Bridge and McDonnell Elected To Top Posts At Vermont Mutual's Annual Meeting

Daniel Bridge is elected Chairman at the 189th Annual Meeting

On April 20, 2016, the Vermont Mutual Insurance Group celebrated its 189th annual meeting. The mutual insurer, first chartered in 1828, is one of the ten oldest mutual insurance companies in the country.

During this year’s meeting, current President and CEO, Daniel C. Bridge, was elected as the Chairman of the Board of Directors. He succeeds former Chairman, President and CEO Thomas J. Tierney.

“Since joining Vermont Mutual in 2009, Dan has played an integral role in guiding the direction of this well-respected group of companies” said Thomas J. Tierney, Vermont Mutual’s former Chairman, President and CEO. “The Board is more than pleased to have Dan accept the responsibilities of Chairman and we have every confidence in his ability to continue to lead the organization into the future.”

“I am truly honored to accept the position of Chairman” said Mr. Bridge. “As we move forward we are blending a rich and successful history with modernization efforts that will allow us to remain a stable, predictable and competent partner for our agents and a financially secure insurance solution for our policyholders.”

Mark McDonnell also promoted during the annual meeting

Vermont Mutual has promoted Mark J. McDonnell to Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of the Insurance Group. In his new role with the insurer, Mr. McDonnell will assume overall responsibility for Claims, in addition to his existing duties in supervising Marketing, Underwriting, Product Development, R&D/Pricing, Loss Control, Compliance and Communications.

“Since joining Vermont Mutual, Mark has been instrumental in directing a number of strategic initiatives, as well as providing day to day leadership support within our organization. His leadership and wealth of experience will help to ensure the long-term growth and success of Vermont Mutual Insurance Group and I look forward to partnering with Mark as we move the organization forward” said President and Chief Executive Officer, Daniel C. Bridge.

An industry veteran with over 30 years’ experience in the property and casualty industry, he has held a number of management positions in a variety of both regional and national carriers. He has been with Vermont Mutual for the past two years, since joining the company as Senior Vice President in 2014.

In addition to his lengthy career experience, Mr. McDonnell also holds various insurance designations including a CPCU, CIC, AIT, AAM and AIM. He also serves on the Ethics Committee of the National CPCU Society and IIABA’s Council for Best Practices and has served on the boards of several community organizations and industry panels during his career. A graduate from Albright College, Mr. McDonnell also obtained his Masters of Business Administration from Eastern University.

“I’m very grateful for the support and confidence shown in me by Dan and our Board of Directors, and look forward to continuing to work with the great team at Vermont Mutual, and our Agency Partners that represent us so well in their markets,” said Mr. McDonnell in an official statement.

Vermont Mutual please with 2015 results

During this year’s annual meeting, Mr. Bridge noted the positive results that the mutual insurer saw in 2015. During the past year, the group increased its direct written premium to an unprecedented $401,019,601. In addition, the mutual insurer noted that its policyholders’ surplus increased to an all-time high of $380,880,769.

“In spite of the historic snowfall and resulting losses in parts of our territory in 2015, we were pleased to remain profitable and achieve our growth goals for the year. We also executed several key strategic initiatives that will benefit our company, agency partners and customers for years to com,” said Mr. Bridge during his comments at the annual meeting. “We are also very pleased to be recognized by Ward Group, with our seventh consecutive Top 50 Company award, and the affirmation of our A+ (Superior) rating by A.M. Best.”