Annual Report 2023

Comments from the CEO

A person with short black and white hair wearing a blue shirt and a sports coat with a yellow tie, against a grey background.2023 was a historic year for The Concord Group. From remarkable growth, to extraordinary claims, to the celebration of our 95th anniversary and ensuing relocation of our headquarters out of our namesake city, 2023 was a year of momentous change for our company.

In celebration of the company’s 95th anniversary, we released our Mission Statement, formally pledging our commitment to be the most valued insurance company in the region by providing exceptional products and services to our policyholders, an inclusive environment to our associates, and our exclusive commitment to the independent agents we work with. We crafted Core Values for the company (Accountability, Engagement, and Prudence), and created a Peak Performers program, for both agents and associates, to support the essence of our Mission Statement. These efforts were meant not only to define our culture as we move forward, but also to put a “stake in the ground” on what The Concord Group values and aspires to be as an organization.

Our new company principles were immediately tested as our industry experienced some of the most devastating winter weather in the region’s history, generating more than eight times the catastrophic losses and 29% more homeowner claims than were experienced in the prior year. At the same time, our country was experiencing one of the worst inflationary environments in history, thus sending claims reserves skyrocketing to unprecedented levels. Despite these headwinds, our Claims associates delivered world-class service to our policyholders as they worked through overwhelming caseloads with poise, professionalism, and timeliness. Our Claims Division led the company by example, throughout theAn illustration of a stage coach with white wording in front stating, "protecting our customers' interests for 95 years. year, by embracing our new Mission and Core Values to the fullest.

It was an exceptionally difficult decision to relocate our company headquarters from Concord to Bedford, New Hampshire. However, we were excited to make the move, as it allowed us to tap into an employee pool almost ten-times larger than the Capital Region, and provide a state-ofthe-art work facility and upgraded technology infrastructure to our associates. Further, we were happy to keep our cherished Concord Coach #80 in the Concord area, where it was originally built. Additionally, by loaning it to the Abbot-Downing Historical Society it will be accessible to the
 public in the future. The transition to a centralized location within our expanding business territory was both critical and timely in fulfilling our Mission, and an essential part of our company’s evolution into a growing future.

The hard market of 2023 coincided well with the cultural and physical changes I’ve outlined, as we were able to leverage them, and our relationship with Auto-Owners Insurance Company, to remain ‘open for business’ when much of the market was not. The result was the greatest financial growth in company history, equating to $56.8 million in new written premium and 32,000 new policies. Thus, bringing our total written premium to $283.7 million servicing over 185,000 policies. This growth helped tremendously to offset the challenging year of claims our industry suffered, enabling The Concord Group to produce some of the strongest bottom-line Industry results in the region.

Our financial strength remains best-in-class, despite our single-year $29.9 million underwriting loss, as our policyholder surplus grew by $5.0 million to $455.4 million, and we maintained our A.M. Best “A+” (Superior) Financial Strength Rating.

The breadth of experiences and accomplishments our company underwent was fitting for our 95th anniversary year. As a result we are positioned well for success into the future. For this, I want to thank our associates and the independent agents we do business with. We are truly ‘in this together’ and the commitment, flexibility, and grace we show each other is the reason for our collective success. I also want to thank our directors and policyholders for their unwavering support of our leadership team and company. I look forward to a successful 2024 where we can begin to enjoy the fruits of our labors in 2023.

Signature of  David McCabe, President and Chief Executive Officer.

 

 

 

 

 

Inflationary impacts, catastrophic weather and unprecedented hard market conditions converged to create one of the most challenging periods the industry has ever seen.

With challenge comes opportunity.

We moved into 2023 with continued focus on Massachusetts and Commercial Lines throughout our footprint, and a refreshed underwriting attitude to support these critical growth targets. Rate adequacy, operational efficiency, and affiliate integrations remained key areas of attention. This strategy had us very well positioned for what was to come. As other carriers constricted and the market closed, we seized the opportunity to remain open to our agency partners. Working together, we wrote a wide range of quality business, growing written premium by 20%. We exceeded growth goals in Massachusetts and Commercial Lines, writing an additional 35% of written premium in each of these strategic focus areas. As inflation and weather combined to drive up the cost of claims, we remained disciplined in addressing rate needs across all lines of business. Our agency partners also rose to the challenge, working tirelessly to preserve business throughout the industry’s significant rate increase cycle. Affiliate integrations with Auto-Owners Insurance Company continued to advance in 2023. Most notably in our Underwriting area, we added a standout leader from the larger organization to oversee Commercial and Personal Lines underwriting, deepening our operational engagement with Auto-Owners. This allowed us to accelerate operational efficiencies through expansion of underwriting appetite, increased staff training and development, and the initiation of a thorough underwriting workflow review project.

In the face of historic industry challenges, our associates and agency partners worked together to weather the storm - strengthening relationships, delivering record growth, and setting the stage for increasing success in 2024.

A person with short black hair wearing a white shirt with a grey blazer and a maroon tie, against a grey background.

 

 

Michael P. Nolin Jr.

Senior Vice President & Chief Operating Office

 

 

Consolidated Statements of Financial Condition

Figure 1*

An illustration of a pie chart displaying Concord's combined assets. Bonds had the highest total followed by stocks and then real estate.
*Figure one is a circle graph showing Concord's combined assets from year ended December 31

 Assets  Totals
 Bonds  $528,862,331
 Stocks  $75,692,623
 Real Estate  $2,632,944
Cash  $43,754,398
  Interest Due and Accrued  $4,880,994

Premium Balances Due

 $56,991,420
Other Assets  $14,190,570

 Total Assets

 $727,007,280

Figure 2*

*Figure two is a bar graph showing policyholder surplus for year ended in December 31st and year total from 2019 through 2023.An illustration of a bar graph displaying Concord's policyholder surplus. Reserve Unearned Premiums had the highest total followed by reserve for losses and expenses. 

 Liabilities   Totals
 Reserve for Losses & Expenses  $88,538,474
 Reserve Unearned Premiums  $144,578,176
 Other Liabilities  $38,520,847
 Total Liabilities  $271,637,497

 

Surplus  Totals
Unassigned Surplus  $455,369,783
Total Liabilities and Surplus  $727,007,280

 

 Year  Totals
 2019  $364,803,463
 2020  $395,079,587
 2021  $441,106,187
 2022  $450,405,192
 2023  $455,369,783

Figure 3*

An illustration of a bar and line graph displaying Concord's combined ratio compared to the industry standard for years 2019 through 2023. 2023 had the highest total combined ratio at 108.9%.*Figure three is a bar and line graph showing profitability in 2023.

 Year   Combined Ratio 
 2019  92.5%*
 2020  91%*
 2021  92%*
 2022  97.5%*
 2023  108.9%
 *estimation and not exact percentage

 

 

 

 

Figure 4*

*Figure four is bar graph showing the percentage split of direct written premium of commercial lines and personal lines. 

An illustration of a split bar graph comparing total direct written premium of commercial lines and personal lines. 2023 had the highest total combined direct written premiums.

 

 Year  Totals  Percentage (%) Commercial Lines  Percentage (%) Personal Lines
 2019  $211,305,973  16.9%  83.1%
 2020  $223,247,110  19.4%  80.6%
 2021  $231,547,661  21.4%  78.6%
 2022  $236,506,220  22.7%  77.3%
 2023  $283,728,015  25.5%  74.5%

 

 

 

 

Providing quality claims service continues to be a distinguishing factor for The Concord Group.

Claims management, staff development, and process improvement—all aimed at enhancing the policyholder and agency experience—were focal points in 2023. With an abnormally high number of catastrophic weather events, it was imperative that our claims associates exercise our Core Values of Accountability and Engagement when providing exceptional service to our policyholders. I’m pleased to share that, with over a 97% satisfaction rating, our claims team upheld the high service standards our policyholders expect.

To maintain such high service ratings, staff development is an integral part of our claims strategy. We continued to invest heavily in training and educational programs at all levels throughout the year. The expansion of our Associate Claims Adjuster program and the facilitation of a formalized leadership program were examples of two highly successful associate engagement efforts in 2023.

As we look forward to 2024, we will continue to partner with our affiliate, Auto-Owners Insurance Company, on claims processing initiatives that will lower claims handling expenses and elevate our service product in both the auto and property lines of business. In keeping with our Mission to ‘provide exceptional service to our policyholders’, it will be essential that we remain aligned with the changing claims climate and service expectations of our partnering agents and policyholders now and into the future.

Agency engagement, expanding our footprint, and promoting our underwriting capacity within Commercial Lines were the primary focal points of Field Marketing in 2023.

With these goals in mind, we established a strong marketing team consisting of qualified corporate and field marketing representatives who understand the product and value propositions that The Concord Group brings to the New England insurance market.

Collaboration with our agents and underwriters was an integral part of our success in 2023. Our marketing staff worked as effective liaisons between our agents, underwriters, and home office staff to ensure policyholders are protected with the correct coverage for a premium that is profitable and competitive within the market. The teams worked hard together to ‘remain open for business’ in a year where many competitors were not, finding a broader range of coverage solutions than our company has offered in the past for those exposures that our agents face routinely.

As we head into 2024, the makeup of our marketing staff is stronger than ever. They remain the face of the company and we are excited about the skillsets they bring to the market. The Concord Group is committed to strong partnerships with independent agents throughout New England, which is reflected in the efforts made by our corporate and field marketing staff each and every day.

A person with short black hair wearing a white shirt with a grey blazer and a maroon tie, against a grey background.

 

 

Michael W. Percy

Vice President of Field Operations

New Hampshire

9,349  mi2

115 Agencies

1,092 Producers

$77.6M Written Premium

Maine

35,385 mi2

148 Agencies

1,486 Producers

$86.4M Written Premium 

Vermont

9,623 mi2

70 Agencies

765 Producers

$45.3M Written Premium

Massachusetts

10,565 mi2

208 Agencies

2,357 Producers

$74.5M Written Premium

Board Members

Brandi E. Holly

Daniel L. McCabe

Michael P. Nolin, Jr.

Michael W. Percy

Michael D. Pike

Jamie P. Whisnant

William F. Woodbury

Company Officers

Michael D. Pike

Chairman of the Board

Daniel L. McCabe

President & Chief Executive Officer

Michael P. Nolin, Jr.

Senior Vice President & Chief Operating Officer

Kevin M. Ferreri

Vice President, Corporate Marketing

Brandi E. Holly

Treasurer

Amy M. Kezar

Vice President, Information Technology

Michael W. Percy

Vice President, Field Operations

William F. Woodbury

Corporate Secretary

John S. Fournier

Assistant Vice President, Facilities