The National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies presents its 2022 Award in Innovation, sponsored by Guy Carpenter, to Acuity Insurance, headquartered in Sheboygan, Wis., for its innovative approach to strategic planning. This approach helps the company to set its direction, shape its brand, affirm it is headed on the right course, and allows it to make continual, incremental changes when they are needed.
“Over the past 20 years, our approach to strategic planning is directly correlated to our industry-leading financial and operational performance,” said Ben Salzmann, Acuity president and CEO. “From companywide growth in revenue and policyholders’ surplus to profitability that protects all our stakeholders, Acuity continues to surpass our competition.”
The impact of Acuity’s approach to strategic planning over the past two decades has enabled the company to experience companywide growth in revenue more than 2.6 times higher than the industry average rate; policyholder surplus more than 4.2 times higher than the industry average; voluntary turnover five times lower than the industry average; and revenue per employee more than 22 percent higher than the industry.
“Our strategic planning approach keeps us at the forefront of new developments, emerging trends, and forces shaping the insurance business. It is designed not just to help us react to changing conditions, but to capitalize on disruptive and potentially revolutionary developments taking place in insurance and beyond,” said Melissa Winter, Acuity’s vice president – Business Consulting. “We thank NAMIC for recognizing our innovation with this award, a clear reflection of the phenomenal team at Acuity that makes our success a reality.”
In presenting the overall award to Acuity during NAMIC’s 2022 Management Conference, Neil Alldredge, NAMIC’s president and CEO, remarked “Acuity clearly believes planning is a continual, disciplined, iterative process that helps the company manage organizational risk while maintaining relevance. It is critical we embrace and implement innovative processes, technologies, and, more importantly, ways of thinking to move our industry forward. Innovation, in whatever form, ensures that the industry stays competitive and provides the high level of service policyholders have come to rely on. I am grateful for the ingenuity and commitment Acuity has contributed to the insurance industry.”
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