Tom Wertish
President & Founder
Farm kid from Bird Island. Mortgage leader turned insurance entrepreneur. Built Options Insurance on the belief that clients deserve real options — not a single carrier’s take-it-or-leave-it approach.
Farm kid from Bird Island. Mortgage leader turned insurance entrepreneur. Built Options Insurance on the belief that clients deserve real options — not a single carrier’s take-it-or-leave-it approach.
Tom grew up on a small family farm near Bird Island, Minnesota — about 90 miles west of the Twin Cities. They raised pigs in the ’80s and farmed grain until his dad retired in 2022. He was active in 4-H, showing pigs and chickens at the Renville County Fair.
He attended Saint Mary’s School through middle school, then BOLD High School, where he played piano for all twelve years of school, won the state MMTA piano competition in 1994, performed an honors concert at Northrop Auditorium, was ranked in the top 20 ninth-graders in Minnesota for math — as an eighth-grader — played football (runner-up in the 1998 Minnesota Prep Bowl), was voted Homecoming King and co-valedictorian, and was also voted “Most Likely to Host His Own Infomercial.” Still a work in progress.
After high school, Tom attended Saint John’s University in Collegeville, majoring in Management with an emphasis in Finance — finishing the four-year degree in three years. He spent over a decade in mortgage sales and leadership, eventually running a division with 66 people reporting to him. Then in 2014, the company sold, the site closed, and Tom had to lay off his entire team — including himself.
The timing couldn’t have been more interesting. Tom and his wife Cailin had just welcomed their second child on a Monday. By Friday, he was out of a job. That summer, while studying for his insurance license with two young kids at home, he made a decision: no more riding someone else’s rollercoaster. In June 2014, he launched Novallus Insurance Brokers out of a 10x10 office in Wayzata with a 4G hotspot for internet. There was a moment that first year when a job offer came to return to mortgage. He stayed the course.
In 2020, Tom acquired Options Insurance from founder Sarah Smith. He loved the name — it captured exactly what he’d always believed. The deal closed in the middle of COVID, and Sarah’s team came along. They’re still here today.
In 2018, Tom’s mom gave him a box of his old stuff while cleaning out the attic. Inside, he found a career aptitude test he’d taken as a high school junior — one of those assessments designed to suggest careers that might fit.
Tom remembered politician coming up as the top suggestion. He was wrong. Politician was number two. Number one was insurance sales representative. He’d already been running his insurance agency for four years when he found it.
Some things are just meant to be.
Before starting his agency, Tom briefly explored becoming a captive agent with State Farm. At the time, they wanted agents to sell credit cards and mortgages alongside insurance. Tom just wanted to be really good at one thing.
He also understood something fundamental from his time reviewing insurance policies in the mortgage industry: too many homeowners had coverage that left them exposed without knowing it. No single insurance company can be all things to all people. The only way to truly serve clients well is to have options — to shop multiple carriers and find the right fit, not just the only fit.
Tom especially loves working with other business owners. As an entrepreneur himself, he enjoys talking business. And Options Insurance’s unique position — advising business owners across many industries — provides broad insight into trends, challenges, and what’s coming next. Small businesses supporting each other. That’s what it’s all about.
Tom’s office moved to Chaska in 2018 — one mile from home, close to his kids’ schools, close to the community they’re part of. Most of the Options Insurance team lives in the southwest metro. Being rooted in the community we serve just makes sense.
Tom has been married to his wife Cailin for sixteen years. They have three children in the Eastern Carver County School District. He describes himself as an “unpaid shuttle bus driver to all of my children’s afterschool activities” — soccer, baseball, basketball, football, and lacrosse.
He stays active — running, biking, swimming, and lifting weights. He’s completed two century bike rides, competed in many bike races, and is training for his first triathlon. He’s also an active blood donor.
Tom loves traveling, especially to national parks. His top three so far: Yellowstone, Yosemite, and Zion.
2020 graduate of the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses program — a fully funded, selective initiative with a curriculum designed by Babson College, the nation’s top-ranked school for entrepreneurship, connecting graduates with a network of 17,000+ small business owners nationwide. Voices member since 2021. Minnesota Captain at the 2025 DC Summit.
Top 5 of 10,000 agencies in our national cluster
Big I Minnesota Legislative Committee Member
Best Insurance Professionals — Minnesota Monthly magazine
Leadership Award — top 1% of 10,000 agencies in our national cluster
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