DMIG was founded in 1983 as San Joaquin Valley Insurance Associates, Inc. (SJVIA), a joint venture of three different agencies which formed a marketing cluster.  Michael Der Manouel, Sr. was the President of the company and as time passed, SJVIA became the larger entity and the remaining agencies left the cluster.

In 1992, Michael Der Manouel, Jr. joined the firm as producer and teamed up with Richard Wiebe, Ed.D, to develop a church and private school program which quickly grew to become the largest program in the agency.

In 1995, the agency became the endorsed Workers' Compensation provider in California for the Association of Christian Schools International.

In 1997, Michael Der Manouel, Jr. acquired the agency from his father and became company President.  In addition, two other specialty product areas began to grow rapidly - Emergency Medical Transportation and Non Profit Human Services.

In 2001, Capstone Insurance Services was purchased by SJVIA providing additional expansion into the religious institutions marketplace.

With the growth of Property & Casualty lines came the opportunity to expand into Employee Benefits and Financial Services.  By 2002 this product line became so large that Vic Gunderson, an experienced Benefits and Financial Services broker was invited to merge with SJVIA - providing valuable leadership and knowledge to the agency.  Gunderson continues to lead the agency's Financial Services division and is the company's Vice President.

In 2003, Chuck Der Manouel joined the firm as a producer and quickly went about developing only the fourth self-insured Workers' Compensation Group ever approved in California - for private Christian schools.  Chuck's previous private sector experience has been invaluable to SJVIA/DMIG.

Also in 2003, SJVIA completed the acquisition of Cooper & Cook Insurance Services in Pleasanton, California - expanding its presence into the Bay Area of California.

By 2005, the agency had now grown over 500% - expanding into lines of business such as small contracting and sign companies.  It was now time for a new identity as SJVIA was now operating under three different names.  After a lengthy selection process - Der Manouel Insurance Group was selected and 2006 became the year of "re-branding" the company.

DMIG experienced double digit growth in 2007 as most insurance agencies across the country actually decreased in size due to "soft market" conditions.

Also in 2007, several key employees became company shareholders, including CFO Kevin Nist, and producers Joe Thacker, Lyn FauntLeRoy, Chuck Der Manouel and Lance Watts.

Finally, in 2007, DMIG reorganized its Client Services Unit and entire organization around the concept of "Changing the Equation".

Now in its 25th year of operation, DMIG has moved to its new, larger corporate headquarters, to better serve its clients and employees.

And when you review our Purpose, Beliefs & Values, you'll find an insurance agency striving to improve itself every day.  Our employees have a strong desire to provide great service, and a further passion for developing the kind of problem solving knowledge one might expect from a large, rapidly growing insurance agency.  More than anything else, though, is our desire to help our clients get better at what they do.  It's our "Changing the Equation" difference, and one that sets us apart from others in our industry.