Our North Star Project
Hello. My name is John Fitzhugh and I am president of Union Mutual and New England Guaranty insurance companies. I want to briefly tell you about a modernization program we are rolling out in 2012 that will affect all of our agents and policyholders.
This project, which we call North Star, will do three things:
First, by changing the software that governs our policies, we will be providing more efficient and streamlined operations. From their desktops, agents will be able easily to quote, issue, and amend policies. Policyholders, with a password, will be able to pull up policy and claim history, billing details, and policy language. They will be able to generate a request to their agent to amend their policies. All this and more will be available securely on-line, 24-7.
Second, we are updating our policies to the latest editions available. Many times this will provide policyholders with more coverage and less ambiguity. It should also reduce the amount of paperwork and endorsements.
Finally, we are revising our pricing so that, to the extent feasible for a company our size, the premium for a policy matches the costs associated with the risk insured. On renewal, some policyholders will find their premiums increasing; some decreasing. But as members of a mutual insurance company, all should know we are seeking to be fair to all concerned.
These changes I describe will occur gradually as existing policies are renewed or new policies written on the new system. We are beginning with our business policies and then anticipate “going live” with home and auto in late spring. Some policyholders may not notice a change until 2013.
At our company we pride ourselves on a high retention rate; nine out of ten policyholders renew with us year after year. We think that is because we offer superior service and superior products at fair prices. We believe our North Star project will continue that reputation into the future. Thank you for doing business with us.
