Help

BI’s Article search uses Boolean search capabilities. If you are not familiar with these principles, here are some quick tips.

To search specifically for more than one word, put the search term in quotation marks. For example, “workers compensation”. This will limit your search to that combination of words.

To search for a combination of terms, use quotations and the & symbol. For example, “hurricane” & “loss”.

Login Register Subscribe

Best large insurers

RANK 1: UNUM GROUP
Chattanooga, Tenn.
Employees: 9,105

Reprints
Best large insurers

For Chattanooga, Tenn.-based Unum Group, the key to best serving its clients are the people who serve those clients. This is why Unum offers its employees a great place to work.

As one of the world's leading employee benefits providers, Unum, this year's top-ranked large insurer among the Business Insurance 2009 Best Places to Work in Insurance, helps protect more than 25 million working people and their families in the event of illness or injury and offers comprehensive insurance solutions to help protect against the financial effects of accident, illness or death.

“Basically, our business—and probably all insurance—you're nothing without the people,” said Marie Clements, assistant vp for human resource strategies. “It really is a business that we're making a promise to our customers, and the only way we could deliver on that promise is through those individuals” who work with the customers.

At Unum, that approach manifests itself in a variety of ways, including the company's focus on employee training and development, Ms. Clements said.

“A second thing would be the quality of our communications,” she said. “There's a lot of two-way communications in our organization. And some fun things—the CEO has a blog.” Company newsletters and similar communications are “fun; they're upbeat; they keep a positive tone,” Ms. Clements said.

Unum also uses information technology to enable periodic “town hall meetings,” allowing employees from offices across the country to meet virtually to ask questions of the company's top executives.

The company also makes an effort to reward employees for performance. While many insurance industry companies reward top performers on the sales side, Unum also looks for ways to recognize the contributions of employees in other areas of the company.

For example, Unum has an annual event to reward customer service employees, bringing 500 of them each year to Disney World. “These are the rank-and-file employees,” Ms. Clements said. “The people who are on phone.”


2

CHUBB GROUP OF INSURANCE COS.

WARREN, N.J.

EMPLOYEES: 7,803

For more than 125 years, Chubb Group of Insurance Cos. has been delivering property/casualty insurance products and services to businesses and individuals around the world. Chubb offers businesses more than 170 commercial insurance products tailored to individual customer needs. Chubb also provides an array of property/casualty insurance products for individuals and families with fine homes and possessions.

What makes the company a great place to work? “Chubb holds its employees in high regards. Chubb promotes a culture in which everyone can contribute to the company's success and be rewarded fairly based on these contributions.”


3

PROGRESSIVE CORP.

MAYFIELD VILLAGE, OHIO

EMPLOYEES: 25,778

Progressive is one of the country's largest auto insurance groups, the largest seller of motorcycle policies, and a market leader in commercial auto insurance based on premiums written. Progressive offers its products, including personal and commercial auto, motorcycle, boat and recreational vehicle insurance, through more than 30,000 independent insurance agencies throughout the United States and directly from the company online and by telephone.

What makes the company a great place to work? “From our casual dress code to our broad benefits program to encouraging our employees to take risks to learn and grow, Progressive is an environment where people can thrive. Progressive...provides perks while you work, including onsite medical facilities, fitness centers, name-brand food chains, dry cleaning services, ATMs and a national online Work Perks discount program. We seek out innovative minds and buoy their creativity with a world-renowned contemporary art collection.”