Keystone Insurers Group, with franchise locations in five states, including Pennsylvania and Virginia, has added a new location in Evansville, Ind.

Schultheis Insurance, an independent insurance agency, is now a partner of the Northumberland, Pa.-based agency franchisor. Locally owned and operated in Indiana for 65 years, Schultheis plans to maintain its own identity and continue to serve customers, according to agency president Brett Schultheis.

“Independence and being able to better serve customers is what Schultheis has been about since our grandfather founded the agency,” he said in a statement. “That will not change. We still own our agency, and we still make the decisions.”

He added that Keystone “is good for the independent agency system,” as “our relationship with Keystone will permit us to take fuller advantage of opportunities that quite simply would not have been attainable as a single independent agency.”

Keystone President David Boedker called the new location a great opportunity in southern Indiana and praised Schultheis’ long history of quality service to policyholders, dubbing it “best of breed.”

“The Schultheis family exemplifies great integrity and professionalism, the main ingredients to Keystone’s success over the past 26 years,” he said.

Keystone currently operates more than 175 locally owned and operated franchise locations in five states: Indiana, Ohio, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Virginia.