PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

Moving forward and gaining momentum

Much is being written about the need for our industry to be more innovative and quicker to offer solutions to modern-day challenges. We proudly point to Cyber Liability and Penn ID, our personal auto usage-based insurance offering, as proof that we are responding to the call. In addition to the product-strengthening initiative, this annual report includes highlights of our achievements in relationship-building, automation-enhancing and service-improving initiatives during 2015, and into 2016 and beyond.

We kicked off 2015 with a round of town hall meetings that proved to be an excellent way to share our business strategy with all employees, as well as an opportunity to answer questions and listen to concerns and fresh ideas. In these sessions, it was apparent that our employees view the changes and challenges that our industry faces as opportunities for invigorating growth and high performance. Our employees care deeply about the role that they each play in servicing our agents and policyholders.

Following the town hall meetings, we had an opportunity to communicate with our agents during a series of sales meetings in the spring. The most enjoyable and beneficial part of the meetings was the time spent with our agents engaged in informal conversation. We are fortunate to have many loyal agents who understand and respect the value of a relationship-driven business model. Of course, we are always listening and acting on new ideas about how we can best support and service our agents and policyholders.

As we use technology and analytics to provide better products and services, we will not lose our personal touch. Relationships are still the key part of our business, and vitally important to us. Insurance products become more commodity-like every year, as do the services that we offer to assist our agents and their customers as they transact business with us. With pricing and product offerings so very similar between so many insurance carriers, agents and their customers gravitate to insurance carriers that are easy to do business with – through streamlined, efficient automated systems – and to carriers that differentiate themselves through service.

By building and maintaining strong, personal relationships with our agents, while at the same time offering competitive products, pricing and service, we build long-term, profitable business partnerships. By offering automated payment transactions, convenient claim-filing services, and prompt, empathetic, and professional claims service, we build policyholder loyalty.

This annual report includes highlights of our achievements in relationship-building, product-strengthening, automation-enhancing and service-improving initiatives during 2015, and into 2016 and beyond.