IIAT Members Making an IMPACT: State Senator Larry Taylor

State Senator Larry Taylor (R-Friendswood)

His start in insurance

Senator Larry Taylor worked summers in high school at his father’s insurance agency, Truman Taylor Insurance Agency, in Friendswood. It was there he learned to love insurance and wanted to pursue it professionally. He attended college at Baylor and earned a degree in insurance.

After graduating, Larry and his wife, Kerri, moved to Hawaii where he worked as an insurance underwriter while Kerri earned her master’s degree. In 1985, they moved back to Friendswood and Larry started working with his father as an independent agent. Eleven years later, in 1996, he bought the agency from his father.

When Hurricane Harvey ravaged the Houston area in 2017, Larry’s agency and his employees were directly affected. His office and most of his employees suffered varying degrees of damage. While taking care of their own issues caused by the hurricane, they helped their clients. Later the same year, Senator Taylor merged his agency with Galveston Insurance Associates, which is operated by Garry Kaufmann, another IIAT member.

His career in politics

Larry has always been very involved in his community and campaigned for several people. A self-proclaimed “fixer,” one day he found himself meeting with influential members of the community who convinced him to run for the Texas House of Representatives.

In 1997, Larry filed to run against an incumbent. He lost the race but later decided to run for Friendswood City Council. The city council incumbent decided to exit the race, and as Larry was the only other candidate, he was appointed to the city council, where he served for three years. During that time he also served as mayor pro-tem.

In 2001, the U.S. Census resulted in new district lines in his area, so Larry decided to run for state representative again. He won the seat in 2003 and served in the Texas House of Representatives for 10 years. After the 2011 session, then-State Senator Mike Jackson ran for higher office, creating a vacancy in the Texas Senate. Larry ran for the Senate, won, and has served since 2013. In the fall of 2021, Senator Taylor decided not to run for his seat; his term will expire in January 2023.

Why donating to IMPACT is important

“What we do as insurance agents for our customers is important – and there are not many people in the Texas Legislature who understand what independent agents do. There are times that members of the House and Senate need to be educated on matters that are important to IIAT members and this industry. Contributing to IMPACT gives IIAT an opportunity to visit with candidates and elected officials about the independent insurance business model," said Senator Taylor.

Thanks for 20 years of service!

IIAT’s Chief Legislative Officer Lee Loftis has been friends with Senator Taylor for more than 25 years. They met when Lee was active as a board member for IIAT long before joining the IIAT staff. While Lee was rising in the ranks of IIAT, Senator Taylor was rising in the ranks of the Texas Legislature. “Working alongside Senator Taylor all these years has been a real honor. He’s always been there for IIAT and we will miss him when he retires from the Texas Legislature in January 2023,” said Lee.

The IIAT Board of Directors and IIAT staff join Lee in congratulating and thanking Senator Taylor for his 20 years of service to the State of Texas. Thank you Senator Taylor!

Make an IMPACT

Help IIAT’s Government Affairs team build and maintain strong relationships with politicians who write and pass these bills.

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Questions?
Contact Regan Ellmer at 512.493.2454.

NOTE: The Texas Ethics Commission has strict prohibitions on contributions and expenditures and forbids a corporation or labor organization from making a political contribution or political expenditure. Therefore, IIAT members wishing to make a contribution to IMPACT must do so with a personal or partnership contribution. Corporate contributions are prohibited by law.