About Us
Since 1907, DURHAM & BATES has been providing risk management and insurance.
HISTORY
In the early 1900s, M.C. Harrison, an insurance agent originally from New England, opened an insurance agency in Portland. He worked the office until 1907, when he departed Portland for San Francisco and turned over the business to his nephew, C.P. Sargent. Sargent was joined by a cousin, Gilbert H. Durham, and the business became more and more marine oriented. Sargent moved to Seattle and turned the company over to Durham.
At the end of World War I, Donald H. Bates, a Navy aviator, was looking for work and began working in marine insurance in San Francisco. In 1919, Bates was sent by his employer to open a branch in Portland. Unhappy in his current position, Bates initially decided to open his own insurance agency. Instead, Gilbert Durham, whom Bates had met over the years, offered Bates a partnership, thus formally establishing Durham and Bates.
Though we have certainly changed and evolved over the last century, we have remained an organization committed to providing unparalleled service to our clients and to creating extraordinary relationships with our clients, associates and business partners.
Today, we are proud to provide insurance and risk management services to a variety of industries. Distinguished by our reputation for world-class service and unparalleled technical knowledge, we are independent and employee-owned, with strong local ties and worldwide connections.