Our History
TAKAGI MEANS TALL TREE
Our family has been helping people protect what matters to them for four generations. Start from the bottom to learn about our tall family tree.
2008-present
Today, Takagi & Takagi continues to grow with the next generation of leadership. Verne's daughter Taea joined the family business in 2008, then David's daughter Megan in 2012, followed by Taea's husband Grant in 2019.
They work hard to improve office efficiency, upgrade technology, enhance client offerings, lead staff development, and engage the community with educational events and value-driven initiatives.
Taea & Megan love hearing stories about Grandpa Doug from his clients' families, and everyone strives to maintain the high standards and work ethic set forth in a Haleiwa bicycle shop four generations ago.
1975-2008
Three of Doug's five adult children joined him in the family business: David (in '75), Verne (in '78) and Joyce (in '84). After almost two decades of mentorship, Doug's health began declining so his children helped him smoothly transition into retirement.
David and Verne took over his business in 1992, later becoming independent financial advisors and officially forming Takagi & Takagi in 1997. Joyce served as their long term care and life insurance specialist, later retiring in 2019, followed by Verne's retirement in 2020.
David is still having the time of his life meeting with clients and mentoring his growing team.
1948-1975
Douglas Takagi was 13 when his father Junsuke died. The eldest boy to four younger sisters, he quickly learned the importance of life insurance, vowing to some day help other families through similar tragedies.
After attending the University of Hawaii to become a teacher, he was drawn back to his father's roots in insurance at age 27, and joined Occidental Underwriters. It was the first agency in Hawaii to fight against racial discrimination within the life insurance industry: Asians and other non-white minorities had been forced to pay higher premiums until Occidental achieved equal access and pricing for all U.S. residents in the 1930s.
In his 44-year career, Doug became one of Hawaii's most well-known insurance agents, helping hundreds of local families achieve greater financial stability.
Early 1900s
On the North Shore of 'Oahu in the early 1900s, struggling bicycle shop owner Junsuke Takagi envisioned a better life for his family. He began to sell life insurance policies out of his Haleiwa store, eventually saving enough money to rebuild his small home for their growing family.
Tragically, right when the new lumber was paid for and delivered to the lot, just before his wife Yoshimi gave birth to their fifth child, Junsuke passed away from tuberculosis.
With her newborn strapped to her back, Yoshimi and her daughters began to wash laundry for neighbors and other residents of Haleiwa to make ends meet.