Ottosen retires after 23 years at All-State

CHENEY – Long-time Cheney All-State Insurance agent Kevin Ottosen is hanging up his policy-writing pen, selling his business to another long-time Cheney individual Jeff Heuschkel.

Heuschkel said the sale, discussions of which began in September 2019, should be finalized by April 1, allowing Ottosen to culminate 23 years serving Cheney-area residents. What the lifelong Spokane-area resident plans to do with is time is another story.

"I don't know," Ottosen said, citing the current situation. "My priorities right now are getting friends and family through these difficult times."

Being there to provide such services is what has driven Ottosen in his insurance career and what brought him to Cheney. A Liberty High School and Eastern Washington University graduate, Ottosen began business managing a farm equipment dealership in nearby Fairfield.

When he made the move to selling insurance, All-State wanted him to open an office in Spokane. Ottosen said he preferred being in a community similar to the one he grew up in where "you can have a relationship with people" and offered to start an office in Cheney, which had no agent at the time.

Ottosen All-State Insurance opened in Cheney in February 1997, spending the first five years on 1st Street before a move for 13 years on 2nd Street and finally to the current location at 1826 1st St. six years ago. Running his business in a smaller community has allowed him a more personal connection with is clients, getting to know their families in ways such as celebrating birthdays, graduations and personal plans.

Heuschkel has been a part of that Cheney equation. He attended Cheney Middle School and Cheney High School, graduating in 1999 while his wife graduated also from CHS and EWU. The couple have kids in Cheney schools, and Jeff Heuschkel has helped out with numerous organizations such as West Plains Little League as a head coach and on the board of directors for the past five years.

Heuschkel said he has 15 years in the insurance business, including the past several years as an agency manager. Ottosen's decision to retire provided the perfect opportunity for him to move closer to his home near Salnave Elementary School.

"It just came time in the natural progression to buy my own (agency)," Heuschkel said. "I've grown up here, so it's comfortable."

Ottosen said the thing he has most enjoyed about doing business has been the people of Cheney. About the only time anyone really deals with insurance is in moments of tragedy, and Ottosen said having a personal relationship with clients helps assuage these moments that often are filled with tension and emotion.

"Eighteen percent of clients will experience a major event, like a fire, car accident or sudden death," Ottosen. "What are the other 82 percent getting for their money? This is truly a relationship business. You want somebody to hold your hand, to help you. And, this sounds odd, but I've enjoyed being that person for 23 years."

John McCallum can be reached at jmac@cheneyfreepress.com.