Bowery Insurance Services

Your local insurance agency

In 1948, our founder, Sam Bray, opened the doors to this family-owned and operated agency, Sam Bray Insurance Agency, in downtown Kingsport, Tennessee. Sam Bray’s granddaughter, Wendy Bowery, started at the agency when she was only 13 helping after school and on the weekends. In 1980, Wendy got licensed, started working full-time at the agency, and is still here today.  

In March of 1992, Mark and Wendy Bowery, both natives of Kingsport, Tennessee, purchased the VFIS Book of Business and built an insurance agency, J. Mark Bowery Insurance, which focuses on serving the insurance needs of volunteer fire and rescue organizations and EMS providers in Tennessee and Virginia. Mark still represents VFIS and Correll as the VFIS Regional Director for East Tennessee and Southwest and Central Virginia – the same territory that he has been so involved in over the past 36+ years.  

After more than three decades of growth, J. Mark Bowery Insurance became a division of Correll Insurance Group in January 2020. In 2022, Michelle Wheeler joined us and opened Bowery Insurance Services to serve our community with personal and commercial lines insurance products. J. Mark Bowery Insurance still focuses on insurance solutions for firefighters and emergency service organizations.  

While most family-owned businesses cannot successfully transition to the second or third generation, we have defied the odds, currently operating with team members from the third and fourth generations.