Our Agents
Abraham C. Padron, Agency Principal
Abraham is a former Allstate captive agent with over 15 years of business experience in the insurance, industrial equipment, and office equipment industries. He started in insurance as a scratch agent with Allstate in Harlingen, Texas in 1997 and grew the business to three locations in the Rio Grande Valley. Abraham joined SafeGuard Insurance as an Agency Principal in December 2004 after selling the Allstate business earlier that year. He is a graduate of UT Pan American with a bachelor’s degree in Marketing and Finance. Abraham is a past Chairman of the Harlingen Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, a current board member of the Harlingen Boys and Girls Club, and a member of other local civic and professional organizations.
Juan J. Padron, Business Manager
Juan is a Six Sigma Black Belt-certified process improvement specialist with a bachelor’s degree in Engineering and an MBA degree with concentration in operations management and information systems. He started in insurance in 2002 and has 13 years of engineering, manufacturing, project management, and process improvement experience with the NASA Johnson Space Center and General Electric. Juan is currently the president of the Rio Grande Valley Chapter of the National Society of Hispanic MBAs and a graduate of Leadership McAllen Class #27.
Nereyda Espinoza, Operations Manager
Nereyda has over 13 years of independent insurance experience and a B.S. degree in Business Administration from UT-Pan American. She has extensive knowledge of personal and commercial underwriting guidelines as well as insurance sales and billing. She has worked with many of the major independent insurance carriers and, with her grasp of information systems technology, is an excellent trainer in all aspects of independent insurance agency operations.
Denora V. Garza, Sales Agent
Denora has been in the insurance field since 1987 and has continually stayed abreast of the frequent changes in the industry. She joined SafeGuard Insurance Agency in 2002 and quickly proved that there is no insurance challenge too daunting for her. She likes to get to know her customers well and have a stake in their success. With her experience and thoroughness, she sets the example for agent excellence. Denora is a certified notary public.
Irmalinda Najar, Sales Agent
Irmalinda joined SafeGuard Insurance Agency in 2001 and brought excellent customer service skills from her previous experience in the telecommunications equipment industry. With an intrepid spirit she has taken on business challenges that allowed her to step through the insurance learning curve very quickly. She is knowledgeable in all lines of insurance and particularly enjoys the challenge of finding the best solutions for her commercial clients. Irmalinda is a member of the Federation of Insurance Women of Texas.
Nereida (Nere) Galvan, Licensed Agent
Nere helped launch SafeGuard Insurance Agency in 2001. She is a certified notary public and has a wealth of business and community involvement experience. Nere owned and operated a grocery business for 28 years and served eight years in the Planning and Zoning Committee for her township of Progreso Lakes. She is continually involved in community service projects through her church and her enthusiasm for helping others extends to our customers at SafeGuard Insurance Agency.
Nica Valerio, Sales Agent
Nica was with the Stephany Wiley Agency in Weslaco for 12 years before we acquired that agency in July of 2005. She specializes in personal lines but she welcomes the challenge of commercial lines. Nica has extensive farm mutual insurance experience and is particularly adept at marketing to our Winter Texan community. She is highly regarded by our clients as a solid agent who gets things done.
Lisa Lugo, Sales Agent
Lisa has 18 years of insurance experience with several captive and independent agencies. She worked for Padron Insurance Agency for 3 years when it was a captive Allstate agency and rejoined in January 2006 after it became an independent agency. Her vast knowledge of commercial insurance is an important asset to our agency. Lisa is licensed to sell property and casualty as well as life and health insurance and she is also a notary public.
