Our Story

A Madisonville office you can call.

For generations, Stover & Crouch has served East Texas from Madisonville with practical guidance and a team you can reach when a policy, claim, renewal, or change needs attention.

Get a Quote Call (936) 348-2688

A Long View

Five generations of Madisonville insurance work, rooted in one town.

The insurance side of the agency traces back to Joe L. Cooper, who opened a Madisonville savings, loan, and insurance business in 1920. That early reputation for helping neighbors work through practical problems still shapes the way the office thinks about service.

Across the Cooper and Stover family line, the agency has stayed close to Madisonville while growing into a team clients can call for quote questions, policy service, renewals, and claim follow-up.

Agency Timeline

From 1920 to today, one postmark at a time.

Follow the line through the moments that kept the agency local, accountable, and useful to the people it serves.

The First Office Joe L. Cooper establishes the original savings, loan, and insurance business in Madisonville.

Cooper & Stover The Meteor’s business directory lists J. L. Cooper and L. B. Stover Jr. as owners, two doors east of the post office.

First in Texas Stover & Crouch incorporates September 1 — the first insurance agency in Texas to incorporate — under the promise still in print today.

The State Presidency L. B. “Smokey” Stover Jr. leads the Texas association — from the smallest town in Texas ever to seat a state president.

The Building on South Madison The agency builds 716 South Madison and dedicates it to Mary Jane Crouch, Joseph L. Cooper, and Mary Nell Baugh.

Voted Best in the County Meteor readers vote Craig Stover the county’s #1 insurance agent. Teammates pictured that week still serve clients here.

Today Stover & Crouch keeps serving East Texas. Steven Stover is asked to join the IIAT Board of Directors — the association Smokey led in 1973.

1920 The First Office Joe L. Cooper establishes the original savings, loan, and insurance business in Madisonville.

1956 Cooper & Stover The Meteor’s business directory lists J. L. Cooper and L. B. Stover Jr. as owners, two doors east of the post office.

1969 First in Texas Stover & Crouch incorporates September 1 — the first insurance agency in Texas to incorporate — under the promise still in print today.

1973 The State Presidency L. B. “Smokey” Stover Jr. leads the Texas association — from the smallest town in Texas ever to seat a state president.

1979 The Building on South Madison The agency builds 716 South Madison and dedicates it to Mary Jane Crouch, Joseph L. Cooper, and Mary Nell Baugh.

2003 Voted Best in the County Meteor readers vote Craig Stover the county’s #1 insurance agent. Teammates pictured that week still serve clients here.

2026 Today Stover & Crouch keeps serving East Texas. Steven Stover is asked to join the IIAT Board of Directors — the association Smokey led in 1973.

From the Meteor Archives

The record, in newsprint.

1964 Madisonville Meteor article: Mr. and Mrs. Stover attend the Texas Association of Insurance Agents convention — **1964**The Stovers represent Stover & Crouch at the state insurance convention in Houston.

Madison County history book entry for Stover and Crouch Insurance Agency, Inc., describing the agency history from the J. L. Cooper Company forward — **1920–84**The founders’ own account of the agency, written for the Madison County history book by Curtis Crouch and L. B. Stover.

1969 Madisonville Meteor listing for Stover and Crouch Insurance Agency, The Agency with Integrity — **1969**The listing already carries the promise: “The Agency with Integrity.”

Wood and brass plaque honoring L. B. Smokey Stover Jr. as president of the Texas Association of Insurance Agents 1972 to 1973 — **1973**The award honoring L. B. “Smokey” Stover Jr. as president of the Texas Association of Insurance Agents, 1972–73.

Brass plaque reading Stover and Crouch Building, dedicated February 1979 to the memory of Mary Jane Crouch, Joseph L. Cooper, and Mary Nell Baugh — **1979**The brass dedication that still hangs in the building: Mary Jane Crouch, Joseph L. Cooper, Mary Nell Baugh.

1956 Madisonville Meteor directory ad for J. L. Cooper Co., listing J. L. Cooper and L. B. Stover Jr. as owners — **1956**J. L. Cooper and L. B. Stover Jr., owners — two doors east of the post office.

Drex G. Foreman Award plaque presented to L. B. Smokey Stover Jr. by the Independent Insurance Agents of Texas, June 13, 1987 — **1987**The Drex G. Foreman Award — the Texas independent agents’ honor for distinguished contribution — presented to Smokey Stover.

Snapshot of a Stover and Crouch team member answering the phone at a paper-covered desk in the 1980s office — **1980s**The office at work on South Madison — paper files, a desk phone, and a person answering it.

1991 Madisonville Meteor graduation ad from Stover and Crouch Insurance Agency congratulating the Class of 91 — **1991**Well-wishes for the Class of ’91 — same address and phone number as today.

2003 Madisonville Meteor People's Picks photo of Stover and Crouch Insurance staff, Craig Stover voted number one insurance agent — **2003**People’s Picks: Craig Stover voted the county’s #1 insurance agent.

Newspaper clippings from the Madisonville Meteor, digitized by The Portal to Texas History, UNT Libraries. Plaques, awards, and photographs from the agency's own walls and albums.

Still the same office

Talk to the office behind these clippings. (936) 348-2688 · Meet the team

What We Believe

A policy matters most when a claim, renewal, or change puts it to the test.

Meeting that test means clear guidance, careful coverage decisions, and practical help when the policy needs to respond.

Give straightforward guidance that helps clients move forward with confidence
Keep the relationship local, responsive, and accountable
Build trust that lasts as coverage needs change over time
Focus on serious protection for homes, businesses, farms, and families

The Team

The people clients actually reach.

The Madisonville office is still built around people. Leadership, service, and day-to-day follow-through all matter because sooner or later, every policy becomes a phone call.

Craig Stover Steven Stover Tammy Driskell Sheila Pierce Erin Ferguson Tyler Stover

Meet the Team

The Stover & Crouch team in the Madisonville office

Ready to work with a Madisonville office you can call?

Start with a quote request or call the Madisonville office and we will help you find the right next step.

Get a Quote Call (936) 348-2688