Urban Insurance Partners Institute Web Site
Supporter Information
Association Profile
Name of Association
National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies
Street Address
3601 Vincennes Road
City, State and Zip Code
Indianapolis, IN 46268
Types of companies served
NAMIC's membership includes five of the 10 largest property/casualty carriers, every size regional and national property/casualty insurer and hundreds of farm mutual insurance companies.
Number of members
More than 1,200
Overall description of the association
NAMIC is a full-service national trade association with more than 1,200 member companies that underwrite 40 percent ($123.3 billion) of the property/casualty insurance premium in the United States. NAMIC's membership includes five of the 10 largest p/c carriers, every size regional and national p/c insurer and hundreds of farm mutual insurance companies. NAMIC, founded in 1895, benefits member companies through government relations, public affairs, education and arbitration services, and insurance and employee benefit programs. Information about the association, its member companies and the property/casualty insurance industry can be found at NAMIC Online, www.namic.org.
Approximate total premium volume of companies served
NAMIC member companies underwrite $123.3 billion of the property/casualty insurance premium in the United States.
Mission statement
NAMIC: Turning Issues into Positive Results
Describe some urban affairs related activities in which the insurance industry and your association are involved.
The Insurance Industry's Investments in Our Communities
The insurance industry - companies, employees and agents - invests in our
nation's urban and rural communities every day. Lately, many industries and
businesses have discovered the returns to be obtained from being a good
corporate citizen. From its very beginnings, the U.S. insurance industry has
realized the returns, both economic and social, from investing in the
communities where its policyholders live and work.
Community-focused solutions that assist and improve America's minority
neighborhoods capture the spirit of America because they involve teamwork,
cooperation and partnership. Improved communities are better places in which
to live and thrive. They are also better risks and provide better business
opportunities. The insurance industry has demonstrated that empowering and
developing communities makes good business sense. Thriving communities are
hotbeds of insurance activity, both in personal lines insurance and in
commercial lines.
A sense of corporate responsibility permeates the industry from its
investments in local municipal bond issues to its present focus on urban
markets. As many insurance executives have stated: Giving back is good
business and good citizenship.
This section gives a sense of the scope of the insurance industry's
involvement in and contribution to community development, particularly in
urban and minority communities.
Six Areas of Investment in Communities
Many insurance companies, their employees, and agents invest in their
communities. Numerous insurer-supported programs geared to inner-city and
low-income populations specifically benefit minority communities. Insurance
companies support the local chapters of several national organizations with
programs targeted at minority communities.
Insurance companies, their employees, and agents provide program support or
funding in six broad areas that serve minority communities. These six areas
are:
* urban and civic organizations,
* health and safety programs,
* business development,
* education,
* volunteerism, and
* community improvement and development programs.
A few examples of the insurance industry's investment in communities follow.
Contributions or matching gifts to urban and civic organizations help
provide mortgages and affordable housing, insurance and investment products,
and consumer goods to members of minority groups. For example, 10 percent of
one insurance company's taxable income each year funds Habitat for Humanity.
Programs or funding for business development in the minority community
include agent partnerships, funding of minority business organizations and
mentoring programs. One insurance company supports minority banking, while
another has instituted agent/insurance company networking sessions.
Insurance companies, their employees, and agents provide programs or funding
for education serving the minority community. Seattle's 20-year-old
Accounting Career Awareness Program for middle and high school students
increases the number of minorities in accounting and related business areas.
A program with Howard University and other local universities brings young
people into the insurance industry, trains them and provides jobs. Across
the country, insurers are taking steps to increase the number of minority
agents writing insurance in order to make coverage more accessible to
minority customers.
Many programs promote volunteerism that chiefly benefits the minority
community. The Insurance Industry Charitable Fund contributes both valuable
charitable dollars and volunteer hours to make a difference in communities.
Minority communities are served in areas including disaster preparedness,
health and quality of life and targeted educational programs.
Insurance companies, their employees, and agents provide programs or funding
for community improvement and development. Consider the following programs,
which are all funded in part by the insurance industry:
• Jubilee Housing funds individual housing restorations in Baltimore City.
• Chicago's Neighborhood Housing Services rebuilds neighborhoods by providing assistance with conventional lending, budgeting, home ownership and insurance counseling.
• The Indianapolis Neighborhood Housing Partnership, a nonprofit housing intermediary, provides counseling services, training classes and affordable loan products to help families achieve homeownership.
• An African-American savings and loan provides mortgages in the inner city.
• Community development corporations rehabilitate substandard housing for home ownership and offer a full range of support services including budget counseling and training on the responsibilities of home ownership.
Model Programs and Good Corporate Citizens
The insurance industry is particularly proud of a number of additional programs that could be used as model programs elsewhere.
The Washington Insurance Council, which represents 48 insurance companies
and organizations doing business in the state, provided core funding to
inaugurate the Seattle Neighborhood Action Program (SNAP) reduces crime and
improves the quality of life in the inner city.
Supported by the property/casualty insurance industry, the Urban Insurance
Partners Institute is dedicated to maximizing property insurance
availability in America's urban communities. It serves as a resource for
insurance companies seeking to become more actively involved in urban
markets. The institute currently works in eight urban insurance markets
creating programs and partnerships that can be duplicated in other urban
communities nationwide.
A number of insurance companies are the catalysts and financial prime movers
behind a wide array of community development programs. Among many good
corporate citizens, these are especially noteworthy:
State Farm Insurance Companies' associates support their community by
providing leadership skills, talent, tens of millions of dollars in
financial contributions, and elbow grease. In 1996 alone, more than 2,500
employees and agents worked on neighborhood cleanups, paint-a-thons, and
NeighborWorks programs for the more than 70 NHS organizations. In addition, 78 employees, agents and executives serve on various boards of directors, boards of trustees committees and projects for these NHS organizations. State Farm is working proactively to restore the urban core.
Nationwide Mutual Insurance, a company which helped create the Urban
Insurance Partners Institute, has expanded its presence in urban markets
with the opening of sales and service centers and significant financial
investments and grants to housing groups. Nationwide has invested $10
million with the Neighborhood Housing Services of America and another $10
million with the National Equity Fund to help meet the housing needs of
low-income renters and homebuyers across the country. Nationwide has an
active plan to grow market share and recognizes that urban markets represent
a great business opportunity.
Prudential Property and Casualty Company conducts a cooperative program with
the ACORN Housing Corporation to increase the availability of homeowners
insurance in Philadelphia's low- and moderate-income neighborhoods.
Participants receive a premium discount for homeowners insurance. Prudential
has eliminated minimum property value as a criterion for insuring houses.
The company will locate an insurance office and sales representative in the
community to make access to the program easier.
Prudential's Urban Availability Task Force surveys company activity in urban
areas of each state to determine if problems exist that the company can
confront with the assistance of appropriate community groups.
Association Urban Affairs Contact Name:
Chuck Chamness, APR
Address
3601 Vincennes Road
Indianapolis, IN 46268
Phone
(T) (317) 875-5250
(F) (317) 879-8408
E-mail address
cchamness@namic.org
Organization Web site address
www.namic.org