ABOUT US

The Friedrich Agency was established in 1939 by Dwight Friedrich which started as a real estate and independent insurance agency. 

 

In 1993 Ed Chaney had purchased the insurance agency and became the sole owner of the agency after 11 years with the agency- Forming Chaney & Karch Insurance Group

 

In 2022, Ed Chaney passed ownership over to Todd Dobbs. Todd spent 17 years working for Ed before passing ownership over and he is now the current and sole owner of Chaney & Karch Insurance Groups in Salem & Centralia Illinois.

 

We sit down with people across Southern Illinois and beyond to help them understand why coverage matters, what they actually need, and how to protect their lives without overpaying.

 

We take the confusion out of insurance, translate the jargon into plain English, and build coverage that actually fits the way you live — whether that’s raising a family, running a local business, growing a farm, or protecting the things you've worked for.

 

Our job is simple:

We give you clarity, options, and confidence — not surprises.

 

We’re a team of independent insurance advisors representing 14+ companies who believe people deserve clarity, honesty, and options — not pressure or guesswork. We cut through complexity, compare top carriers, and build coverage around how you live and work.

 

We’re not tied to one company or one way of doing things. We’re here to rethink what an insurance experience should feel like: straightforward, personalized, and treating you the way you expect to be treated.

 

Instead of handing you a one-size-fits-all policy, we analyze your risks, compare multiple top carriers, and design a coverage plan that’s built around your actual life — not an insurance company’s template. Our strength lies in clarity and customization: we make insurance understandable, we remove the guesswork, and we give you options that truly fit. What makes us different is simple — while most agencies sell products, we build protection strategies. That’s why people come to us when they want a smarter, more intentional insurance experience.