Company History

Early 1900's

More than a century has passed since a young Swedish immigrant made his way across half the world to become one of the founders of Santa Monica and a pioneer of its insurance community. When Chas. A. Tegner founded our firm back in 1902, Santa Monica was home to just 2,000 residents. With money earned from the Alaskan gold rush, Mr. Tegner set up a small insurance agency and real estate office in downtown Santa Monica. Tegner and later his son and daughters ran the family business for more than six decades. The Tegner’s were active civic leaders who believed strongly in community involvement. Today the company Mr. Tegner founded is Tegner-Miller Insurance Brokers, Santa Monica’s oldest continuously operating business.

1980's - 1990's

In the early 1980’s, former college roommates Bill Aspinwall and Dave Nelson joined the agency and later assumed ownership of The Tegner Company. In 1996 The Tegner Company merged with Ken Miller and his firm of Miller & DeCray Insurance Brokers, forming Tegner-Miller Insurance Brokers.

While we retain the spirit of our company’s history and leadership, we know that today’s insurance consumer wants more than just a lengthy resume. Today Tegner-Miller is involved in many of the specialties that make up our community. Technology and Entertainment are making their convergence in Southern California and in our Technology and Business Management Departments. Valuable real estate, cars, boats and toys of all sorts are the domain of our personal lines department. Our fastest growing Department is Benefits where we find solutions for the small and mid-sized businesses that dominate California. Doctors and other medical professionals see us for professional malpractice liability. Services to Property Managers and owners of apartments, mercantile, commercial and industrial properties are still the business the company was founded on and comprises our largest specialty business.

Today

Today Tegner-Miller Insurance Brokers is one of the leading multi-line insurance brokerages in Southern California. We are proud to have been part of Santa Monica’s early history and extraordinary growth. We remain committed to the Tegner’s spirit of community involvement and making our community a better place to live and work.