Harford Mutual, workers comp specialty insurer to merge

Harford Mutual Insurance Group said late Thursday that monoline workers compensation insurer ClearPath Mutual Insurance Co. would merge into the larger property/casualty insurer.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Louisville, Kentucky-based ClearPath, which until 2018 was known as the Kentucky Workers’ Compensation Fund, or KESA, offers coverage in Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee and West Virginia. It operates through independent agents and relationships with local chambers of commerce and other associations.

ClearPath writes more than $52 million in direct written premium across about 7,000 policies, according to a statement by Bel Air, Maryland-based Harford.

According to its 2021 annual report, the latest year for which figures are available, ClearPath reported a $5.3 million profit for the year and a combined ratio of 103.5%. It had $253.8 million in admitted assets. It will continue under its existing name after the merger, the statement said.

Harford Mutual, which writes a broad range of commercial lines in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast, reported $290 million in direct written premium in 2021, net income of $30.7 million and a combined ratio of 91.6%. It had $731.4 million in total admitted assets.

In the statement, Jeff Borkowski, president and CEO of ClearPath, said the merger “will provide us with the scalable infrastructure and regional reach to meet our strategic goals.”