’s current managing partners) branched out on his own to become an Insurance Agent representing The Travelers Insurance Company in New York City. John had been an Underwriter for The Travelers in New York specializing in insurance for the railroad industry at its peak of dominance and profitability. John’s clients included Westinghouse Air Brakes, Bethlehem Steel, Kerite Wire (merged into Harvey Hubbell), and other large railroad-related accounts. Looking to expand the insurance business, he joined the New York City office of an independent agency based in Virginia that handled insurance policies for clients in the railroad industry. The New York agency was incorporated in the state of New York in 1932, and appointed John H. Carlson as Agency Manager.

Carlson and his wife, Elsa, a pioneer who had also worked at The Travelers as one of the first women in the insurance industry as a claims examiner, had three children John, Jr., Peter and Phyllis. By 1956, both John H. Carlson, Jr. and Peter E. Carlson had joined their father in the insurance business. Together the father and his two sons purchased the New York City agency and changed its name to Carlson & Carlson, Incorporated.

Today, John H. Carlson’s descendants mesh modern priorities and business acumen with a rock-solid foundation of insurance expertise and long-standing relationships with the most reputable insurance providers in the world.