2011 with be a year of firsts for the Insurance Professional of the Year Award Ceremony. Although celebrating its tenth anniversary, this year marks the first time that the annual award presented by the Insurance Library Association of Boston will be awarded to an insurance professional from the greater New England area. It will also mark the first time that a woman has received this award.
The Award was established in 2002 by the Richard Simches Fund and is presented each year to “…a person who demonstrates leadership and exemplifies those qualities that engender understanding of and respect for the insurance industry.” The selection process is conducted by a cross-section of the insurance industry and as such carries with it that added significance.
And it appears that this year’s recipient is no exception. Sandra Glaser Parrillo is the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Providence Mutual Fire Insurance Company and its subsidiary The Providence Plantations Insurance Company both based in Providence, Rhode Island. Ms. Parrillo joined the company in 1977 as an underwriter and rose through the ranks to become a vice president and secretary in 1995, then a senior vice president of underwriting and marketing in 1999 and ultimately President and CEO of the company in 2000.
In addition, Ms. Parrillo also serves as a director of the Cranston Print Works, of Cranston RI, The Mutual Fire Insurance Association of Peabody, Massachusetts and The Rhode Island Public Expenditure Council. She is a director and Vice Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce and a director and Chairman of the National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies in Indianapolis, Indiana.
Ms. Parillo also served as a Past Chairman of the Governing Committee of the Rhode Island Joint Reinsurance Association. She is currently a member of the Insurance Commission of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence, the Rhode Island Governor’s Insurance Council, the Business Advisory Council for the University of Rhode Island’s College of Business Administration, the President’s Council of Providence College and the Board of Governors of the Rhode Island Commodores. Ms. Parillo is also a member of the Board of Trustees of the American Institute for CPCU and is an active member of the American Society of Chartered Property and Casualty Underwriters, of which she also formerly served as a director of the Rhode Island Chapter.
Ms. Parrillo graduated cum laude from Rhode Island College where she was awarded both a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Management and a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Mathematics as well as the Wall Street Journal Award for Outstanding Graduating Senior in Economics and Management. In December 1992, she received her MBA from the University of Rhode Island, with high honors. She is a member of both the National Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi and the Business Honor Society of Beta Gamma Sigma.
In 1986, Ms. Parrillo earned her designation of Chartered Property and Casualty Underwriter and then the designation of Certified Insurance Counselor in 2000. In 2008, she was recognized as one of New England’s 25 most industrious and influential business women in the Providence Business New’s Business Women edition and in 2010, she received the Women in Insurance Leadership Award from Insurance Networking News Magazine.
