Hauglie family celebrates 40 years of Fall City insurance agency

They credit their success to the connections they’ve made in the community.

By Grace Gorenflo • July 19, 2025 7:30 am
The staff of Hauglie Insurance, along with Copper the office dog, stands for a photo outside the agency by the Snoqualmie River, July 3, 2025. From left: Sophia Amaya Cruz, Elizabeth Gildersleeve, Laurie Hauglie, Kevin Hauglie, Samantha Darnell, Angela Donaldson. Grace Gorenflo/Valley Record
The staff of Hauglie Insurance, along with Copper the office dog, stands for a photo outside the agency by the Snoqualmie River, July 3, 2025. From left: Sophia Amaya Cruz, Elizabeth Gildersleeve, Laurie Hauglie, Kevin Hauglie, Samantha Darnell, Angela Donaldson. Grace Gorenflo/Valley Record

It’s been 40 years since Laurie Hauglie told her husband, Kevin, that it was time to go into the insurance industry.

Up until then, Kevin had a career managing grocery stores all over Washington, a job that had him working up to 90 hours a week, away from Laurie and their three little girls. It was getting tough for their young family to manage, and both Kevin and Laurie had experience around the insurance business.

So, in 1985, the Hauglies started a Farmers Insurance agency in Fall City.

In four decades, the agency has won Best of the Valley several times and has won multiple awards from Farmers Insurance. For many residents, Hauglie Insurance is the Snoqualmie Valley’s insurance agency, with 3,900 clients in the Valley alone.

All are invited to a celebratory open house at 3 p.m. July 18, two days after the agency’s official anniversary July 16. The event will include speeches, activities and a “bougie barbecue” along the Snoqualmie River, says the Hauglies’ daughter, Angela Donaldson.

“Over the years, our agency has grown thanks to the trust and loyalty of clients like you,” a statement says. “This event is not just about how long we’ve been in business — it’s about the relationships we’ve built along the way, the families we’ve helped protect and the community we’ve proudly served. This celebration is our heartfelt thank you.”

40 years as Fall Citians

The Hauglies originally moved to Fall City when Kevin got a job running the town grocery store, now called Farmhouse Market.

Back then, any firefighters Fall City had were volunteers, Donaldson said — and they were also usually grocery store employees. Kevin himself was a volunteer firefighter for 25 years.

“When I was growing up in town, the church, the fire department and the grocery store were like the center of town,” she said. “That was our community.”

Since they arrived in the Valley, the Hauglies have been tuned into their community, and they passed that habit onto their children.

“Mom and dad have always been service above self,” Donaldson said.

Kevin is currently the president of the Snoqualmie Valley Hospital Board of Commissioners, has been on the board of the SnoValley Chamber of Commerce and was president of Rotary Club of Duvall, among other things. Laurie, who has a background in taxes, has been the secretary of the Fall City Community Association for “forever.” Donaldson is the former president of the Fall City Community Association and is still heavily involved.

“I always felt that if I’m going to be in business, I need to be involved in the community and give back,” Kevin said.

Laurie added, “That’s the part of being an agency — you have to understand your clients and treat them the way you want to be treated.”

An evolving business

For a short time in the 1990s, Kevin gave up the agency and took a job as a Farmers Insurance district manager. It was a good experience, he says, but it wasn’t the right fit for him.

“I was used to growing a business and creating revenue and income fast, and I was real successful at doing that, and I just couldn’t move the dial,” he said. “I got frustrated with it.”

The Hauglies bought back their agency around 1997. Then, they were in the top 1% of Farmers Insurance agents nine years in a row.

“95.5% of the field of agents never achieve that in their career,” Kevin said. “We had nine in a row, then we had a year off, and then we had one more.”

The agency has continually evolved in its 40 years, both in client lists, staff knowledge and types of insurance it offers. Now, it offers policies for all types of homes and automobiles, life insurance, natural disasters, securities, retirement planning and more.

Today, Donaldson oversees most of the insurance operation, though she originally swore she would never join the business. Eventually, the quick commute convinced her, and she now drives a golf cart to work. The agency has a strong team, including Elizabeth Gildersleeve and Samantha Darnell.

When asked about their success, the Hauglies come back to an old adage: work hard, play hard.

“You got to have some fun,” Kevin said. “It has to be consistent with your values and your vision and everything. When you’re self-employed, there’s times when there’s this balancing act between family and meeting your business objectives. And you really have to be mindful of all of it and have flexibility and focus on what’s important now.”