History & Mission

PayneWest Insurance, A Marsh & McLennan Agency (MMA) LLC company, is the Northwest’s premier insurance agency. Operating since 1972, we provide business and personal insurance, employee benefits and surety throughout our local offices in Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington. We strive to be the employer of choice in our Northwest region, with more than 700 insurance professionals, including teams that specialize in highly-complex market niches such as healthcare, construction, transportation, education, agriculture, hospitality, public entities and banking. Our mission is to be a meaningful, contributing partner to the communities we serve.

PayneWest offers important, cost-saving services including risk mitigation and claim management. In addition, PayneWest partners with the best and most diverse insurance providers in the country. In 2021, we joined Marsh & McLennan Agency LLC to operate as MMA’s Northwest regional hub under the leadership of Kyle Lingscheit, CEO of PayneWest.

At PayneWest Insurance we are:

  • Fiercely Committed. Clients are our top priority.
  • Specialized. Providing employee benefits, business and personal insurance, bonds and retirement funding. We also have claim advocates, risk control services and wellness management specialists.
  • Value Driven. Our services are developed based on the needs of our clients.
  • Business Focused. Specialized risk management tools and programs.
  • Long-term Strategic Planners. Meeting the needs of clients today and well into the future.
  • Financially Strong. Our financial strength provides a firm foundation for the long term.
  • Powered by MMA. As a Marsh & McLennan Agency we provide our clients with best-in-class services that meet their growing needs.

Core Values

Our guiding values embody how PayneWest serves our clients, our fellow colleagues and the communities in which we live in and love.

Respect. We listen to and learn from each other. We support and celebrate differences. We encourage openness, honesty and give each other the benefit of the doubt. We respect our planet and strive to make environmentally conscious business decisions. We treat our clients, colleagues and communities with fairness, decency and good citizenship.

Accountability. We are accountable to every entity and individual that we interact with - including each other. We are all equally responsible for the organization’s successes and failures. We hold one another accountable for our behavior and measurable results.

Excellence. We constantly strive for continuous improvement and excellence within our industry and our communities. We invest in tools and resources that allow for continual development of our expertise and acumen. Every colleague takes responsibility to develop themselves as a professional. We stay at the forefront of our industry by encouraging collaboration and innovation. We never sacrifice value and quality.

Balance. When you get one of us, you get all of us. We are a team of colleagues who work together across all lines of business, geography and function. We encourage balance within all aspects of our organization. We respect quality of life and nurture a balanced professional and personal environment. We respect the individuality that exists within each of our offices while striving to maintain a consistent behavioral culture.

Integrity. We understand that trust is earned.  We earn trust through professionalism, doing what is right and always being honest.

Humanity. We believe in the power of humanity; it is at the heart of who we are and all that we do. We are an ally who seeks to support and understand diversity by listening to and learning from the unique experiences of all our clients, colleagues, and communities. As an ally, we are unified in a shared responsibility to restore and elevate humanity by eliminating discrimination and bias in all its forms and by fostering a culture that values goodwill, compassion and belonging and where everyone feels empowered to be their full, authentic selves.

Our Founder

Terry’s vision for PayneWest is centered on what is best for its Clients, Colleagues and Communities, or “3Cs” as he refers to them, and the strong culture at PayneWest is a direct reflection.

Terry Payne entered the insurance industry in 1961 while attending college at the University of Montana. After a decade working for a local independent agency, Terry started Terry Payne & Co., Inc. on January 1, 1972 and still operates that company today. In 1992, Terry separately purchased Hoiness LaBar Insurance, based in Billings MT, from First Bank Systems. Seven years later, he purchased and merged Montana International Insurance with Hoiness LaBar, forming Payne Financial Group, Inc. (PFG). In November of 2012, under Terry’s leadership, PFG acquired Western States Insurance, which at the time was the largest acquisition completed by a privately-owned independent agency. PFG was renamed PayneWest Insurance and has grown to over 700 colleagues, operating in Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington, and ranking in the “100 Largest U.S. Brokers” as published by Business Insurance, as well as being named a “Best Places to Work in Insurance” for the past four years.

Terry loves the business of business, as well as golf, spending time on Flathead Lake, and movies. Terry, and his wife Patt, have two sons, Tim and Steve.

Below is a summary of professional, education and community involvement:

  • Washington Companies, Director of several companies (past)
  • First Interstate BancSystem, Director (past)
  • University of Montana Foundation, Trustee Emeritus
  • National Association of Surety Bond Producers, Former Director and Regional VP
  • Certified Insurance Counselor (CIC)
  • Bachelor of Science, Business Administration (Finance), University of Montana
    (Magna Cum Laude – 1963)
  • Primary Donor, Payne Family Native American Center & Elouise Cobell Land & Culture Institute, University of Montana
  • Donor & Founder, Payne Center for Leadership Development, Gonzaga University
  • Montana State University President’s Medallion (2019)
  • Montana Business Hall of Fame (2016)
  • Order of the Grizzly, University of Montana Foundation (2015)
  • Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters, University of Montana (2014)
  • Neil Bucklew Presidential Service Award, University of Montana (2008)
  • Distinguished Alumni Award, University of Montana (2006)

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