A desire to return home to Ocean City was the beginning of the modern day story of the Thomas Heist Insurance Agency. However, our roots go all the way back to the 1930’s. In those days, it was common to see a real estate business that also sold insurance, and so it was with the Stretch family of Ocean City, NJ. Robert Stretch ran a small real estate office at 430 Ocean Avenue in Ocean City, and also represented the Travelers Insurance Company with a small group of fire and liability policies. He also bought properties to later sell them. Ironically, Thomas Heist II, our founder’s father, often times repaired the houses before they were sold!