Vermont Mutual Donates $15,000 to Spectrum Youth and Family Services

BURLINGTON, Vermont (January 19, 2021)—Vermont Mutual Insurance Group® recently donated $15,000 to Spectrum Youth and Family Services as part of the Cats Win, Community Wins program, a multi-year, community-based collaboration between Vermont Mutual Insurance Group and the University of Vermont.

The Cats Win, Community Wins initiative was created by Vermont Mutual and UVM Athletics to give back to local charitable organizations. As part of their arrangement, Vermont Mutual donates $100 for every Catamount win to a selected charity. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic that surfaced in early 2020, most Catamount games had to be cancelled. As a result, Vermont Mutual wanted to ensure that the excellent work Spectrum does for their community was still recognized. To that end, Vermont Mutual decided to increase their usual contribution to address the lack of games played and won by UVM.

Speaking on behalf of the initiative, Dan Bridge, President and CEO of Vermont Mutual, noted "When we began to see the impact the pandemic was having on our communities in Vermont, including the cancelling of most UVM athletic events in 2020, we decided to move forward with a donation to Spectrum and go a step further by rounding up to a $15,000 donation. We know Spectrum will put it to great use." Bridge added "It was our employees who chose Spectrum Youth and Family Services of Burlington, Vermont and we are proud that through the hard work of Vermont Mutual employees and the great results their efforts have produced, Vermont Mutual was able to contribute more than $1 Million in COVID-19 relief across Vermont, including Spectrum Youth and Family Services."

Spectrum Executive Director, Mark Redmond, stated "We at Spectrum are so grateful to Vermont Mutual for their support of Spectrum Youth and Family Services through the Cats Win program.  $15,000 is a much-welcome gift, especially during this year when COVID has disrupted so much of our state and country. We will use this gift to support our Basic Needs programs which provide food, clothing and a place to live for homeless teens and young adults."

The Cats Win, Community Wins program will continue throughout the upcoming year; with 2021's charitable beneficiary being Vermont Foodbank.

Mark McDonnell, Executive Vice President and COO at Vermont Mutual, remarked "We are pleased to name the Vermont Foodbank as this year's Cats Win, Community Wins charity. Vermont's communities have been severely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and with so many struggling at this time, the Vermont Foodbank continues to play a significant role by providing healthy meals to Vermont families."

Vermont Foodbank CEO, John Sayles, stated "I want to say thank you so much to UVM and Vermont Mutual, a long-time supporter of the Foodbank, for using the Vermont Foodbank as the beneficiary of 2021's Cats Win, Community Wins. This is truly a win for the community supporting our neighbors who might otherwise not be able to afford nourishing food.”

Vermont Mutual & UVM Cats Wins program from Vermont Mutual Insurance Group® on Vimeo.

Vermont Mutual Insurance Group® is a trade name of Vermont Mutual Insurance Company, Northern Security Insurance Company, Inc. and Granite Mutual Insurance Company. Chartered in 1828, Vermont Mutual is one of the ten oldest mutual property/casualty insurers in the United States and provides coverage throughout New England and upstate New York. Through more than 400 independent agencies, the Group insures over 315,000 policyholders, with a direct written premium of more than $500,000,000. The group is rated “A+ Superior” by A. M. Best and a Ward’s Top 50 performing property/casualty insurer in the U.S. for the past twelve consecutive years.

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Vermont Mutual Commits $1,000,000 for COVID-19 Response Donations

Vermont Mutual Insurance Group®, headquartered in Montpelier, Vermont, has announced that they will contribute $1,000,000 in charitable donations to assist with COVID-19 relief efforts in Vermont.

Two organizations, the Vermont Foodbank and the Vermont Community Foundation have already been named as the first recipients, with $500,000 total being designated for the two institutions.

Speaking of the company’s initial selections, Dan Bridge, Vermont Mutual's President and CEO , stated “We selected the Vermont Foodbank and the Vermont Community Foundation because of their long-term commitment to Vermont communities, as well as their established infrastructures which enable them to quickly put these funds to use serving the recovery efforts of our local communities.”

In addition to the $1,000,000 donation noted above, the company has also distributed additional funds to the United Way of Central Vermont, the American Red Cross, and the Boys and Girls Club of Burlington, to further support their efforts in assisting community members affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The company also reached out locally, sponsoring "Comfort Care Baskets" for Central Vermont Medical Center frontline healthcare workers and purchased nearly $2,000 worth of gift cards from local restaurants to help with their cash flow during the stay-at-home order.

Speaking of the company’s commitment, Dan Bridge remarked "The financial impact of these unprecedented and uncertain times is widespread, impacting children, students, families, employees, small businesses and large corporations.”

Bridge continued “Since 1828, Vermont Mutual has been protecting Vermonters and assisting them in their time of need. It is hard to imagine any greater need than what is currently being experienced across our state, region, country and world and Vermont Mutual is grateful to be in a position to fulfill its obligation to help people and businesses recover from this crisis.”

The company also announced that it will increase its employee-based charitable contribution match from 100% to 200% for any Vermont Mutual employee who donates to organizations responding to the COVID-19 pandemic.

As well, having seen a reduction in auto claims during the stay-at-home order, the company has instituted an Auto Premium Payback Program for their Personal Auto customers, one that will result in nearly $5 million in premium payback to its customers.

Mark McDonnell, the company's Executive Vice President and COO stated "Many members of our communities have been adversely affected by this pandemic and we hope our charitable efforts will help ease their burden a bit. We also consider ourselves very fortunate to be in a position to assist those serving on the front lines. Speaking on behalf of all of us at Vermont Mutual, I'd like to extend our sincere gratitude to every one of them."

For those Vermont organizations seeking funds under the Vermont Mutual COVID-19 Recovery Program, the company has created a grant application specific to those relief efforts. For more information, visit: VermontMutual.com/covid-19.

Ward Group Recognizes Vermont Mutual as a Top 50 Insurer for the Twelfth Consecutive Year

For the twelfth year in a row, Ward Group, the leading provider of benchmarking and best practices studies for insurance companies, has named Vermont Mutual Insurance Group® as one of the top 50 performing property and casualty insurers in the United States, placing the company in the top 2% of all P&C insurers countrywide. Headquartered in Montpelier, VT, Vermont Mutual has been in business since 1828 and provides comprehensive insurance solutions for home, business and auto, throughout the northeastern United States.

"We are very pleased to be named a Ward Top 50 company for the twelfth consecutive year" stated Vermont Mutual’s President & CEO, Dan Bridge. "It is a direct reflection of the hard work and dedication of the entire Vermont Mutual team. Thanks to their efforts, we have enjoyed strong financial results year after year, with 2019 being one of our best.” Bridge continued "It’s precisely these excellent results that have allowed us to not only weather the recent challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic but to be able to dedicate over one million dollars in relief funds to those adversely affected by the pandemic."

Mark McDonnell, Executive Vice President and COO of Vermont Mutual, added “The Ward's 50 designation is confirmation of our continued commitment to being a financially secure business for our policyholders, our independent agency partners and our employees. During these very uncertain times, that’s more important than ever and that has allowed us to continue to meet the needs of our customers.” McDonnell added “We’re pleased to share this recognition with our employees, agency partners and all of our business partners, whose combined efforts have earned us the Ward 50 designation now for 12 consecutive years.”

Every year Ward Group identifies the industry’s top insurance companies through a comprehensive financial analysis of approximately 3,000 U.S. property and casualty insurers. This is the 30th year Ward Group has conducted the analysis. The companies recognized by Ward Group have all passed safety and consistency screens and achieved superior performance over a five year period.
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Vermont Mutual Insurance Group® is a trade name of Vermont Mutual Insurance Company, Northern Security Insurance Company, Inc. and Granite Mutual Insurance Company. Chartered in 1828, Vermont Mutual is one of the ten oldest mutual property/casualty insurers in the United States and provides coverage throughout New England and upstate New York. Through more than 400 independent agencies, the Group insures over 315,000 policyholders with a direct written premium of more than $500,000,000. The group is rated “A+ Superior” by A. M. Best and a Ward’s Top 50 performing property/casualty insurer in the U.S. for the past twelve consecutive years.

Vermont Mutual Introduces Auto Premium Payback

With Vermont Mutual's staff successfully and safely operating at their remote locations, our focus has shifted to an analysis of the potential impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our customers.

Like some carriers, we’ve begun to see a decrease in auto claims resulting from the stay-at-home orders across the Northeast. While it’s difficult to predict where this will settle and how quickly it will rebound, Vermont Mutual believes it is in the best interest of our customers to issue a refund.

Starting May 1, 2020, we will begin mailing letters to our Personal Auto customers advising them that they qualify for a payback equivalent to 20% of their auto premium for 3 months.

In addition, we will be offering an opportunity for those customers would prefer to directly donate their rebate to do so easily and quickly by visiting the web address supplied in the letter (or by scanning the QR code also included in the letter) with their smartphone. The charities selected (below) are those directly helping local communities affected by the COVID-19 pandemic:

• Feeding America
• Meals on Wheels
• The United Way
• The Salvation Army

Vermont Mutual appreciates and values our customers and we are grateful to be able to provide this premium refund. Working together, we will all get through this.

If you are a Vermont Mutual Auto customer and wish to choose a charity instead of receiving a payback, please visit the link below:

Auto Payback Donation Page