Last Modified: July 24, 2024, 6:51 p.m.
Montage Insurance’s Danone Simpson discusses her career.
By Zane Hill | Photographed by David Sprague
A chance misunderstanding guided Danone Simpson to the insurance industry.
Having spent 17 years as an actress, model, and events planner, Simpson says she reached a crossroads where she wanted to work in a “have to have” business — an operation that provides an essential service. She settled on what she thought was an advertising agency she'd seen featured in a magazine. When she walked into the company, she found it was actually an insurance brokerage.
During the interview, she recalls being bothered by the files haphazardly stacked on the floor. So she offered to clean it up for the manager.
“I literally sorted his files for him and got the job, even though I didn’t have any experience,” she says.
Simpson hit the ground running, working the phones and learning what the company’s clients truly needed. The firm handled both benefits and property & casualty — a relative rarity in the industry.
“I could shift to whatever the client needed,” she says.
She eventually founded Montage Insurance Solutions in 2006, now one of the top firms in the San Fernando Valley in local premiums. Montage offers highly customized plans, even among similar client types.
“I don’t care if two of our charter schools do the same thing,” she explains. “They’re very different in the way they manage their employees or where they’re located.”
Montage works with private schools, credit unions, nonprofits, and manufacturers. Simpson emphasizes being properly insured, especially in today’s hardening market driven by global and U.S. disasters.
California is Underinsured
California is particularly vulnerable, with insurers leaving the market due to wildfires and flooding. On the medical side, demand remains high post-COVID as patients return for delayed procedures.
Simpson founded her firm after negative experiences at other brokerages. One tacked on hidden fees and selectively disclosed plan options. Another laid off women around age 50.
“The most important thing to me as a woman-owned company is valuing the employees,” Simpson says. “They need to feel safe and cared for.”
Transparency is core to Montage. The firm shows every available offer, discloses commissions, and retains denials for client transparency.
“A lot of brokers just go in and show what they think the client might like,” she says. “I let the client make the decision. I show them everything.”
Montage now employs 27, with many long-tenured staff and loyal clients. A sister company, Simpolicy, serves small businesses, and Simpson is developing an auditing software called Bene to help companies verify insurance bills more efficiently.
“I thought it was really important to help our clients audit their bills,” she says. “So now we're just creating a solution to help do it faster.”