All in the family: Allstate agents celebrate three generations

One Brooklyn family is making sure that their business is just that: family.

With a successful career as an insurance agent dating back to 1979, Tony Ciccone, like his father-in-law John D’Amico before him, takes pride in his work with Allstate Insurance.

Now, his son A.J., with over eight years of insurance experience under his belt, is taking over the family agency, making him a third generation Allstate agent.

“Recently, in April, we went through the process of transitioning the Agency from him to me,” A.J. explained of taking the reins over from his father. “We’re trying to keep it a family-oriented insurance agency with trusted, local advisers who can be there for families and people, to help with their insurance needs.”

A graduate of Bay Ridge’s own Poly Prep as well as a Quinnipiac University alumnus, A.J., who received his Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Information Systems, realized, after a few years of working behind an office cubicle, that his real passion was helping people.

“I wanted to deal with people and help them with their protection needs,” said A.J., who once worked for big-name companies like Pepsi. “So I kind of voiced that to my father, left Pepsi and started at MetLife.”

A.J. explained that his father wanted him to test out the waters of the insurance business to see if it was something he liked to do.

“So I worked for MetLife for about three years and then transitioned to his agency,” A.J. said. “I worked with him and the staff for about five years and now we’ve transitioned the agency from him to me.”

“He’s had a very successful career,” A.J. went on to say about his father. “I definitely want to amount to that or exceed it so that’s my goal and to take the new ideas that I have and try to implement them, so yeah, it’s exciting and it’s great working with family.”

Outside of work, A.J. – who resides in Bay Ridge with his wife Alexa – says he spends quality time with his dad. They enjoy going to boxing matches and going out to dinner.

The grand opening for the agency’s new office will be on Saturday, September 17 from 12 to 4 p.m. and a ribbon cutting ceremony is scheduled for Wednesday, September 21 at noon, both at the brand new, 684 Fifth Avenue agency location in South Slope.