Obtained Regulatory Approval by both the Massachusetts and Vermont Divisions of Insurance
Norfolk & Dedham (N&D®) and Union Mutual announced today that they have received approval from the Massachusetts and Vermont Departments of Insurance to affiliate the Companies, which are each rated A (Excellent) with a Stable outlook by AM Best.
Existing leadership at the respective companies will remain in place with Joel Murray remaining in the position of President & CEO of The Norfolk & Dedham Group® companies and Lisa Keysar, as President & CEO of Union Mutual. Murray will also serve as Board Chair of the newly created Group.
The Companies will engage in a collaborative process to assess opportunities for integration and profitable growth. Although it will take time to fully realize all the advantages of the affiliation, immediate benefits will occur through the Group’s increased scale and geographic diversification. In the near term, each of the Companies’ current systems, products, underwriting appetites and guidelines remain unchanged. With an increased focus on core competencies over time, the Group plans to offer more robust products and services for its highly valued agency partners, as well as for current and prospective policyholders.
“This milestone marks the end of a deliberate and concerted effort to satisfy the regulatory and legal requirements of affiliation and we thank the respective insurance departments for their approval,” said Murray. “We are now able to work more closely together to create a stronger, combined mutual insurance group.”
“Our goal is to continue to build upon the success of each company for the mutual benefit of our employees, policyholders and agency partners,” added Union Mutual’s President & CEO Lisa Keysar. “As we look forward, the affiliation allows for a high-level partnership between companies that are independently strong but will be stronger together.”
Through the affiliation, the Boards of Directors will be restructured in what the Companies’ domiciled states of Vermont and Massachusetts refer to as an “acquisition of control.” The newly formed Boards of Directors for the affiliated entities will be made up of 4 former Union Mutual Directors and 8 former N&D directors. Each company will continue to market products under their existing brands in each of their respective marketplaces and will maintain their respective headquarters in Dedham, MA and Montpelier, VT.
The N&D and Union Mutual Insurance Group writes a mix of personal and commercial lines business in eight states with approximately $650 million in direct written premium and over $650 million in policyholder surplus. The group will have approximately 250 employees and 600 independent agents with 1,000 agency offices across the Northeast.
Source: Norfolk & Dedham
