Gaspar Insurance Services has opened new offices in Simi Valley at 40 W. Cochran St., Suite 201. Chief Executive Tim Gaspar told the Business Journal the expansion made sense due to the number of both clients and staff who live in Simi Valley. “We feel like there’s an opportunity to have close ties to the community the same way we do for the San Fernando Valley,” Gaspar said. “We have a decent number of clients in the area, both businesses and families, and we have a lot of our agents that actually live in the community and are involved in the Boys and Girls Club there, the Simi Valley Chamber of Commerce and a few other organizations. … It just fits with our strategy of being ingrained in the community.” The branch officially opened for business this week and will hold a formal ribbon cutting event next month. Captaining the new office is Manager Curt Witeby, who joined the firm in August. He’ll oversee a team of 10 in Simi Valley, about half of whom are new hires. In addition to its headquarters in Woodland Hills, Gaspar Insurance Services has offices in Encino, Las Vegas and Cherry Hill, N.J.