The chair in the president’s office at Harford Mutual Insurance Companies must be extra comfortable, since it hasn’t been vacated many times in nearly 160 years.
Philip J. Raub is only the 10th president in the company’s long history, and has reason to be proud of the legacy. The Bel Air, Maryland, based company, which is a new member of the Urban Insurance Partners Institute, has grown from humble beginnings to a policyholder base of about 45,000 today.
The insurer was started in 1842 by farmers who were in an underserved market and
decided to band together. As the times changed and farming dwindled, Harford
also underwent a metamorphosis.“We don’t write any farms today,” relates Raub. “Now it’s mostly commercial. We found we were more successful in commercial lines than we were in personal lines.”
About 90 percent of Harford’s business comes from insuring artisan contractors, such as carpenters, electricians and plumbers; restaurants; and commercial habitation, including apartments and condominiums. The other 10 percent is homeowners insurance, dwelling fire, and personal umbrella policies.
“Our business is significantly in urban and suburban areas,” Raub reports.
Harford Mutual’s total premium volume is $93 million, generated through the independent agency system. The company operates in Maryland, Pennsylvania, Delaware, New Jersey, Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee and the District of Columbia. A large percentage of business comes from Maryland and Pennsylvania.
“We try to be good corporate citizens in all of our work,” says Raub, about Harford Mutual’s decision to become a member of UIPI. “We know there are issues to be addressed in urban insurance about how the industry is perceived. We are happy to be a new member of the institute.”
The nonprofit Urban Insurance Partners Institute is the only insurance industry organization solely dedicated to urban affairs.