The Dryfoos Insurance Agency is one of northeast Pennsylvania’s premier insurance organizations. A full service, independent insurance agency located in Hazleton, Dryfoos has served thousands of business and personal clients with distinction since 1901.

With an experienced and dedicated team of insurance professionals, Dryfoos is well suited to handle the complex risk management and insurance needs of today's business customers. Please browse the entire Dryfoos Group web site to learn more about Dryfoos' wide variety of available insurance products and services.

From deals completed with a handshake to policies written over the Internet, the insurance business has gone through a remarkable transformation over the past 100 years. Yet, through it all, the Dryfoos organization has adapted and grown, remaining closely attuned to the needs of its clients.

Dryfoos Insurance Agency was founded in 1901 in Hazleton, Pennsylvania by Henry Dryfoos, Jr. For many years, the agency specialized in insurance coverage for complex and hazardous coal mining operations in Northeastern Pennsylvania. As a pioneering insurance organization, it was the first in the area to insure an automobile, write the area’s first aircraft insurance policy and provide insurance for emerging commercial operations.

In 1926, Henry Dryfoos’ office at Broad and Wyoming Streets in Hazleton was destroyed by fire. In 1927 he relocated his office across the street to the recently constructed Markle Bank and Trust Building, where the agency remained for more than 60 years.

In the 1930s, Henry Dryfoos was joined in business by his son, Llewellyn F. Dryfoos, Sr., a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, who had completed his thesis on aviation insurance. He joined the business equipped with significant experience from working with several Insurance Companies.

Henry Dryfoos, Jr. passed away in 1955. Llewellyn Dryfoos, Sr. continued to run the agency and was joined, in early 1960s, by his son, Lew Dryfoos, Jr., a graduate of Ursinus College. Lew, Sr. and Lew, Jr. jointly operated the agency until Lew, Sr.’s death in 1977.

The 1970s and 80’s brought significant growth to the agency. Selected by the Insurance Company of North America to be the country’s first COMPAR Agent, Dryfoos Insurance became a significant regional insurance operation in Northeastern Pennsylvania. During this period, the agency conducted several acquisitions of local insurance agencies, including a merger with the Lundy Agency in 1988. Several key members of the agency’s team joined the organization during this period, increasing the size of the staff dramatically and necessitating the organization’s 1988 move from the Markle Building to more spacious offices at 28 South Vine Street.

Dryfoos Insurance entered the Lehigh Valley marketplace by opening a sales office in Allentown in 1984. The success of this operation later led to a 1997 strategic alliance between Dryfoos and The Woodring-Roberts Corp., a Bethlehem agency founded in 1905. The Dryfoos Agency Lehigh Valley sales office was merged with the Woodring-Roberts operation, providing Dryfoos’ Lehigh Valley customers a full-service local operation and giving the clients of both agencies enhanced resources and capabilities.

In 1991, following his service in the U.S. Army, Lew Dryfoos, III joined the organization as a commercial insurance agent. He was named President of the agency in 1998, and continues to run the agency with his father, who now serves as the organization’s Chairman.

From deals completed with a handshake to policies written over the Internet, the insurance business has gone through a remarkable transformation over the past 100 years. Yet through it all, the Dryfoos organization has adapted and grown, remaining closely attuned to the needs of its clients.