Episode 1
· 23:03
Welcome to real talk with Sterling Real Estate Group, your go to podcast for all things real estate related. Each episode, we break down the latest market trends, share insider tips, and bring in local industry experts to offer valuable insights that empower your journey. Whether you're buying, selling, building, or investing, we're here to help you navigate the ever changing landscape with clarity and confidence. Let's get real about real estate. Today, I'd like to welcome Joe DiCaprio, owner of Empire Insurance.
Lisa Licata:Welcome Joe.
Joe DiCaprio:Thanks for having me, and I can't tell you how excited I'm very first guest. It means a lot to me.
Lisa Licata:Yeah.
Joe DiCaprio:You got a lineup of some other superior guests coming in and, this is just the best. I'm so excited. Yeah. Let's go.
Lisa Licata:Good. Yeah. All right. So Joe, tell me a little bit about how did you get to Empire Insurance? What led you there?
Joe DiCaprio:Okay. So just a little bit about me. I grew up in Guilderland, New York. I'm a Syracuse University graduate. Upon graduating, all I ever did was insurance.
Joe DiCaprio:I worked at a prior brokerage, for twenty years.
Lisa Licata:Wow.
Joe DiCaprio:But what got me to empire was the insurance world is changing. And that's why I know you want me to be your first guest. With rates in New York state going up over 50% in four years, you see the fires out and we could go over that, all that fires and hurricanes. The, the carrier panel they offered just didn't meet the needs of me building my entire agency around the home closing. So I took the huge jump, you know, going from hero to zero and,
Lisa Licata:And you did well. And you are doing well.
Joe DiCaprio:Yeah, we're doing okay. So we got the, we got the carriers we need. We got the staff and infrastructure we need. And again, around 2016, I realized that the home closing was my passion and, you know, I built it up.
Lisa Licata:Yeah.
Joe DiCaprio:But now with the right carriers and the right things in place, we're doing triple what I did before. I'm blessed that we help, I would say over 20 families a week and investors and Airbnb and that we help about a week with closings plus all our other business. So, it was a huge leap. It was scary, but it really, really.
Lisa Licata:It always is, but, but you did well. And I know firsthand your service at Empire, you know, I dealt with you before when you were with another company, even, even now with your own company, you know, I text or I call you whether it's for personal, or for a client I'm referring to you. I mean, you are all over it. And, and I think that's important. Especially in, in our world, people want immediate satisfaction and they want
Joe DiCaprio:You took the words out of my mouth. So we're in 2025, everything's mobile. Even eight years ago, I was already texting everybody.
Lisa Licata:Right.
Joe DiCaprio:We have a full staff. We have multiple service reps. Everyone has their own iPhone. There's no waiting.
Lisa Licata:Right.
Joe DiCaprio:We are in the now generation. I might be, you know, 44 years old, but even I know the young folks, they want everything quick. Even now like 85 year old people that never had email twenty years ago are DocuSigning their documents in two seconds. Yeah. If you don't adapt, they say you perish.
Joe DiCaprio:Right. You know?
Lisa Licata:Right.
Joe DiCaprio:You know, Sterling, for example, you guys have your specialties. That's why we'll get in those later. Why you guys flourish. You have to be there for people. You have to care. And every day this never feels like a, I, I can't tell you how blessed I feel when you, when, when you actually enjoy helping people. I have so many stories too, you know, just closings that would've never happened if you could go the extra And, if you treat people right, it comes back to you quite well.
Lisa Licata:It does.
Joe DiCaprio:But speed of service is one of the most important things in this, in this world we're in now where it's, your iPhone is, you know,
Lisa Licata:we're talking to a real person. We're not talking to a chat box or, you know, and it's to me again, from the older, you know, gen I wanna speak to someone on the so it's very easy to get ahold of you.
Joe DiCaprio:I'm gonna tell you also, when I say when I was with my old carrier. I'm like, well, maybe in ten years, don't wanna say it's oh five. Oh, there's all these internet lead companies and you could bind online and all this stuff. We're, we won't be here in ten years.
Lisa Licata:Yeah. I actually think it is just gonna keep getting bigger and bigger. Even the younger generation wants door to door service. People want things now. A chat box isn't now. It is. But, in this day and age, you have to be there for people. And that's what we do. It's fun.
Lisa Licata:Right. And it's not about the sale. We always, you know, talk about it's building the relationships with people. It's not transactional. That's why I think I excel above, you know, other insurance people. I don't even think about the sale. My only goal is either to keep the real estate agent or the mortgage person or someone that referred to me. I want them to have a story each sale. I want them, what's the word I'm looking for? You know, I wanna build them up. And again, it's, it's never about the sale and you know, it's, it's sales 101, you know, be yourself, be ethical. Be there for people. And if you truly follow that and make it not about the sale, make it about the bigger picture. Good things can definitely happen.
Lisa Licata:Yeah. And, and it's funny that you say that. So yesterday I was with one of my friends.
Joe DiCaprio:Yeah.
Lisa Licata:And they were selling their home and buying a home. And unfortunately something had happened, but she told me last night that she switched everything over to you, even though the sale of their new home didn't go through. And, and I'll give you the name, you know, when we're done. I obviously don't
Joe DiCaprio:Was that one with Drew? And he's a great guy. Yeah.
Lisa Licata:Yeah.
Joe DiCaprio:So that's what we do. We don't leave anyone hanging. We wanna be there all the time
Lisa Licata:And the deal, you know, on, you know, for unforeseen circumstances on, you know, unfortunately, but they liked you enough that they switched everything over to you.
Joe DiCaprio:Yeah that's a good family.
Lisa Licata:So I mean, high
Joe DiCaprio:We, yeah. Yeah. He was great to work with.
Lisa Licata:High five on that.
Joe DiCaprio:Let's do a high five on it.
Lisa Licata:Yeah. That's awesome.
Joe DiCaprio:So yeah, I have stories like that all the time. What happened this weekend? It doesn't even get into it. Some people have debt to income issues where they need their homeowner lower. I saved a deal this weekend. She would've never closed. I can't tell you how happy they sounded.
Lisa Licata:Right.
Joe DiCaprio:From the real estate agent to the mortgage person, to the client. It's like, if you just do what needs to be done, really magical things can happen. Another one, a quick story. I know we're going off tangent, but that's what podcasts are about. Go off tangent.
Lisa Licata:Go on, go down any road
Joe DiCaprio:Elderly woman. She was sent to me by a realtor, a family friend, Realtor, excuse me. I do still make that mistake. I'm not the only one
Lisa Licata:That's okay. I think we all do.
Joe DiCaprio:I think everybody does. Even though they say they don't, but that's another story. Elderly woman hospital for nine months. Not only that, listen to this. She was out like feeding cats or something, you know, cute out in the back during like a thunderstorm, a tree cut her house in half where she sat would've been no more, but she hasn't , she was sick and I'm working with the sister. She hasn't had insurance in nine months plus a hundred thousand dollar claim. I had to put my heart and soul into getting that approved, you know?
Lisa Licata:Right.
Joe DiCaprio:I had to really fight. It took a couple hours, but just the joy you bring people. Insurance is not fun. We're not gonna sugarcoat it.
Lisa Licata:Right.
Joe DiCaprio:It's like horrible. No one likes it. But if you can make it easier on people and something that's so harsh out there, it just, it's incredible. Yeah. Yeah. That's what we're really trying to build a family.
Lisa Licata:Good.
Joe DiCaprio:And what we're doing is really special and, it's leading to growth. You can imagine. Yeah. That's great.
Lisa Licata:That's good. And, and it's your company. So,
Joe DiCaprio:So that's pretty much it. That's why we built empire. We have the staff in place. We want to continue to build around the home closing.
Lisa Licata:Right.
Joe DiCaprio:I already do a lot, but I wanna be in everybody's mind in the Capital Region. I have some referral sources in, across the state, Watertown, Syracuse, but I wanna be the first name people.
Lisa Licata:The first name.
Joe DiCaprio:think when it comes to the home closing. That's And I think we're gonna get there with great people like you, Sterling and everything.
Lisa Licata:That's one. Well, I know you personally have helped a couple agents here who own multi families and Airbnbs And they saved like thousands of dollars, not hundreds, but thousands of dollars.
Joe DiCaprio:So on that, on a portfolio of eight houses, I did this Sunday. Yes. I work a lot. Yes.
Lisa Licata:That's okay. We all do.
Joe DiCaprio:What did I save him? $7,000 on eight houses. Another agent, owns her own company. Had me she's been sending me this, the best person she sent me was this guy who has thirty, forty houses. We helped him.
Joe DiCaprio:We worked with her. I saved her 4,700 this weekend between auto, home, and two rentals and better coverage, better perks. That's the real secret with this. I love now because Empire gives me the ability because how we built this agency, I can give people amazing perks and save them. It's just like win, win, win, win, win.
Joe DiCaprio:Yeah. It's cool.
Lisa Licata:So you do, so it's not just insurance on a home. It is you bundle everything.
Joe DiCaprio:Do the whole thing.
Lisa Licata:You have the opportunity to
Joe DiCaprio:And then we're gonna get a pet insurance. We do that now. Yeah. Again, I do do, I know you have a lot of investors. Sterling works with a lot of investors. We're gonna get in new construction, but I help with the entire gambit of real estate insurance, one to four family rentals, single homes. New home buyers, which we love. You know, your, your client I helped where it felt through, we're gonna help them on the next one.
Lisa Licata:Right.
Joe DiCaprio:Tons of short term rentals. Even in my past agency, I've gotta be up to like 200 now.
Lisa Licata:Wow.
Joe DiCaprio:I just did another one this weekend. So yeah, we help the whole gambit of anything, auto home and all that. But again, I do like to start with the real estate insurance and we go from there.
Lisa Licata:Good. So I have a question for you. Obviously, you're built everything around, you know, the real estate community. What's the number one, two questions that realtors ask you or a homeowner, you know, when you're connected, what what do they ask you? What is the the most common question or question that you get?
Joe DiCaprio:I get multiple texts a day and it really comes down to flood insurance.
Lisa Licata:Okay.
Joe DiCaprio:I know it's kind of out there, but along the Mohawk and along the Hudson and along the Schoharie, there's a lot of flood zones and these could lead to deals falling sour. I guarantee if we had the whole gang in here from Sterling, there'd be some sour stories due to flood insurance.
Lisa Licata:Yeah.
Joe DiCaprio:So I get a lot to
Lisa Licata:Not with you though.
Joe DiCaprio:No. So, so they go, you know, Joe, like, today someone texts Joe, can you check these two houses? Both are in a flood zone. The client's already getting rates on other ones. So now, we're hundreds of dollars less on that.
Lisa Licata:Right.
Joe DiCaprio:She, you know, people think about backing out of the deal. I can help soothe them and just everybody wins. So you wouldn't believe it, but in the Capital Region, there's more flooding, you know, it comes up a lot. That's probably the first thing that, you know, I get texted about. Also, you know, my client got a rate for 1,600. Is that right? I don't even have to look at it. It's not right. I don't care how many square feet the house is.
Lisa Licata:Right.
Joe DiCaprio:So usually production, better coverage. Then I don't know how much we're gonna get into it, but again, we are in, I hate to say it, I'm not trying to be negative. It's the hardest time in insurance of my twenty two year career. We have a mix of inflation being out of control and claims being out of control. So these companies have become so strict, regressive, and I won't name names, but some of the bigger companies out there literally took twenty, twenty two and twenty seven percent rate increases on their client in New York.
Joe DiCaprio:I have multiple other big name companies, non renewing people right now on their auto for one little claim. It is really bad out there. So people, I give them advice on that. I can get anyone out any situation with that. Why we built empire.
Lisa Licata:Yeah. And, and actually, you helped me. Remember on my roof. So I had had this insurance company for years and they canceled me. And I was like, I've never once filed a claim. And they were saying they did a Google shot of my roof, which was not leaking. And I'm like, that's not right. And then I called you and, you know, you were able to do it and I saved money.
Joe DiCaprio:I just had another one, a New York City buyer bought a house in Halfmoon by the water. Second home, couldn't get coverage anywhere. I checked the roof. Based on my opinion there was no issue. Again, if it's bad, I'm not gonna write it, but
Lisa Licata:Right. Right.
Joe DiCaprio:He was glorious, he was glorious and happy about being able to help him. These companies are getting strict a lot of time after the closing. Hey Joe, my client, either a mortgage or real estate. They said that my roof looks bad. And if it's not, we could definitely help them. There's carriers out there, but we're in the strictest time. You have to watch how many claims you put in on homeowners, watch your auto claims. I really, really wish everyone - you're gonna get all my contact info. If you ever have a question or doubt on a claim, coverage, anything, just text me. Please, because bad things can happen really quick.
Lisa Licata:Yeah.
Joe DiCaprio:You know, like for now, I'm gonna be honest with you. I hate to say it over there like ruining the industry. This is why people need to learn. That's why we're here. If you have one homeowner claim that can hurt you. If you have two homeowner claims in a five year period, it's very hard to get coverage. I gotta like beg. You have three homeowner claims in a five year period, it's nearly impossible. I've had closings shut down due to it.
Lisa Licata:Wow.
Joe DiCaprio:So we are at the point where we were such a regressive inflationary period. I hate to say it, but you almost have to work with me.
Lisa Licata:Yeah.
Joe DiCaprio:You gotta, you, you can really, really get in a lot of trouble really quick. I get my new thing is I really try to advise people on claims. Like if it's 5,000, you have a $2,500 deductible, let's do the math together on the phone. I'll take twenty minutes with you. Is it worth it? No. Or yeah, you have burst pipes that's 10K. Yes. Here are the ramifications.
Lisa Licata:Right.
Joe DiCaprio:No one teaches this stuff. You know? Nobody talks about it.
Lisa Licata:So you're educating the homeowner and which is especially your first time home buyer. I mean, that's huge.
Joe DiCaprio:Biggest thing too, though, I kind of don't understand is with inflation being up crazy. So the iced coffee I used to drink, I don't know, I use this as an example, like four years ago. Was $4.99 at the store. Now it's $7.50.
Lisa Licata:Yeah.
Joe DiCaprio:It's double. Like people, how come, like they don't realize that insurance is part of all that.
Lisa Licata:Yep.
Joe DiCaprio:Claims are up. Remember when wood was like $80 of plywood or something. Remember. I don't know what it is. Is it bad still?
Lisa Licata:Yes.
Joe DiCaprio:Oh, okay. So claims are higher. These companies, they're the casino, they're the house. They gotta win. So they're gonna raise rates and be restricted. You really gotta work with a professional right now.
Lisa Licata:Yeah. Yeah. Which is good. So we touched base on, you know, a little bit about how the rates increase. So, 53, so rates have gone up 53% since 2021. And I think you did explain why it's happening with the buyers or what they need to know.
Joe DiCaprio:I can talk more about buyers though.
Lisa Licata:Yeah. Is there anything else that you wanna add to that?
Joe DiCaprio:No, you just have to shop it. And every company has a rate. Well, every risk has a rate out there, I'll say. So there might be a more substandard company. Not that they're like not solvent or anything. They just take on higher risk. Like if you go to a certain big company and they put you through, then they're gonna cancel you in a month because you have a little crack in your thing. And then again, you have to shop at least. I'm not bragging. I, like, I get a lot of referrals every day for closings. We close about 85 to 90% of everybody that comes to us. You have to shop. The rate differentials are insane right now due to this inflation. I can tell you stories of.
Lisa Licata:Yeah. Oh I bet.
Joe DiCaprio:Here's the biggest one lately. I wasn't even gonna tell anybody about this because people won't think it's true.
Lisa Licata:Okay. Let's hear it.
Joe DiCaprio:I think it was a mortgage person or just a regular. This woman has a house in a four family in Cohoes. She has one claim at a big company. I don't know how she didn't know she was paying too much, but her premium for a regular four family was $20,000
Lisa Licata:Okay.
Joe DiCaprio:And we got, she has one claim. I had to get it approved. Beautiful house, not a high risk at all.
Lisa Licata:Right.
Joe DiCaprio:So I got it down to 2,200. It's like over 17,000. It's like so big sometimes. I don't even tell people it's like, there is you, you got, you gotta do your homework.
Lisa Licata:I can't even imagine like the expression on her, on her face.
Joe DiCaprio:Well, at first they don't believe it, but then yeah. It'll just, yeah. It's just, you have to take the time to.
Lisa Licata:Right. And you tell them, they'll compare, you know, the coverage you're getting. And usually it's either the same or better. Right.
Joe DiCaprio:Usually try to do better coverage, more perks for less.
Lisa Licata:Yep.
Joe DiCaprio:Yeah.
Lisa Licata:Yeah. Wow. Wow. Okay. So next question for you. You know, Sterling Real Estate Group, we have the number one new construction team in the Capital District share a little bit about, the discounts.
Joe DiCaprio:Yes.
Lisa Licata:That you can offer clients who are building new construction.
Joe DiCaprio:Yeah. So that's why I think me and you have such a great partnership and the other folks here. You specialize in new construction, are the best at it and these carriers, they have are the best. So it's quite simple. A new house rarely burns or has a claim. It's beyond rare okay. You ever watch the news? What houses do you see burning to the ground? You're Schenectady, Albany and Troy electrical.
Lisa Licata:I saw one last September that was being framed.
Joe DiCaprio:Yes. It does happen. If you ever watch the news and it's a fire, Albany, Cohoes, electrical. Old house.
Lisa Licata:Yeah.
Joe DiCaprio:There's no claims on new houses. So they give you a massive discount. For example, travelers is an unbeatable product.
Joe DiCaprio:That's another one where people like, oh, I have 900,000 in coverage and it's $782 a year. Don't believe it at first. It is a sliding discount folks. Don't, don't hold me to it.
Joe DiCaprio:Of course it comes off each year. It's a massive discount as the house ages, but, we have all the things in place to help new construction. I think that's why we have such a good partnership too.
Lisa Licata:Yeah. Yeah. Which is good, which we don't always specialize, you know, I mean, it is a big part of our business, but it's not.
Joe DiCaprio:Yes, exactly.
Lisa Licata:You know, the business we do, a lot of resale.
Joe DiCaprio:Truly though. I feel you guys are the best at it. Know you do the resale and, you know, like Angie's got a ton of buyers. We're always having fun. But, but when it comes to new construction, no one does it better.
Lisa Licata:Yeah. Yeah. I have a great, great team. You know, kudos to them. So I noticed, when we were emailing back and forth, the pet insurance.
Joe DiCaprio:Yeah. I just got access again.
Lisa Licata:That is, I have to tell you. So I have a golden retriever. And in December he tore his ACL.
Joe DiCaprio:How much was it or you don't wanna say?
Lisa Licata:No. We can. Probably all in was $8,000. We had pet insurance. Out of pocket was probably $800. It is worth every penny.
Joe DiCaprio:I wish more people would listen. I quote so many people. Then once they hear the price, they're like, I don't know, it's like $50 a month to a hundred bucks a month. Yeah, it's amazing.
Joe DiCaprio:So I started offering it at the old agency. Bought it myself. Some of my best referral partners bought it too. I got some stories there. My cat got sick during COVID, couldn't breathe. Uh-uh. They put her in an oxygen tank and all that. We had to sit outside. Remember, you have to like wait.
Lisa Licata:Oh, yes.
Joe DiCaprio:All these families in their car. It was crazy, but it was 4,500. Almost all of that paid. So it paid for the next couple of years of coverage.
Lisa Licata:Amazing. Yeah. They look at that monthly payment, but if something does happen, you're like, I'm really glad.
Joe DiCaprio:I'm let a dog or cat die usually. And I hear so many stories at 20k plus. Now my new plans have unlimited coverage too. We could always go over porcupine incident, thousands saved. Another incident. It's usually thousands saved. And then it pays for the next couple of years.
Lisa Licata:Right.
Joe DiCaprio:So I try to offer the whole gambit, you know, and also when you help people with more stuff, they tend to stick with you. We all win. And yeah, we could, we could offer that too. Anyone could reach out to me anytime. I even have a link, as I said, on my email now where you could purchase it yourself and you do get an Empire Insurance discount.
Lisa Licata:Well, there you go.
Joe DiCaprio:It'll be cheaper too.
Lisa Licata:Yeah. Perfect. Yep. Is there anything else that you wanna share that you think is important for, the public to know when shopping for insurance? You know, what to look for? Or any agent should know?
Joe DiCaprio:I think we should just have to reiterate the time we're in. I hate to be negative, but I've been doing this twenty two years. There's nothing close to this.
Lisa Licata:Yeah.
Joe DiCaprio:For example, the fires in California.
Joe DiCaprio:with inflation counted in hurricane Katrina was 175 billion. I'm quite positive. The fires will be double that. So it's double the worst natural disaster in history. Hurricanes, all that. That's, oh, that's another thing. Most of the carriers we use, we built it this way are New York state based carriers that mainly do work in New York state.
Lisa Licata:Okay, good.
Joe DiCaprio:And they mainly don't concentrate in downstate because it's too risk because they worry about hurricanes. So at my carriers, you usually are gonna see the best pricing and the lowest rate increases. Cause let's say company A is a multi trillion dollar company. They just took $7,000,000,000 and they just like almost got bankrupted in California. You don't think they're gonna get their money back somewhere else.
Lisa Licata:Right.
Joe DiCaprio:So just please shop. Please just give me an opportunity. In this day and age, you cannot be alone with insurance. It's really that bad out there.
Lisa Licata:Yeah.
Joe DiCaprio:It's just not on the news enough to talk about eggs, but they don't talk about them. Something you could save. Yeah. You know, there's people around here, they're living check to check sometime. Like I save people life changing money.
Joe DiCaprio:Like if you spend save 2K on your insurance, that helps pay for your kids whatever.
Lisa Licata:That's a lot. Puts food on the table for, you know.
Joe DiCaprio:It really does. Yeah. So. Yeah. In this day and age, just if you're not gonna work with me, please try to find an expert that really knows their stuff and, is gonna go, you know, the extra gambit for you. That's it. This was great.
Lisa Licata:Yeah. This is And you know what, when you say I don't wanna be negative, remember it's real talk.
Joe DiCaprio:Oh, it's real.
Lisa Licata:People think it's, it's not negative. I mean, those are the facts.
Joe DiCaprio:Yeah. So I think 53% on average. Overall auto and home is up in New York state. That's another thing too. I work, I get so many referrals sent to me, but just the average consumer doesn't shop enough. I really don't get enough. Yeah. More people should call and check. Your mind would be, you just won't believe it.
Lisa Licata:They're comfortable with their current, you know, carrier and, just say, oh, it's easier.
Joe DiCaprio:Yep. But in this age, you don't deserve to pay that. You know?
Lisa Licata:Yeah.
Joe DiCaprio:You know, with that heating bill, that one month everybody had, I guess there was a spike in natural oil or gas. You can't do anything about that. Me, I could change it. Not change your life. I could change your bills for the month, like, you know, freaking fifteen minutes.
Lisa Licata:Yeah. And you can just give it to the, you know, the gas and electric companies.
Joe DiCaprio:But overall, I'm so blessed. I'm so blessed to work with people like you.
Lisa Licata:Thank you.
Joe DiCaprio:It's a passion of mine.
Lisa Licata:Yeah. You can tell.
Joe DiCaprio:It's far from a job. Every day, you know, I wake up enjoying what I do. That's why I work. You know, I work a lot of hours, but it never feels like work. They say burnout. I don't think I'm gonna get burned out because I love doing this. So that's about it.
Lisa Licata:Yeah.
Lisa Licata:All right. Is there anything else you want to add?
Joe DiCaprio:I'll just get my contact info. I know you'll post it all
Lisa Licata:Yeah.
Joe DiCaprio:The easiest way to reach me, we're again 2025. Just send me a quick text (518) 350-0511. My email's pretty easy. It's a little different. There's no dot com.
Joe DiCaprio:It's joe@myinsurance.agency And you can email me anytime too.
Lisa Licata:And we will be sure to put all your contact information in our comments. So, you know, agents and homeowners are you know, easily, able to get that to you and get to you.
Joe DiCaprio:Great. Thanks for having me.
Lisa Licata:Or just call us and we'll pass on your information.
Joe DiCaprio:I love being on the preferred vendor list. I appreciate it.
Lisa Licata:Well, wonderful. That's it for today's real talk. No fluff, just facts, and we'll catch you next time. Thank you, Joe.
Joe DiCaprio:Yep. Thank you.
Lisa Licata:Thanks for tuning in to this week's episode of Real Talk with Sterling Real Estate Group. Make sure to subscribe on your favorite podcast platform so you never miss an episode. If you have any questions about real estate or topics you'd like us to cover, we'd love to hear from you. Reach out to us at info@sterling518.com
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