By Mark Putnam
Staff writer
PRESQUE ISLE — Maine Mutual Group is already known statewide as one of the best places to work and as a regional leader in the insurance industry, however recently the company received national accolades for its financial acumen and overall strength in the marketplace.
MMG was named by Ward Group as among the 50 top performing insurance companies in the property/casualty sector. Ward is a globally recognized provider of operational and compensation benchmarking and best practices services for insurance companies.
To develop its annual list of the top 50 performing insurance companies, Ward Group analyzes the financial performance of over 3,000 property-casualty insurance companies domiciled in the United States and identifies the top performers based on objective data and subjective quality measures. Each company has passed all safety and consistency screens and achieved superior performance over the five years analyzed.
The Ward’s 50 property-casualty group of insurance companies produced a 10.6 percent statutory return on average equity from 2009 to 2013 compared to 6.9 percent for the property-casualty industry overall. This is the 24th consecutive year Ward Group has conducted the analysis.
Also, last week, MMG officials learned that their financial strength rating with A.M. Best has been upgraded from A- to A.
Larry Shaw, MMG’s president and CEO, said the back-to-back achievements, especially the Top 50 listing, caught him by surprise.
“I didn’t see this coming but it really drives home the point that we are financially strong and that our business model is strongly competing in a highly competitive market,” he said, adding, “The best news is that we are well positioned for continued success.”
The company, with 180 employees in five states, represents 450 agencies/offices and 125,000 policy holders. Shaw credits MMG’s talented staff and motivated managers with helping place the firm among the best in its class.
“We’ve always believed our business model … that high tech, high touch approach … separates us from the competition. Our employees naturally provide a high level of service and take a lot of pride in what they do. It’s a tribute to how each of them does their job every day.”
“Most insurers saw improvements in both financial returns and overall premium levels,” explained Jeff Rieder, partner and head of Ward Group. “In clear signs of continued optimism, our research shows considerable investments are being made in technology, product enhancements and identifying ways to deliver a better customer experience. In selecting the Ward’s 50, we identified companies that pass financial stability requirements and measure their ability to grow while maintaining strong capital positions and underwriting results.”
Shaw agrees. “We give our customers the tools and support to sell and win business. Building relationships, providing exceptional customer service and overlaying that with state-of-the-art technology always has been something that allows us to compete successfully.”
MMG, he said, must continue to innovate and maintain a personal relationship with its customers as it moves forward.
“Some of our challenges are tied to a very competitive industry — we compete against those companies you see on TV all the time,” he said.
Star-Herald photo/Mark Putnam
NATIONAL ACCOLADES — MMG Insurance in Presque Isle was named among the nation’s leading property-casualty companies for financial performance and saw its rating rise from A- to A. Company managers who posed Monday with the Ward Group plaque include, from left, front row: Steve Morgan, assistant casualty claims manager; Doug Hazlett, VP/personal lines manager; Jason Ennis, enterprise architecture manager; Larry Shaw, president and CEO; Michael Young, senior VP/chief financial officer and treasurer; Pamela Johnson, VP/commercial lines manager; and Keith Sperrey, marketing director. Back row: Michael Thibodeau, accounting manager; Dianne Collins, customer service manager; Lynn Lombard, VP/director of human resources; Stephen Gallant, senior VP/external operations; Matthew McHatten, EVP/chief operating officer; Andrew Grass, assistant commercial lines manager; and Matthew Cote, assistant personal lines manager.
