by Bruce Frankel

You might be surprised to discover that one of the faster growing Allstate Insurance Company Agencies in North Carolina is the Eric Tang Agency with offices in Kernersville and King.  However, once you meet Eric Tang and observe his passion for life and focus on helping others, you can easily see why the agency is so successful and still continuing to grow at a steady pace.

Today, Eric is a very active and involved professional business leader in our community but it is also worth understanding the journey he took to get here to fully appreciate his accomplishments.

“As a young child growing up in Malaysia, I first became aware of the insurance business when I would go to work with my Dad to help out in his office on weekends, doing basic stuff like filing and shredding documents.  I observed how my father enjoyed and would get excited about meeting and assisting people.  From that experience, I knew that interacting with people would be a career path I could embrace,” recalled Eric.

Years later, Eric Tang pursued his higher education first at Louisburg College before continuing on to earn his Bachelor of Arts degree at NC State University followed by attending Campbell University to obtain his Masters in Business Administration.

Immediately after college, Eric set out to explore all the professional business options available to him that targeted his goals.  That led him to his first stint in providing financial services for Prudential in Greensboro where he continued to hone his expertise for the next ten years.

Then in 2000, Eric joined the Allstate management team in Greensboro where he helped spearhead training agents and financial specialists for the Southeast Region covering NC, SC, AL, and GA.  In 2005, he was then promoted by Allstate to Financial Service Manager for the western Pennsylvania area of the Northeast Region where he enjoyed living in the Pittsburgh area for the next three years.

In 2008, Eric was preparing to make his next move to establish his own financial service agency which was the same time former Kernersville Board of Aldermen Keith Mason decided to shift his career emphasis and sell his Allstate Insurance agency in Kernersville and King.  Both men had worked together in the past and an easy transition ensued which led Eric and his family to move back to the area and settle in Kernersville to take over the local Allstate agency.  (Today, both Keith and Eric remain friends.)

Even with the onset of the economic downturn resulting from the then current recession, Eric Tang stood the course and worked hard to build and expand the agency to where it is today thanks to an excellent staff and enhanced technology.

The Eric Tang Allstate Insurance Agency provides a full range of comprehensive services from offering property and casualty insurance policies, to meeting personal and family financial needs with IRAs and financial products such as annuities and life insurance.

Eric’s customer service philosophy is very specific. “Helping people is not enough, we need to go beyond that and truly ‘make a difference’ in our customer’s lives.  Clients are often surprised about how much time I want to spend with them learning about what is important to them and what their goals and objectives are.  I take my professional counseling service beyond just selling products and truly focus on each customer’s unique personal needs,” Eric proudly commented.

Sadly, during the past few years Eric has experienced the devastating loss of both his parents due to cancer.  But this occurrence also gave him an intimate feel for the value of his industry.  “You go through a tremendous emotional and physical burden but thanks to my parents planning, they and the family were spared the significant financial drain resulting from this terrible disease,” reflected Eric.  “Even with the overwhelming loss of a loved one, at least the surviving family still has the same house, the same savings, and the same lifestyle to carry on.”

Being actively involved in his community is a central part of Eric’s core values.  Since Eric’s father was also a well respected pastor, it was only natural growing up as a ‘preacher’s kid’ to embrace his faith and Eric is an active member of his home church, the Main Street United Methodist Church in Kernersville.  He is also active in the Kernersville Rotary Club and the Chamber of Commerce and through his company has supported the efforts of the YMCA, EFHS, and the Downtown Council.

Eric is known for his contagious enthusiasm and leadership skills but his love for life is rooted in the four beautiful women in his family.  His wife of 23 years, Betsy, and their three daughters Ashley, Kristen, and Rachel.

Living life to the fullest, Eric is hoping to achieve his 3rd degree black belt in Taekwondo in 2015.