About Us
ABOUT US
Looking for an insurance agent in Wilson, NC? We are here ready to help! Since 1985, the Wilson office has been supporting its clients. In 2023, our office (formerly John Hackney Insurance), joined Alera Group. Our team specializes in a variety of solutions, including:
- Auto, Home, RV Coverage and more
- Professional and Financial Solutions
- Property and Casualty Solutions
- Long-term Care Insurance
- Life Insurance
- Health Insurance – If you're an individual or family who does not currently have insurance through a group employer plan, we offer individual health plans. If you own a business, we can assist with comparing group coverages offerings.
Meet Our Team
Tom Hackney
Senior Partner
Tom was born and raised in Wilson, but spent every summer with his grandparents at Atlantic Beach, NC. After graduating from boarding school in Chattanooga, Tennessee, he returned to North Carolina for college, graduating from UNC – Chapel Hill in 1979. Immediately afterwards, he worked in the real estate business for a year, and then decided to give the family insurance business a try. With that inauspicious beginning, a successful and rewarding career was born. Just as his father, grandfather and great-grandfather before him, Tom has worked hard over the past 40 years to make sure the agency continues to grow and flourish.
But the success of any agency isn’t one person and John Hackney Agency has the very best people in the business working together every day to help clients solve risk management and insurance issues. There are two offices with 37 employees with one in Wilson and the other in Rocky Mount. Many of those people have spent their careers with the agency and continue to help guide and manage the success of the business. The capable team at John Hackney Agency is an important part of what makes Hackney a wonderful place to work as well as the successful agency it is today.
Tom met his wife, the former Susan Page King, when both were freshmen at UNC. Later they discovered their fathers were roommates at the Zeta Psi house at UNC 30 years earlier. Tom and Susan married in 1980 and soon had two daughters, Elizabeth in 1981 and Anderson in 1988. Elizabeth is now married to Joe Davies, and they are the proud parents of Alex, 6, and Page, 11. Anderson married Campbell Brown and they are the proud parents of two daughters, Becca and Liza. Both families live in Raleigh where Susan also works in the RTP as a litigator at K&L Gates.
Tom loves the two places he’s always called home, spending weeks in Wilson and most weekends with his family at the coast. In addition to daily walks in his neighborhood, around Lake Wilson or at the beach, he enjoys buying and renovating real estate, travel, dining at his favorite restaurants (and finding new ones), reading, cooking and spending time with his family.
Lisa Batchelor
Director of Accounting
Lisa joined John Hackney Agency in May, 1979 upon graduation from Atlantic Christian College (now Barton College). She learned the insurance business the fastest way possible as the agency claims manager. Shortly thereafter, she took over the agency accounting as well as continuing her claims work. In time, the claims function became more automated but the accounting became more complex and eventually accounting became Lisa’s sole focus. Lisa works closely with management taking care of finances, human resources, and licensing, as well as working with all the employees on daily processing, billing and collections.
She was born in Robersonville and grew up on a farm, learning at an early age the benefits of hard work. One of her greatest pleasures is visiting family in Robersonville where her mother still lives and cooks wonderful homemade country meals.
Lisa lives in Elm City with her husband, Johnny, and has one step-son, Erick, and one daughter, Crystal Hardee. She loves spending time with her grandchildren, Christian, Austin, Evy, and Max, and is active in her church, Elm City Methodist.
Mark Rosell
Insurance Sales Producer P&C
Mark began his career in New York State in 1984, selling insurance to the restaurant industry for years. He then moved to Maine, delivering insurance products for lobster, shrimp, and crabbing sea vessels with AIG’s marina program. These were great days when he learned how to insure fish houses, wholesale fish markets, and seafood processors. While in Maine, he enjoyed those pleasant summers, typically in the mid-seventies in the summer; however, the trade-off was winter months, with significant snow, and thus started the journey for an insurance agency in the south.
In 1994, he joined the John Hackney Agency, where he began in their New Bern office and later moved to Wilson, where he lives and works. It was here that he began to appreciate the southern lifestyle. He also experienced North Carolina’s challenging hurricanes while experiencing the finer points of debris removal and other insurance coverages unique to Eastern North Carolina. John Hackney Agency is a place where he appreciates working because of the family atmosphere. It is an agency that genuinely cares for its employees, backed by ownership that passionately supports its producers and account managers. Mark finds it hard to believe he has been in the insurance business for 38 years, especially since his career started at Bible College and ministry in 1978.
Mark is married to Connie and has three daughters, Amanda, Rachel, and Emilee, and five grandsons, Franklin, Finnigan, Fillip, Finton, and Bradley, with another due in June of 2023.
Furthermore, Mark enjoys the day-to-day challenges of the insurance business and considers himself a student in this ever-changing industry where learning never ceases. His experience affords a depth of understanding to communicate the difficult-to-comprehend coverages, which is priceless, and he offers it to every client regardless of their need for protection. Mark is your typical board-based generalist in commercial accounts; however, Mark places particular emphasis on trucking, construction, the health care industry, and wholesalers.
Will Faircloth
Producer
Will was born and grew up in Goldsboro, NC. He graduated from East Carolina University in 1991. After 11 years in the pharmaceutical business, he decided to make a transition into the insurance business and joined John Hackney Agency in 2010. He’s been successful in the insurance business from the start because he enjoys living and working in eastern North Carolina and loves working with his clients.
During his free time, he spends most of his time with his wife, Matilda, daughter, Parker, and son, Henry. He loves coaching baseball, grilling local foods (and is a big farm to table concept guy), and volunteering at Saint Paul United Methodist Church. He’s active in the Goldsboro community and has a special place in his heart for Hyde County where he visits often.
Will specializes in Commercial Insurance with an emphasis on Agricultural, Municipal, Contracting, Property, Casualty, Habitational, and Large Commercial Accounts.
Resources
Claims Management. When a claim happens, we want to help you as promptly as possible. Please feel free to stop by or call one of our offices to report a claim or let us help you with any questions you might have. If it’s after hours and you need to talk to someone immediately, you can contact the carrier directly for 24-hour claims service.
To report a claim: You can call us, stop by our office or call the company to report a claim. If you choose to contact the company, have your policy number on hand before calling.
To make a direct bill payment or manage your billing: Most of our companies have 24 hour payment services. Remember to have your policy number and your bank account or credit card information on hand before you make the call. You can also stop by our office where we’ll be happy to assist you with your direct bill payments.
EXPERT EDUCATION
Events and Webinars
Wealth Services
State of the Markets
Join us as we unveil the factors that drive the nation's financial pulse and how they may impact your personal finances.
October 22, 2025 at 12:00 pm CT | Virtual
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Employee Benefits
Q4 2025 Quarterly Compliance Webinar
Alera Group's quarterly employee benefits compliance roundup will help you stay current on the latest national regulatory developments impacting employers.
November 4, 2025 at 01:00 pm CT | Virtual
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Employee Benefits
Navigating Medicare: Educational Webinar
The knowledgeable team at Alera Group is here to help you navigate your Medicare options to ensure you feel confident in your post-65 healthcare coverage.
November 12, 2025 at 12:00 pm CT | Virtual
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THOUGHT LEADERSHIP
Insights
Property and Casualty
Alera Group’s 2025 Property and Casualty Market Update
Alera Group’s 2025 Property and Casualty Market Update, designed as a bridge between Alera Group’s annual Market Outlooks — provides insight into pricing, coverage availability, market capacity and underwriting trends for the balance of 2025.
August 1, 2025
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Property and Casualty
Severe Weather Is Getting Worse. Is Your Business Interruption Insurance Keeping Up?
The increasing frequency and severity of weather- and climate-related events such as catastrophic storms, floods and wildfires make business continuity planning more important than ever. Part of your plan should include reviewing your organization's Business Interruption Insurance coverage.
May 5, 2025
Find out more Property and Casualty
International Roadcheck Is May 13-15. Is Your Commercial Transportation Fleet Ready?
For 72 hours next month, commercial motor vehicles and drivers throughout North America will be subject to what the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) calls a “high-visibility, high-volume” inspection and regulatory compliance enforcement initiative.
The annual event, known as the International Roadcheck, will take place at weigh and inspection stations, temporary sites and locations selected by mobile patrols from May 13-15 in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
April 14, 2025
Find out more Property and Casualty
Improving Transportation Fleet Safety Through Gamification
The COVID-19 pandemic pushed companies to find creative ways to engage employees as isolation hit an all-time high. Many turned to gamification — the application game mechanics such as points, badges and leaderboards to everyday tasks — to reconnect with staff and improve retention, especially around key initiatives like safety. It’s a concept so suitable for the transportation industry, it could have been conceived with truckers and other commercial auto drivers in mind.
April 7, 2025
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