Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
Group providing services for Latinos
Hispanic Approach providing free consultation to Latinos who are unable to navigate the services available to them.
When Miguel Alban walks into a Latino business and sees a glass jar with money in it and a photo pasted to it, he knows a family member has died. He also knows it’s the only means the family has to pay for funeral expenses.
So that’s why Alban, president of the Kennett Squarebased Hispanic Approach which helps to bridge the gap between Corporate America and the Hispanic market by providing free consultation to Latinos who are unable to navigate the services available to them.
That’s why he has teamed up with Devon Financial Partners to form the Hispanic Approach Financial Group for Latinos. It can help guide them through tough life issues such as financial planning, life insurance, long-term care, investments, retirement planning, and business planning solutions.
Alban said he made the move because the Latino population in Chester County is underserved, and doesn’t realize
“I want to be the Hispanic company nationally, but grow organically. I want to built a team and take this to New Jersey, New York, everywhere. Hispanics deserve it.” — Miguel Alban, president of the Hispanic Approach
services that are available to them. “My passion is to serve the Latino community and provide and educate the Latinos on insurance and financial products,” Alban said.
The statistics back up Alban’s words. In Chester County, 7.3 percent of the population is Hispanic, and that number is growing by 2.3 percent annually. Hispanics are expected to represent 31 percent of the total U.S. population by 2060.
And Hispanic buying
power has increased 155 percent in the past 16 years. Hispanics having a family income of $75,000 or more has more than doubled in the same time period.
Alban said because some in the Latino community are not educated enough to know about the financial resources available to them, and his new service can help keep them out of hardship if divorce, or sudden illness, or a business collapse hits.
With Alban’s background in law, banking and insurance, he helps Latinos in many aspects of their life. And he works for free for Hispanics who cannot afford to pay.
“I could easily work for New York Life, or Prudential or State Farm,” said Alban. “But my mission in life is to help Hispanics. I want to be the Hispanic company nationally, but grow organically. I want to built a team and take this to New Jersey, New York, everywhere. Hispanics deserve it.”
A national insurance company services a Kennett Square Mushroom Farm in Kennett Square, which employs many Latinos. Alban said after the representatives delivered a speech to about 200 Latino workers about the benefits of insurance, only two bought in. He urged management to speak
to the same workers, and when he did, he enrolled more than 100. He said he speaks the culture and lives the culture.
“I just talk to them like a friend in their language, tell them how important this could be,” Alban said. “It’s to protect them.”
Drew Braun, managing director for the Devon Financial Partners, said Alban’s new venture is a perfect fit.
“I was reading his profile on LinkedIn, and he has the perfect storm background,” Braun said. “We don’t have a team in the Hispanic marketplace. With (Alban’s) skill sets. Miguel’s experience combined with the experience of the Devon Financial Partners that has already done a French team, creates the perfect storm.”
Steve Earhart, general manager for the Devon Financial Partners which is afialiated with the Guardian Insurance Group, said he is excited for the new opportunities Latinos will have with the new venture.
Braun said consultation for Latinos is free.
“We stress test their current plan and build their financial plan that gives the freedom that gives them the things really important to them,” Braun said.
Alban, 2014 winner of Chester County’s Legacy Award, said his Hispanic Approach firm has a track record of success in helping clients overcome the cultural differences and language barriers that challenge their ability to effectively reach Hispanic and Latino markets.
“We utilize innovative research methodologies and adaptable solutions to fit the needs of all our clients and help them bridge the gap between their company and these communities,” he said.
For Latinos, information on the new service is available at www.thehispanicapproach.com.