Our weekly column of items of interest from in and around the insurance industry that while may not have warranted an in-depth article are, nonetheless, still worth knowing about.
Results from Vermont Mutual’s 191st Annual Meeting
While the results of Vermont Mutual’s Annual Meeting were issued back on May 1st, we are including them along with this week’s articles which focus on all of the quarterly results of Major Insurers for the first half of 2018.
Over the course of 2017, Vermont Mutual Insurance Group increased its direct written premium by 7% to $464,285,033, grew policyholders’ surplus by more than 10% to $464,866,549 and was recognized as a top insurance company nationally for the ninth consecutive year.
President and CEO Dan Bridge commented, “I am pleased with the accomplishments of the Group in 2017 as we continued to strengthen the Company by achieving consistent underwriting profits and superior policyholder surplus growth. In addition, our performance was again recognized by Ward Group as best-in-class on a national level and we again earned a Best Places to Work distinction in Vermont. Importantly, we distributed more than $300,000.00 to organizations in need through the Vermont Mutual Charitable Giving Fund.”
Executive Vice President and COO, Mark McDonnell, remarked “It was another great year for Vermont Mutual.” McDonnell continued “Once again A.M. Best affirmed our financial strength rating of A+ Superior. We made significant progress on our operational and technology improvements and, thanks to the efforts of our entire Vermont Mutual team and the support from our Agency Partners, our policyholder retention remains very strong.”
In addition to the election of company officers, several Directors were recognized for achieving specific milestones in their Board of Director service to Vermont Mutual including: Thomas J. Tierney (25 years), John D. Hashagen (30 years), George D. Milne (40 years) and William H. Brooks (45 years).
The following officers were elected at this year’s annual meeting:
- Daniel C. Bridge, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer
- Mark J. McDonnell, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer
- Richard N. Bland, Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary
- Susan L. Chicoine, Vice President Human Resources
- Joanne M. Currier, Vice President Information Technology
- Bryan Mjannes, Vice President Information Technology
- David N. DeLuca, Vice President Claims
- Brian C. Eagan, Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer
- Shaun P.T. Farley, Vice President Marketing
- Terry J. Moore, Vice President Underwriting
AM Best Upgrades Credit Rating of Bunker Hill Insurance
A.M. Best has upgraded the Financial Strength Rating (FSR) to A- (Excellent) from B++ (Good) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Ratings (Long-Term ICR) to “a-” from “bbb” for the members of Bunker Hill Insurance Group (Bunker Hill). The outlook of the Long-Term ICR has been revised to stable from positive, while the outlook for the FSR remains stable.
Concurrently, A.M. Best has affirmed the Financial Strength Rating (FSR) of A- (Excellent) and Long-Term ICRs of “a-” of the members of Plymouth Rock Assurance Group (Plymouth Rock). The outlook of these Credit Ratings (ratings) remains stable. The companies are operating subsidiaries of their parent holding company, The Plymouth Rock Company Incorporated. All companies are headquartered in Boston, MA.
The ratings of Bunker Hill reflect its balance sheet strength, which A.M. Best categorizes as very strong, as well as strong operating performance, limited business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management. The rating upgrades of the members of Bunker Hill are based on the companies’ improved risk-adjusted capitalization, predominantly a result of enhancements to the catastrophe reinsurance program and solid growth in policyholders’ surplus. Although there has been some modest weather-driven volatility, the core book of business has performed well, primarily due to underwriting discipline and rate actions.
