For more than five decades, the name Bill Thomas has been closely connected with Smith & Thomas Insurance and the Florida insurance industry.
Bill Thomas joined Smith & Thomas Insurance in 1971, becoming part of the family business founded by his father-in-law, Harvey Smith. What began in 1960 as a small Nationwide insurance agency operating out of a converted house on Florida Avenue in Lakeland would eventually become an independent insurance agency serving families, businesses, churches, and organizations throughout Florida.
Today, Bill’s legacy continues through the fourth generation of the family, with his grandson Colin Etheridge carrying the family business forward.
Bill Thomas and Smith & Thomas Insurance
When Bill Thomas joined the agency in 1971, Smith & Thomas Insurance was still a relatively small local insurance agency in Lakeland, Florida.
Over the following decades, Bill helped grow the agency and its relationships with insurance customers throughout Florida. In 1975, Smith & Thomas became a fully independent insurance agency, giving the business the ability to work with multiple insurance carriers and provide clients with more choices for their insurance coverage.
Bill’s career has spanned an enormous period of change in the Florida insurance industry. From the days of paper files and small local agencies to today’s increasingly digital insurance marketplace, he has remained a familiar name to generations of Smith & Thomas clients.
The agency has continued to grow while maintaining its roots as a family-owned, independent insurance agency in Lakeland, Florida.
A Long History of Florida Insurance
During Bill Thomas’ time with Smith & Thomas Insurance, the agency expanded beyond traditional personal insurance and developed expertise in several specialized areas.
One of those areas became church insurance. Smith & Thomas began serving churches and faith-based organizations in the 1980s, eventually developing decades of experience helping Florida churches, ministries, and other organizations protect their property, people, and operations.
The agency also developed a strong reputation for serving Florida homeowners, mobile and manufactured homeowners, businesses, and other customers with insurance needs that don’t always fit neatly into a standard policy.
That history continues today. Smith & Thomas Insurance remains an independent insurance agency serving Lakeland, Polk County, Central Florida, and customers throughout the state of Florida.
A Certified Insurance Counselor
Bill Thomas is a Certified Insurance Counselor (CIC), a professional designation that reflects his longstanding commitment to the insurance industry and continuing education.
Over the course of his career, Bill has developed decades of practical experience helping Florida families and businesses navigate insurance coverage, changing insurance markets, and the risks that come with living and operating a business in Florida.
His career is a significant part of the experience behind Smith & Thomas Insurance today.
Bill Thomas’ Family
Insurance may have been a major part of Bill’s life, but family has always been at the center of it.
Bill is married to Linda Thomas. Together, they have three children, eight grandchildren, and six great-grandchildren.
The family connection to Smith & Thomas Insurance has continued through the generations. Bill’s grandson, Colin Etheridge, represents the fourth generation of the family to become involved with the agency.
That makes Smith & Thomas more than a Florida insurance agency with a long history. It is a business that has literally been passed from one generation to the next.
Continuing the Family Business
More than 65 years after Harvey Smith opened the agency in Lakeland, the Smith & Thomas name remains part of the Florida insurance community.
Bill Thomas helped guide the agency through decades of growth and change. Today, the next generation is continuing that work while bringing new technology, new insurance markets, and new ways of serving clients to a business built on the same principles of personal service and long-term relationships.
For the Smith & Thomas team, the goal isn’t simply to preserve the past. It’s to build on it.
From Harvey Smith in 1960, to Bill Thomas beginning his career with the agency in 1971, to the fourth generation today, Smith & Thomas Insurance remains a family-owned independent insurance agency serving Florida.
A Legacy That Continues
While the insurance industry has changed dramatically since 1971, the basic idea behind the agency has remained remarkably consistent: know your clients, understand their needs, and help them find insurance coverage that makes sense for their lives and businesses.
That’s the legacy Bill Thomas helped build—and the legacy the next generation is continuing.
Today, Bill continues to serve as an advisor, often grinning as he calls himself an “Emeritus Agent.” After more than five decades with the agency, he’s proud to see his grandson, Colin, continue to carry the company forward.