Small Group Life/Health Insurers

For the top-ranked small group life/health insurer in this year's Business Insurance Best Places to Work in Insurance, the company's mission carries over to the way it treats its employees.

The result is that the Salt Lake City-based Equitable Life & Casualty Insurance Co. is a great place to work.

“Our mission is to do well by doing good because we care,” said Susan Perham, human resources officer at Equitable Life & Casualty. “We do things because we care, and that really contributes to the family environment we have and culture.”

A 75-year-old company, Equitable is among Utah's largest insurers and holds certificates of authority to do business in 45 states and the District of Columbia.

Equitable seeks to nurture what it calls an “employee-powered innovative culture” open to the ideas and contributions of all, as well as a culture of growth and learning among its employees, where employees welcome “ownership of responsibility” and understand their roles and how they contribute to the company's goals.

“We really have a very flat organization. Lots of open doors,” Ms. Perham said. “It's very easy to communicate, walk into the president's office and give him your thoughts about something. I'd like to think we have very open, transparent communications.”

Ms. Perham also credited Equitable's employees for their contribution to a high-quality workplace. “Really, overall it's our employees that make it such a great place to work,” she said.

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AdvoCare Group provides workers compensation, vocational rehabilitation, third-party administration, group health, wellness and related services to employers, injured workers, insurance companies, trust officers and attorneys. Founded by clinicians, the AdvoCare Group of companies focuses on effective procedures and protocols to help employers with return injured and disabled workers to productive lives.

What makes the company a great place to work? “Employees love our organization because they are able to make a difference by means of their work performed in an environment that is flexible, supportive, challenging and fun. Our company's culture supports autonomy in decisionmaking, provides training and internal growth opportunities and rewards and recognizes for exemplary work....We have an abundance of unique cultural aspects in the organization for employees...and have access to on-site conveniences. We offer a generous paid-time-off policy and have created an excellent benefits package.”