A deal to combine the operations of Mountain West Insurance & Financial Services based in Craig and Steamboat Select Insurance Group was completed in August, and President and Chief Operating Officer Todd Hayes said the signs will soon be changed.

“I have a sign guy coming today, and they will be going away,” Hayes said Wednesday morning. “(The changes brought about by the acquisition) are all benefits to our clients. For example, as a larger agency, we have various departments that we would not otherwise have.”

Mountain West Insurance & Financial Services, which Hayes said is among the nation’s top 75 largest agencies, acquired Steamboat Select Insurance Group, has 16 locations throughout Colorado and New Mexico and is licensed in states across the United States.

Darrell Camilletti, CEO of Mountain West Insurance & Financial Services, has been in the insurance business for 46 years and established the company in 1998. Hayes moved to Steamboat with Brown & Brown Insurance in 2010 and then purchased the business and changed its name to Steamboat Select Insurance Group. The business will now use the Mountain West name.

On Wednesday, the two men said their highest priority is excellent customer service and care.

“The name of the company doesn’t matter,” said Camilletti, who is part of the Camiletti ranching family in Routt and Moffat counties. “People don’t buy the name of the company; they buy the people. It’s the people they work with that represent our company that matter and the relationships that we build are our focus every day.”

Hayes said the merger of the two companies means more departments that can meet the needs of all of customers. Hayes said the business is 60% commercial, 25% employee benefits and group health and 15% personal lines, including home and auto insurance. He said the company can handle the needs of large corporations or individuals

“Our size allows us to do things that our largest competition in Denver can do, but we’re still hometown,” Camilletti said. “That’s what we don’t want to lose. We want to be in Steamboat, and we want to participate in Steamboat and in Craig and in the communities we’re in. We want to be very visible and part of the community.”

Camilletti said he was interested in Steamboat Select Insurance because of Hayes leadership in the community.

“My biggest reason for really pushing hard for Steamboat Select (Insurance) was not only the fact it’s a great agency, because it is, but it’s got great leadership with strong character, and that’s what we need to carry the Mountain West organization forward into the next 20 years,” Camilletti said.

Camilletti, who started with Colorado Farm Bureau Insurance 46 years ago, said the plan is to transition Hayes into the CEO leadership role over the next five to six years. Hayes said Mountain West will bring in new carriers that were not available before. He said Mountain West also offers some niche programs that will be of value to clients in certain industries, like construction, transportation and energy.

“The intriguing thing for Steamboat Select Insurance Group to join Mountain West was that they’re in the communities that we would all like to be in throughout the Western Slope,” Hayes said. “They’re in Glenwood Springs and Montrose and Gunnison. They are in all these areas that are very similar to Steamboat, so we enjoy the benefit of the size, but we’re able to live and work in the communities that we love.”