The windows of the Co-operative Insurance Companies’ office in Middlebury, Vermont overlook the scenic Vermont hillside. Inside Marie Jewett’s office the decorations include pictures of her husband, four children and grand son. Marie has successfully balanced family life with the demands of building and running not just a world class insurance company, but the largest insurer of homes in Vermont.
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Marie wasn’t always the CEO. In fact, she started at Co-operative insurance as a file room clerk. Two weeks before we met in Middlebury, Marie celebrated her 40th anniversary with Co-operative Insurance. The last ten years of which she has been at the helm of the company.
The Path From the File Room to the Corner Office
Marie’s path to the CEO suite was a 30-year endeavor. Along the way, she was involved in nearly every aspect of the insurance business. While the majority of her career was in underwriting and operations, she had brief opportunities to oversee claims, finance, and even helped run an agency during a period when the wife of a husband and wife team fell ill and the husband needed an extended leave.
Strong Family Ties
Marie beams with pride as she identifies the different family members in the photos. It’s clear that throughout the rise to the top of the organization, family was always held near and dear. In fact, three of Marie’s four children have worked for Co-operative Insurance at some point during their growing years.
Co-operative Insurance Companies is The Other Family
We talked about what makes Co-operative Insurance Companies unique. After all, that’s the essence of this column. Why are some leaders so adept at building and managing companies that perform brilliantly when it comes to protecting and serving their members? This part of the conversation included several key points, including:
- The company is very careful in the hiring process. They have rigorous behavioral interviews to make sure the new hire will be a good fit with the company’s values.
- Core values are well-defined, known by everyone, and agreed upon by everyone, whether that be the newest employee or a long-term board member. These core values include:
- Accountability
- Integrity
- Respect
- Stewardship
These are certainly critical factors for success. However, possibly the most important factor came through in a comment Marie made in response to a question I asked regarding how it came about that she would become CEO.
“Didn’t Want to Move to the Corporate Suite”
Marie had been the Executive Vice President (EVP) of Operations when the company suddenly needed a CEO. Clearly, as EVP, she was a logical candidate. Nevertheless, Marie was reluctant. The reason for the reluctance was that she didn’t want to move to the other side of the building where the corporate offices were located. As a self-described “action-oriented people person,” Marie liked the oversight of operations, where the action is solving problems and making things happen.
Being a “people person” and appreciating that Co-op is in a relationship business is what sets both Marie and Co-operative Insurance Companies apart. While the core values Marie shared are clearly important, the embodiment of these values in Marie, and in every action she takes, has the effect of bringing the values to life.
Giving Back to the Community
In Marie’s words, Co-operative Insurance puts “a lot of effort in giving back to the community.” The company sponsors events and contributes money to a wide variety of causes. The causes to which they contribute are based on employee input. Employees are encouraged to identify issues they feel are important to the communities where they live and where the company does business.
Marie’s Caring Approach is Apparent in the Results
At ValChoice, we grade auto and home insurance companies for the value they provide customers. Our grades include analysis on the level of claims handling and service each company offers. From our early days, reaching out to Co-operative Insurance was high on our priority list. This was the case for the reason that Co-operative Insurance consistently scored well in both states where they do business, Vermont and New Hampshire.
In late 2017, Co-operative Insurance Companies began using ValChoice awards in their sales and marketing. We’re proud to have Co-operative Insurance Companies as a customer. We’re honored to have had the opportunity to get to know Marie and the management team.
Disclosure
The “Leadership Excellence” blog posts by ValChoice features CEOs of the best auto and home insurance companies. We identify the “best” companies based solely on how well they perform for policyholders. We aim to write profiles of the CEOs for all the best companies. There is no requirement to be a customer of ValChoice in order to be featured in our Leadership Excellence posts.
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