Congratulations to these top-tier members of the business community for their long-standing contributions to our islands.

In the current economic climate, companies on Guam and in the Northern Mariana Islands are proud to show their success and longevity in serving the people of our islands. Guam Business Magazine presents a handful of outstanding companies that are doing business in Micronesia celebrating important milestones in 2022. Through inspiration and dedication, each of them has managed to stay on course in a region that has seen more than its fair share of challenges for decades.

These leaders in their fields have ensured quality and reliability to consumers and businesses alike and have given back to the communities in which they do business, setting an example for others to follow. Guam Business is privileged to honor these companies' milestones and brings readers a special Corporate Anniversaries feature with a closer look at their endeavors.

Calvo’s Insurance Underwriters Inc.
 

A LEGACY OF TRUST

Calvo’s Insurance Underwriters Inc. began with one man’s dream of providing insurance for the island of Guam’s residents. Eduardo “Jake” Torres Calvo took his entrepreneurial spirit and began the business on June 12, 1938, selling from his home after signing an agreement with American International Underwriters.

From that sole proprietorship, Calvo would grow a dynasty that prospered in business, devoted time to service in politics, and to the betterment of the island. He provided Cargo, Property & Casualty, and Automobile Insurance “and met the needs of the small Guam community,” Paul A. Calvo, his grandson says.

In 1940, Calvo opened Guam’s first insurance agency near the Plaza de Espana, and Hagatna has remained Calvo Insurance’s headquarters ever since. After World War II, the company grew and prospered.

Calvo said his father - Paul M. Calvo, and his late uncles Edward M. Calvo, Thomas J.M. "Jerry" Calvo, and Henry L. Schnabel were the driving force for decades until the millennium years.

Calvo’s SelectCare was launched in 2000 and in 2001 was offered for the first time to the Government of Guam. It has also served federal employees for 11 years through Federal Employees Health Benefits with the Office of Personnel Management, offering insurance to federal employees in Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands and Palau, where it does business. Calvo’s also offers a popular Lifestyle Club loyalty program.

Eduardo Calvo was inducted as inaugural member of the Guam Chamber of Commerce Hall of Fame in 1992. The Calvo family now reaches into the third and fourth generation. Paul A. Calvo is the company’s president and CEO. The management team also includes Raymond A. Martinez, executive vice president/director of operations; Raymond A. Schnabel, chief operating officer for Calvo’s SelectCare; Eduardo “Jake” Calvo, vice president; Paul Leon Guerrero, chief financial officer; and Frank Campillo, health plan administrator for Calvo’s SelectCare.

The company has grown to 130 employees in Guam, six in Saipan, two in Palau and 62 in the Philippines.

Residents throughout the islands know that Calvo’s is a steady and generous presence in the business community and underwritten by AIG since its inception and by Tokio Marine Pacific Insurance with SelectCare for more than 20 years. Calvo Enterprises Inc. – of which Paul A. Calvo as vice president of CEI – with it’s just announced planned purchase of Tokio Marine Pacific Insurance later in this year. “The acquisition of TMPI further solidifies our position as a trusted leader in the insurance industry and reinforces our dedication to providing tailored insurance solutions to meet the evolving needs of our customers,” he said. “Over our 85 years of operation we believe we’ve earned the trust of the island communities in the Marianas and Palau,” Calvo says. “It is that most valuable community trust and our company sense of purpose which has given us our longevity and staying power over the years.”

Calvo’s has industry expertise in the swings of the insurance market. Despite the frequent onslaught of natural disasters, Calvo says his company has been consistent “in providing coverage for both the everyday consumer’s needs of Auto and Home Insurance, Medical Insurance and also for the hard to place high value Property risks or Specialty Casualty Risks.”

Aside from expanding its insurance product offerings and insurance staff to meet ever-growing needs, Calvo’s Insurance is at the service of its multiple clients. “We continue to focus on improvement to our service to customers,” Calvo says. “Our reputation includes paying medical claims fairly and promptly. We are known to provide coverage for high valued property and casualty risks in the historically high catastrophe area of Guam and the CNMI. That is no small accomplishment, especially in recent years.”

Guam has been beset by typhoons through the years and more than once Calvo’s Insurance has flown adjusters to Guam to speed up the claims process for its clients. Those disasters have ranged from numerous typhoons and heavy storms in the islands to the 1993 earthquake in Guam.

As Calvo’s Insurance celebrates 85 years of doing business, Calvo says, “On behalf of the employees, management, board members and shareholders of Calvo’s Insurance, I want to thank our island communities … for the trust which you’ve placed in us by allowing us to safeguard your family, homes, autos and businesses over the years.”