A Message from Kristen H. Martin – President & CEO
The valuable relationships that are so vital to what we do are defined by strength, stability, and resilience forged throughout more than 110 years in business. It’s these relationships – with our agents, policyholders, community, and each other – that enable us to continue on a successful course.
It is also through this strength, stability, and resilience that we are able to overcome obstacles, address current and emerging risks, and prepare now for the challenges we may encounter down the road – all while building business and making the customer experience we provide even better, day-in and day-out, through the service of a dedicated team.
Continuing Our Good Work – Together
With teamwork at the forefront, 2024 again reflected:
- Working together to achieve our business plan and to continually outperform our peers
- Our focus on providing our customers with an exceptional customer experience
- Our commitment to the independent agent model
- Delivering the best products, services, and systems to meet our customers' needs – such as our Claim Transformation project, one of the largest and most ambitious projects in our company’s history, providing a state-of-the-art, easy-to-use system for faster claims handling and resolution.
As a result, our collective accomplishments during the year included:
- Net Written Premium of $1.7 billion
- Combined Ratio of 97.5
- Growth of 10.2%
- Our company being named a Top Insurance Employer by Insurance Business America magazine for the 7th year; a “Top 50” performing property-casualty insurance company by The Ward Group for the 3rd year; a Super Regional Property/Casualty Insurer™ for the 18th year by Demotech, Inc.; and to the Rising Insurance Star Executives ELITE50 internships list for the 4th year
- AM Best upgrading our Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating (Long-Term ICR) from “a” to “a+”. Our company is rated* “A” (Excellent)
*For the latest rating, visit www.ambest.com.
What's Important
We will seize the opportunities to support our policyholders, helping to protect what’s important to them, while working closely with our agents to write profitable business as we continue to position ourselves for success as a team and as a company.
Kristen H. Martin
President and Chief Executive Officer
Fostering Their Good Work
Helping to make our community a better place to live and work includes helping the nonprofits that provide valuable programs and services to children, adults, and families.
Founded in 1987 in advance of our company’s 75th anniversary, The Utica National Group Foundation has awarded millions of dollars in grants since then to assist these organizations with their good work. The following grants were awarded in 2024:
General Community
Abraham House |
$1,500 |
American Red Cross |
$20,000 |
Boilermaker Road Race |
$40,000 |
Broadway Theater League |
$1,500 |
Central Association for the Blind & Visually Impaired, Inc. |
$3,000 |
Clear Path for Veterans, Inc. |
$25,000 |
The Community Foundation of Herkimer & Oneida Counties |
$35,000 |
Cystic Fibrosis Foundation |
$1,000 |
The Dana Farber Cancer Institute |
$500 |
The Good News Foundations of CNY |
$1,000 |
Great South Bay YMCA |
$500 |
Honor Flight Syracuse |
$500 |
The Hope House |
$25,000 |
Johnson Park Center |
$500 |
Joseph D. Corr Police Benevolent Association |
$500 |
Make-A-Wish Foundation |
$1,500 |
Midtown Utica Community Center |
$5,000 |
MVHS Foundation |
$200,000 |
Notre Dame NJROTC |
$500 |
On Point for College Utica |
$25,000 |
The Ride for Missing Children |
$1,500 |
Resource Center for Independent Living (RCIL) |
$500 |
The Root Farm |
$2,500 |
St. Jude Children's Hospital |
$10,000 |
Salvation Army |
$5,500 |
Special Olympics |
$500 |
Stephen Siler Tunner to Towers Foundation |
$500 |
The Summit Center |
$500 |
Unadilla Community Farm Education Center, Inc. |
$1,500 |
United Way of North Carolina |
$15,000 |
United Way of the Central Savannah River Area |
$15,000 |
YWCA of Northwestern Connecticut |
$1,000 |
Subtotal |
$441,500 |
|---|
United Way Contributions
Long Island United Way |
$2,500 |
United Way of Buffalo & Erie County |
$750 |
United Way of Central Ohio |
$1,500 |
United Way of Greater Richmond |
$1,500 |
United Way of Massachusetts Bay |
$1,500 |
United Way of Metro Chicago |
$1,500 |
United Way of Metro Atlanta, Inc. |
$1,500 |
United Way of Metropolitan Dallas |
$1,500 |
United Way of the Mohawk Valley |
$69,575.50 |
Subtotal |
$81,825.50 |
|---|
Matching Gifts to Colleges & Secondary Schools
Elgin Community College Foundation |
$1,000 |
LeMoyne |
$500 |
Mount Paran Christian School |
$50 |
St. Bonaventure University |
$1,000 |
St. Lawrence University |
$125 |
University at Albany Foundation |
$100 |
Utica University |
$2,000 |
Subtotal |
$4,775 |
|---|
Total General Fund: $528,100.50
Community Unity
The long-standing tradition of supporting the work of the United Way in the communities where our company has offices reaches across decades. We are grateful for the generosity of our team members during our annual campaign to help the United Way help those in need. Donations from team members stay local to the United Way in their community.
Happy Faces, Happy Feet
Summers in Central New York wouldn’t be complete without the annual Boilermaker Road Race weekend of activities held every July in Utica. We are pleased that The Utica National Kids Run and Boilermaker 5K presented by Utica National are among the rewarding events children and adults can enjoy.
The Kids Run introduces hundreds of youngsters each year to the sport of running – all while having fun – and is spearheaded by a team of dedicated volunteers comprised of our employees and their families. The 5K enables several thousand runners to traverse the streets of Utica while being cheered on by thousands of spectators during the 3.1-mile run.
Marking 110 Years
The Utica National companies are headquartered in New Hartford, New York, and began in 1914 with the founding of our principal company, the Utica Mutual Insurance Company, as a Workers’ Compensation carrier. 2024 marked the company’s 110th year of helping people and businesses feel secure, appreciated, and respected thanks to our team members’ efforts in helping our agents, policyholders, community, and each other.
Our company offers a wide range of Commercial Lines and Personal Lines insurance products, and is a nationally recognized insurer for various specialized markets – including coverages for small businesses, educational institutions, volunteer fire departments, and many others. Our Agents’ Errors & Omissions (E&O) program, providing professional liability coverage for insurance agents and brokers, is one of the largest and longest-running E&O programs in the nation.
Our team is made up of more than 1,400 people countrywide and we sell our products through more than 2,500 independent insurance agents around the country. The Utica Mutual Insurance Company and its affiliates are rated* “A” or “Excellent” with a positive outlook by the AM Best Company, one of the premier insurance rating organizations in the United States.
*For the latest rating, visit www.ambest.com.
It's a Team Effort
Working together helps to create an atmosphere of success, accomplishment, and recognition. During 2024, our company was cited for a variety of efforts spearheaded by teamwork:
Way to Go – 7 in a Row
Utica Mutual Insurance Company, as the principal member company of the Utica National Insurance Group, was named a Top Insurance Employer by Insurance Business America magazine for the 7th consecutive year. The recognition is based on survey responses by an anonymous group of team members who completed an evaluation of several workplace metrics, including benefits, compensation, culture, employee development, and more.
From the hundreds of organizations that participated nationwide, only 43 hit the high standard needed to secure a spot on the list. Our company was 1 of just 8 companies to place in the “1,000+ employees” category.
Working Toward an “A+”
Our team’s ambitions continued to be set on earning a Financial Strength Rating (FSR) of “A+” rating from the AM Best Company, one of the premier insurance rating organizations in the United States.
In 2024, AM Best upgraded our Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating (Long-Term ICR) from “a” to “a+”. This is an important step toward our ultimate goal – and we strive to remain excellent at risk selection, pricing, claims management, all while being expense efficient, to have our FSR upgraded.
*For the latest rating, visit www.ambest.com.
3 for 3
For the 3rd straight year, the member companies of the Utica National Insurance Group were named to the list of the 50 top-performing property-casualty insurance companies in the United States by The Ward Group, a consulting firm specializing in the insurance industry.
The Ward Group analyzed the financial performance of nearly 3,000 property-casualty insurance companies in the United States and identified the top performers for their outstanding financial results in the areas of safety, consistency, and performance over a five-year period (2019-2023). The Ward Group looks for companies that pass stringent financial stability requirements and measures their ability to grow while maintaining strong capital positions and underwriting results.
18 Years and Counting
For the 18th consecutive year, Utica Mutual Insurance Company was named a Super Regional Property/Casualty Insurer™ according to an assessment by Demotech, Inc. Our company placed 61 among only 142 Property/Casualty Insurers countrywide named to the list. The ranking is determined by Direct Premium Written as of December 31, 2023.
Future Insurance Professionals in the Making
For the 4th year, our company was named to the Rising Insurance Star Executives (RISE) Elite 50 Internships List – recognizing the 50 best internship programs in the insurance industry across the country. Criteria include full-time employment opportunity, diversity, inclusion, culture, training and mentoring, executive-level exposure, and others. Nominations are scored and then reviewed by a panel of RISE Advisory Board members.
2024 By the Numbers
Financial Highlights
Assets
Direct Written Premium
Policyholders' Security Fund
Dividends to Policyholders
Liabilities
Ratio of Premium to Surplus