BY GINNY PRIVITAR
WEST MILFORD — The Prudential office, run by Peter Labate, has moved to 1447 Union Valley Road. The new office has a third staff member coming on and Labate is very glad to have this larger space. It will better accommodate clients and staff. His previous location was so small, he said, sometimes it was like working out of a garage.
Labate's office offers all types of insurance: property and casualty, disability income, long-term care insurance and financial products.
“We have a chronic illness rider that is better than long-term care insurance and the price never goes up,” said Labate.
He is an experienced advisor for estate and financial planning and is licensed in New York and New Jersey. Labate said he is one of only a dozen agents in New Jersey who handles everything to do with insurance, including advising people on affordable care insurance. Labate can take care of your needs with everything for a full financial plan.
Living and working in West Milford
He has been with Prudential for 38 years, previously in Hackensack and East Hanover. He found he was spending too much time in his car. Then, he said, he met the then-Chamber of Commerce President Rea Wundrack Lippner who found an office for him closer to his home.“I literally walked to work and it changed my life; I always thank her for that,” he said.
He’s very proud of the Knights of the Highlands, a group he belongs to which does a lot of charity and civic work. They provide money for after-school kids’ programs, raise money for four food pantries and other causes through events like golf tournaments and trap shoots.
Labate is the vice-president of the West Milford Chamber of Commerce and is a member of the town’s insurance committee, where he and other members make recommendations to the town council. He also serves on the TV committee. He says channel 77 aims to show what’s going on in the town and highlight its people.
Labate is also a co-partner in Highlander Productions and hopes to expand that company to do television commercials. His partner in that, Nate Bedford, is a cameraman, editor and director, who also volunteers for channel 77.
Early influence
How does he find the time for all these activities? When he was younger, Labate read Ben Franklin’s autobiography and was amazed and influenced by how he managed his time.“He had every hour of the day scheduled and if he couldn’t get to something, he rescheduled it,” Labate said.
Labate obviously manages his time well, too.
In his spare time, he enjoys riding his motorcycles, canoeing and spending time with his adult children, daughters Jessica and Julianne and son Joe, and his grandchildren, Paige and Shane, who are a joy to him.
“I helped raise three kids, but when it comes to grandkids it’s a whole new experience,” he said.
Labate is proud of West Milford, too.
“Local people are so generous,” he said. “I see charity everywhere in this town; the Rotary, the American Legion, the Chamber of Commerce, which provides scholarships and is beautifying the town. People who complain have no idea how good we have it. We’re very fortunate in this town.”
Labate plans to have a grand opening in the near future, with gift card giveaways. Keep an eye out here for the date and time.