Grinnell Mutual

Aiming at A Moving Target

Grinnell Mutual Reinsurance Company — Tue, 24 Mar 2026 16:15:20 GMT

In a perfect world, all business threats would hold still so you could shoot them down one by one. That’s not the world we live in, though. Today, most threats to a company’s proprietary information and bottom line are moving targets — as soon as one threat is dealt with, a new one appears.

And in the cases of menaces created by cybercriminals, they are constantly evolving to evade countermeasures and exploit unanticipated vulnerabilities.

Advances in digital technology and the advent of AI have made the job of bulletproofing a business against cyberincursions vastly more complex.

“These days, I think in just about any business, you have to ask: what are the ramifications of cyberrisk?” said Grinnell Mutual President Dave Wingert. “There’s just so much more risk and exposure now than there used to be, and for everyone the risk has grown exponentially. Technology changes so quickly and the minute you think you’ve got it figured out, you’re behind.”

Looming Threats

Ever more rapid technological advances have produced an environment in which every business — of any type or size — is reliant on digital systems to function. This has produced tangible benefits. According to an April 2025 report from the Interactive Advertising Bureau, in the U.S. alone, the digital economy has surged to $4.9 trillion, helping create 28.4 million domestic jobs.

The downside of this digital bonanza is vulnerability to criminals who use technology to commit crimes on an equally massive scale. The FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center’s 2024 Annual Report (the latest available), notes that complaints during the reporting period came into the center at a rate of 2,000 per day, which represented a jump of 9 percent over the previous year.

And losses to the U.S. economy were notched at a staggering $16.6 billion. The bulk of the damage has stemmed from cases of fraud, with ransomware (software used to extort money by blocking access to applications or files on a computer system until a ransom is paid) posing the most pervasive threat to critical infrastructure.

More often than not, the fallout from a cyberattack isn’t just a dent in a business’s bottom line. It’s ruin.

According to Nicole Chesmore, Grinnell Mutual’s assistant vice president for Information Technology, “Based on industry data and my own experience in the field, the rule of thumb is that most sizable organizations, if they experience a significant data breach — especially one involving AI-powered attacks — are unlikely to make it five more years.” Chesmore’s judgement is informed by over 25 years of experience in cybersecurity. “The evolving capabilities of artificial intelligence have fundamentally altered the threat landscape, making recovery even more challenging for businesses,” she said.

Cybercriminals looking for a big payday are most likely to go after big targets: supply chains, heavy industry, educational and public administration institutions, health systems, and other businesses with more than $50 million in revenues.

However, small and medium-size enterprises — which describes most of Grinnell Mutual’s commercial policyholders, mutual member companies, and affiliated agencies — with fewer than 1,500 employees and annual receipts between $2.25 million and $47 million, are often targeted. In fact, the most recent studies found that annually, 46 percent of U.S. cyberattacks target businesses with fewer than 1,000 employees. Further, the data show that in 2024, 75 percent of small businesses were somehow affected by cyberattacks and only 14 percent of businesses with 1 to 250 employees are adequately prepared for these incursions.

“The bad guys are no longer Nigerian princes trying to get you to give them your banking information,” said Paul Carroll, editor of Insurance Thought Leader magazine. “There are people doing very sophisticated deep fakes, mounting phishing attacks that may use a simulated voice that sounds exactly like your boss, telling you to transfer money right away or else.”

AI as a Threat Multiplier

According to a recent survey out from industry analyst Cowbell, “The cybersecurity landscape is advancing at an unprecedented pace and not only are new threats popping up, but the integration of various AI models is also driving further development of the attacks. This can be from open-source generative AI and large language models such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT… as well as from AI built specifically for threat actor groups.”

Chesmore affirmed that AI has had a significant role in the recent dramatic escalation in cybercriminal tactics. “Over the past two years, data indicate a staggering 1,200 percent surge in cyberattacks leveraging AI-driven methods,” she said.

In addition to constituting a threat in itself, AI can increase the potency of existing avenues of cybercrime. According to Insurance Thought Leader’s Carroll, “With AI, [hackers are] able to scrape data from social media, websites, and other places, which improves their ability to get to [you] and make [you] think that they're somebody they're not.”

“If they’re using AI, hackers don’t even need to know how to hack,” said Chesmore. “They just tell the program what they want to do, and it does the rest. What we’re seeing now is a gamechanger. Anyone, regardless of technical skill, can use AI to launch complex attacks. The barrier to entry is almost gone. That’s what makes today’s threats so much more dangerous and unpredictable.”

Best Practices

Although this scenario may seem bleak, Chesmore says there are powerful tools available to both companies and individuals. Interestingly, the greatest threat to a hacker using AI could be an IT expert equipped with AI designed to combat them.

“Our cybersecurity and AI solutions are designed to detect deviations from established baselines, accelerating analysis and enabling targeted investigation of anomalies,” she said.

Chesmore stresses, though, that AI can’t be the only weapon in anyone’s cybersecurity arsenal.

“Organizations must prioritize patch management and robust encryption protocols,” Chesmore emphasized. “Ensuring multi-factor authentication is enabled for all login processes is essential. Regular password updates, along with leveraging biometrics and other advanced security tools, are critical components of a comprehensive defense strategy.”

Chesmore also underscored the importance of workforce readiness as a powerful asset in combating cyber threats. “Continuous employee education is fundamental,” she said. “Phishing attacks have evolved to become highly convincing, making it increasingly difficult to distinguish legitimate messages from fraudulent ones. It’s not just obvious errors like spelling or formatting anymore. To defend against these sophisticated tactics, companies need staff who are trained to identify them and respond appropriately.”

The ABCs of Protection

Distinguishing between vulnerability and a threat is step one to staying secure. “When I explain security measures to people, I tell them there’s a difference between the vulnerability and the threat,” said Dr. Haider Qleibo, Grinnell Mutual’s director of Information Security. “Vulnerability is like a broken window in my house that someone might come in through. Threat is the gang of bad actors in the neighborhood who know about the window and want to march in.” Cyber protection, he explained, goes beyond patching the window; it detects intruders who slipped through and purges them from the premises.

In today’s threat landscape, no single solution fits all. “In countering the threat, we need to understand that there’s no such thing as a one-size-fits-all security solution,” Dr. Qleibo said. “Each threat has its own mitigation. We look at threats as a landscape. Effective security starts with mapping this terrain. We need to secure our systems, determine what categories of attacks we might be susceptible to, and pinpoint where our valued information is stored and how to secure it.”

Dr. Qleibo cautioned that the job’s not necessarily done when a company’s perimeter is under guard, because not all threats are external.

“Data must be safeguarded not only against external threats but also from internal risks,” he said. “This requires rigorous access controls: determining precisely who requires access to specific information and ensuring that access is granted on need-to-know basis. For instance, Claims department personnel may need access to policy data or claim files, whereas the Procurement department has no legitimate business need for such information.”

The P&C Industry’s Response

“It’s hard for most of us to imagine the mindset that drives these cybercriminals,” said Wingert. “Their exploits create an atmosphere where you feel you can’t trust anyone.” Given the aggressive and ever-evolving nature of cybercrime, designing insurance products that protect the insured against the dollar-cost of data incursions has been, and remains, a challenge.

The property-casualty industry has responded with two main categories of cybersecurity insurance: first-party coverage and third-party coverage. First-party coverage indemnifies businesses against costs incurred during the investigation of data breaches, income lost during the incursion and its aftermath, cost of data recovery, and the public-relations campaigns and customer communications necessitated by the crisis.

Third-party claims cover expenses incurred by parties external to the business that claim to have been affected by the crime, including customers or partners. This coverage also extends to legal costs and fines that may be levied if it is determined that the company violated privacy law.

Grinnell Mutual’s Response

Tonya Boos, Grinnell Mutual’s Reinsurance product manager, provides an inside view of CyberProtection™, the insurance product the company began providing in late 2023 to mutuals that are supporting their communities’ farms and individuals.

“Our primary goal in developing CyberProtection was to close the gaps that exist between traditional insurance policies and the types of losses created by modern cyber incidents,” said Boos. “Our package strongly supports best practices like patching, encryption, and secure configurations, achieved through education, coaching, and incident support.

“It transfers financial risk when failures occur. In the future we plan to expand proactive risk management features such as real-time monitoring, AI-based fraud alerts, patch prompts, and configuration checkups, so our coverage aligns even more closely with recommendations.”

As director of Grinnell Mutual’s commercial underwriting department, Kama Small oversees the company’s Cyber Liability and Breach Response Coverage, which the company developed in partnership with Beazley, a worldwide leader in technological and information security risks.

“Our focus in developing our Cyber Liability and Data Breach Response package was creating a product that would help insureds manage every stage of a cyber event,” Small said. “Businesses today are entrusted with sensitive personal and private information — about their customers, their employees, and often their vendors. With cyberthreats on the rise the way they are, it’s no longer a matter of if an attack will occur, but when.”

Small emphasized that Grinnell Mutual’s business-facing product is engineered not merely as a response to incidents of cybercrime but aims to stop the incidents from happening in the first place through a program of loss-control tools and risk-mitigation services.

If anything is clear amid the turbulent atmosphere that burgeoning cybercrime has created, it’s that things won’t be less turbulent anytime soon. However, “Grinnell Mutual is going to continue evolving our coverage to close gaps in new areas of risk that emerge as cybercriminals using AI and Gen AI make more sophisticated attacks,” said Wingert.

Source: totalassure.com, “Cyber Attacks on Small Businesses Statistics 2025,” Nov. 6, 2025

Grinnell Mutual Road to Success Scholarship 2026 recipients

Grinnell Mutual Reinsurance Company — Thu, 15 Jan 2026 08:35:00 GMT

Please check back later. The 2026 winners will be announced on or about May 15, 2026.

Grinnell Unites to Aid Families During SNAP Benefit Suspension

Grinnell Mutual Reinsurance Company — Tue, 25 Nov 2025 11:47:09 GMT

Grinnell Mutual, Grinnell College, and the Campbell Fund have each committed $10,000 toward The Grinnell Food Coalition (GFC)’s fundraising goal of $50,000 to fight hunger in Poweshiek County. The initiative aims to support families continuing to feel the strain from the temporary suspension of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits earlier this fall.

The GFC plans to distribute up to 3,000 grocery vouchers — each valued at $10 — to help families stretch their food budgets during this challenging period. In addition to vouchers, the GFC aims to support local food pantries, community meals, and emergency food programs, all of which are experiencing increased demand.

“Grinnell Mutual believes in supporting our community, and especially those faced with food insecurity. We believe that together with Grinnell College, offering these funds will serve as a springboard for support from our local residents and businesses,” said Barb Baker, Grinnell Mutual’s director of advertising and community relations.

To donate or learn more, visit: https://ahrensfamilyfoundation.org/grinnelfoodcoalition/ or send a check to P.O. Box 284 Grinnell, IA.

Grinnell Mutual reaches United Way giving goal

Grinnell Mutual Reinsurance Company — Wed, 22 Oct 2025 14:39:16 GMT

Grinnell Mutual employee donations and matching funds from the Grinnell Mutual Group Foundation raised more than $140,000 during the company’s 2025 United Way fundraising campaign. Employees pledged over $70,000, exceeding the company’s $65,000 goal, as they have for at least 10 consecutive years. The foundation contributed a 100 percent match to employee giving.

“Grinnell Mutual's outstanding employees have a long-standing tradition of supporting the United Way annual campaign. Our staff care about our company, our customers, their colleagues, and the communities in which they live,” said Grinnell Mutual CEO, Jeff Menary. “Giving back is a big part of who we are and contributing to United Way is a great way for us to make a positive impact in our local communities.”

Funds from the campaign will be distributed to several different communities’ United Way, United Funds, and Community Chest organizations where Grinnell Mutual employees live.

Director of Advertising and Community Relations Barb Baker said, “Grinnell Mutual employees have always supported the company’s annual United Way fund drive with generous donations to their local communities, and with the matching funds from the Grinnell Mutual Group Foundation, we’re able to make a real difference. We are proud to see our employees’ passion to help their neighbors and home communities.”

Grinnell Mutual earns AM Best rating of ‘A’

Grinnell Mutual Reinsurance Company — Tue, 30 Sep 2025 13:35:53 GMT

AM Best has affirmed an “A” (Excellent) Financial Strength Rating (FSR) for Grinnell Mutual. The “A” rating and stable outlook for the future apply to both Grinnell Mutual Reinsurance Company and Grinnell Select Insurance Company (GSI), and Grinnell Compass, Inc. Grinnell Mutual has received an “A” rating since 1991.

AM Best also revised the company’s Long-Term Issuer Credit Ratings (ICRs) outlook up from negative to stable and reaffirmed its “a+” (Excellent) rating.

“We are pleased with the affirmation of our Financial Strength Rating and the change in outlook of our Issuer Credit Rating,” said Grinnell Mutual President Dave Wingert. “The change reflects the positive growth of our surplus from underwriting actions taken the last few years to be profitable and support our mutual members and policyholders.”

AM Best is a leading rating agency for assessing property-casualty companies’ financial stability.

Grinnell Mutual is a Top Workplace for the 15th year

Grinnell Mutual Reinsurance Company — Fri, 26 Sep 2025 06:00:00 GMT

Grinnell Mutual was named the third-best large Iowa employer in the 2025 Des Moines Register/Engergage Top Workplaces survey.

It’s the 15th straight year the company has earned a spot on the list and Grinnell Mutual is one of only two Iowa companies in the large employer category (500+) that has made the list every year since the honor’s creation. It also won a Special Award for its outstanding managers.

In March, Grinnell Mutual was named a top workplace in Energage’s Top Workplaces USA, ranking 80th nationally.

The Register and Workplace Dynamics evaluated survey responses from more than 30,000 employees of participating employers. Top Workplaces are categorized by number of employees in Iowa and chosen based on employee feedback.

“Grinnell Mutual is honored to be recognized as one of Iowa’s Top Workplaces for the 15th consecutive year. The recognition is just as exciting to us this year as it was in 2011,” said Jeff Menary, Grinnell Mutual CEO. “At Grinnell Mutual we recognize that the reason for our long-term success is the outstanding work by our staff, which is why their happiness and job satisfaction are top priorities at Grinnell Mutual. Our employees care about their company, our customers, and their co-workers. If you truly care about and trust your employees, they’ll make great business decisions and provide best-in-class service to your customers.”

Grinnell Mutual Road to Success Scholarship 2025 recipients

Grinnell Mutual Reinsurance Company — Wed, 14 May 2025 06:00:00 GMT

Grinnell Mutual, in partnership with its independent agency force, is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2025 Road to Success Scholarships (see complete listing below).

This year, $1,000 scholarships have been awarded to 80 high school seniors with Grinnell Mutual auto coverage who have excellent academic records and have been accident- and violation-free for their high school years.

Since the program began 20 years ago, Grinnell Mutual and its agents have provided college-bound students over $1 million in scholarships through the Road to Success program.

Illinois

Jacob Hillen, Hardin

Josie Hoagland, Hamburg

Jacob Holste, Rock City

Kasandra Hughes, Cornell

Callie Johnson, Louisville

Laikyn Parchert, Illinois City

Isaac Street, Newton

Indiana

Lauren Bulmahn, Fort Wayne

Chloe Couch, Huntington

Brant Pettigrew, Columbia City

Iowa

Alli Booth, Cherokee

Mia Brandt, Garnavillo

Lucas Braun, Remsen

Elizabeth Chalupa, Keota

Paul Chalupsky, Brooklyn

Grace Craighton, Sheffield

Ella Drilling, Waucoma

Adam Ewert, New Hampton

Tyler Gates, La Porte City

Mari Gleason, Audubon

Addisyn Gotto, Greene

Landyn Greiner, Keota

Avery Harman, Rock Rapids

Decklyn Heins, West Union

Abby Hilleman, State Center

Brooklyn Hoogland, Maurice

Mackenzie Huizenga, Orange City

Aubrey Kannegieter, Cherokee

Kali Kleve, Fort Atkinson

Landon Kos, Riverside

Seth Maassen, Maurice

Ryan McGarry, DeWitt

Abigail Moss, Mount Vernon

Nicole Murphy, South English

Jacob Nabb, Maquoketa

Regan Nebergall, Mechanicsville

Audrey Ostrander, Garnavillo

Kerrigan Pedersen, Alta

Lola Reimer, Garnavillo

Kiefer Schultz, Sioux City

Beau Serie, New Hampton

Breck Simpson, Montezuma

Breanna Staab, Remsen

Iowa (continued)

Taylor Schnoebelen, Riverside

Addison M. Stoerp, New Vienna

Carson Straube, Spillville

Isaac Striegel, Delta

Tessa Sylvester, Elkader

Tori Sylvester, Elkader

Elley Walker, State Center

Alyssa Wille, Garnavillo

Josie Rae Wood, Maquoketa

Minnesota

Julia Aguilar, Fergus Falls

Kaleb Hemme, Hardwick

Reese Johnson, Montevideo

Madalyn Lee, Fairfax

Dylan Mackenthun, Dassel

Kelli Miller, Balaton

Emily Reisinger, Pine Island

William Roesch, Ada

Easton Wahl, Detroit Lakes

Amber Wiersema, Steen

Missouri

Haley Imhoff, Blackwater

Augustus McCollough, Burlington Junction

Clayton Moore, Fulton

Nebraska

Lucy Berggren, Stromsburg

Averi Gronenthal, Leigh

Claire Korth, Humphrey

Eliza Lange, Hartington

Jacob Lind, Tilden

North Dakota

Natalee Becker, Sawyer

Anevay Foote, Lincoln

Dawson Lazur, Hatton

Tristan Ulmer, Mandan

Ohio

Carter Broering, Saint Henry

Caitlin Cottrill, New Holland

Mackenzie Reeves, South Solon

Jay Schroeder, New Knoxville

South Dakota

Isabella Sestak, Tyndall

About Grinnell Mutual

Grinnell Mutual, in business since 1909, is the 104th-largest property-casualty insurance company in the United States and the largest primary reinsurer of farm mutual companies in North America. Its products are available in 17 states.

###

For more information please contact:

Barb Baker

Director, Advertising and Community Relations

barb.baker@grinnellmutual.com

641-269-8616

Setting the course for success

Grinnell Mutual Reinsurance Company — Wed, 12 Mar 2025 08:31:05 GMT

If you go by the numbers alone, 2024 was a good year for Grinnell Mutual and the company’s overall underwriting revenues rose, an indicator that the company is headed in a positive direction.

But while Grinnell Mutual has started to turn the ship around after some very rough weather, the company’s leaders know this course change required some difficult, at times painful, decisions. And they are under no illusion that it’s all smooth sailing ahead.

“Things went great for us in 2024,” said Grinnell Mutual President Dave Wingert. “But 2020 to 2023 — those were extremely challenging years, and not just for us. The downturn across the property-casualty industry was driven by a multitude of factors, and we had to take some aggressive actions to control our losses. It was these actions that were so impactful on our performance during the last year.”

How did we get here?

A glance at recent property-casualty history could lead to the conclusion that the hard times have been mostly due to a spike in the frequency of severe weather events. However, according to Adam Manus, president, chief brokerage officer, and director for Holborn, an independent reinsurance broker, “While the number of severe weather events we’ve experienced has been elevated, it is not unparalleled.” He pointed out that data collected over the last 20–30 years show there have been other periods with a similar number of severe storms.

“What’s been more unusual recently is the severity of loss the storms have caused. The average size of loss they’ve produced has been increasing year over year, at an unprecedented rate.”

Manus stressed that while the storms’ severity was in part responsible for the increased losses, it has been exacerbated by inflation.

“The cost of building materials and labor has just been going up and up,” Manus said. “Every time a storm has occurred, the cost of repair has just gotten higher. This is an industry-wide problem, and it has been compounding at an elevated rate for years and years.”

Manus also noted that in 2022, elevated interest rates and re-allocation of capital caused record losses to both stock and bond portfolios, with the knock-on effect of reducing the supply and increasing the cost of capital globally. “The reinsurance market was not immune,” Manus said. “And in January 2023, global reinsurers found that with less capital available, more premium was needed to protect against more net risk. The result was much higher reinsurance catastrophe retentions and reinsurance rates, which left the industry, including Grinnell Mutual, with more net retained risk that needed to be managed and funded.”

The higher interest rates mandated to get inflation under control in the larger economy also figure into the picture, as does the ongoing problem with litigation ending in outsized judgements against insurance companies.

Easing off the rocks

There were other factors that combined with these trends to make aggressive actions necessary. Development in especially loss-prone areas has continued mostly unchecked, bringing on a massive concentration of risk, prompting large insurers to curtail certain lines of business or to stop underwriting in high-risk areas like Florida or California entirely. Driven by these adverse conditions, a spate of mutual closures and mergers began, reducing coverage availability still further.

In the face of these challenges, Grinnell Mutual’s leadership took a hard-eyed look at what the company would need to do to keep the ship from foundering. One thing that was not on the table was exiting any of the states in which the company does business, a strategy used by several companies over the last few years. Other options were difficult, too, but offered a way to begin mitigating losses without abandoning ship.

“We had to do two main things to ease ourselves off the rocks,” said Grinnell Mutual CEO Jeff Menary. “First, we were required to make significant pricing increases for the reinsurance contracts we issued to the farm mutuals we reinsure and to the direct lines products we sell through independent agents. The areas where the most significant pricing increases were warranted were our property exposures.” The pricing changes were based upon historical losses and loss trends.

“Second, we tightened our new business and renewal underwriting practices, including addressing areas where we have highly concentrated property exposures,” Menary said. “Grinnell Mutual, along with the property and casualty industry in general, has tightened up the coverages provided for specific losses. This also applies to our reinsured mutuals’ reinsurance contracts and to our direct lines policies.”

Looking forward, not back

Given the roiled waters of the current marketplace, managing risk means managing expectations. Menary warned that while 2024’s improved numbers are encouraging, they’re not an indicator that we’re past troubled times or the need for caution.

“We’re pleased that our 2025 corporate property reinsurance placement improved,” he said. “But it’s not as strong as what we had in 2020.”

While it might be understandable to wish for a return to the days when catastrophic weather events were less catastrophic, investment capital was plentiful, and huge adverse court judgements were rare, it’s not reasonable to bank on that happening. “We anticipate modest improvements in the coming years,” Menary said. “But we can’t expect to return to the pricing and coverage levels we secured in 2020.”

Holborn’s Manus echoed Menary’s call for a cautious outlook, stressing that Grinnell Mutual’s 2024 numbers improved because the company’s leadership based its strategy changes on realistic expectations.

“After Jan. 1, 2023, Grinnell Mutual really made a very honest and thorough inventory of the issues facing the company,” Manus said. “In part, company leadership concluded that Grinnell Mutual’s catastrophe exposure was just too high for levels of premium, policyholders’ surplus, and reinsurance costs at the time.”

In alignment with the global reinsurance market’s view of risk, the company had to assume the most recent storm frequency and severity trends would continue and that inflation wasn’t going away anytime soon. The only way to protect surplus and return the company to profitability was to reduce exposures and increase premiums.

“Judging by 2024 results, Grinnell Mutual has been playing a different game relative to many of its competitors,” Manus said. “The company took seriously the price signal from the global reinsurance industry at the beginning of 2023 and took steps to protect its future.”

It always helps to be lucky, too. “Grinnell’s CAT activity was lighter in 2024 than what it has been of late and below expectation,” Manus said. “Some years are better, and we have obviously experienced a lot of years recently which have been much worse.”

No one believes that luck alone will see the ship through future storms, however. As Dave Wingert put it, “Just crossing your fingers and hoping you don’t have losses again like we had during the last five years is not a good strategy.”

Going forward, the mission as Grinnell Mutual’s leadership sees it is to stay ahead of the curve, continue to ensure adequate funding to support the company’s level of exposure, and not unduly put surplus at risk.

“Many of the adjustments we’ve made are going to stay in place, and I think they’re going to help us keep steering to where we need to go,” Wingert said.

Grinnell Mutual wins Gallup Exceptional Workplace Award for engagement

Grinnell Mutual Reinsurance Company — Wed, 12 Mar 2025 05:55:00 GMT

Grinnell Mutual has received a Gallup Exceptional Workplace Award (GEWA) for the fourth time. The award recognizes the most engaged workplace cultures globally.

By connecting employee engagement to every aspect of their culture, exceptional workplaces fuel the motivation and innovation that drive business results far beyond their competition around the world and give people what they really want from their careers and lives: belonging, learning, and growth, recognition, a great manager, and the opportunity to do what they do best every day.

“Congratulations to this year’s Gallup Exceptional Workplace Award winners for setting the standard for a thriving workplace. Your commitment to creating an environment where employees feel valued, heard, and empowered to do their best work is truly remarkable. By prioritizing both people and performance, you are shaping the future of work and proving that exceptional workplaces drive real results,” said Jon Clifton, Gallup’s chief executive officer.

Jeff Vogts, Grinnell Mutual’s vice president of Talent Development, said the company’s culture of trust and respect has always been a draw for potential talent.

“Grinnell Mutual has built a reputation for living its corporate values every day. We take immense pride in our team. Our culture forms the foundation of our efforts and fosters an environment where everyone can grow and serve our customers in the way they truly deserve. We call this the ‘Grinnell Mutual Way,’” Vogts said.

“If you build a business around doing what’s right — for the company, the customers, and each other — not only does employee engagement reflect that, the bottom line does, too. We are very happy to win this prestigious award for a fourth time.”

Because 70 percent of GEWA winners’ employees are engaged, those companies’ turnover rate is 43 percent lower, productivity is 18 percent higher, and profitability is 23 percent higher than at other workplaces.

“It’s amazing what can be accomplished when your team has a collective vision and purpose. Grinnell Mutual is an employee-focused company and we are so fortunate to have the best employees in the nation. Every day we receive wonderful stories about the great service our teams provide our customers,” said Grinnell Mutual President and CEO Jeff Menary. “They truly care about their company, their customers, their communities, and their co-workers. I believe the work and successes of our employees is the model of how businesses should operate.”

Gallup’s meta-analysis on team engagement and performance is the most comprehensive workplace study ever conducted, with data on nearly 3 million employees across 54 industries and 96 countries.

Organizations with highly engaged employees significantly outperform their peers in important business outcomes, including customer ratings, safety incidents, shrinkage, absenteeism, quality, wellbeing, and organizational citizenship.

See all the 2025 Engagement winners.

New vice president of Actuarial Services at Grinnell Mutual

Grinnell Mutual Reinsurance Company — Tue, 21 Jan 2025 15:02:21 GMT

Grinnell Mutual has named Rick Osborn as its new vice president of Actuarial Services, a new division at the company, effective Jan. 17, 2025.

The division was created last year to bring all the company’s actuarial expertise under one umbrella, and to expand capabilities in the granular pricing and predictive modeling that is becoming more and more important in the industry.

Osborn joins Grinnell Mutual with more than 29 years’ experience in actuarial work for the insurance industry, 16 of those at an assistant vice president or vice president level. He worked for more than 20 years at Nationwide Insurance in various roles.

Osborn started his career as an assistant actuary and worked at Grinnell Mutual from 1998 to 1999, and the company is excited to have him back on the Grinnell Mutual team.

President Dave Wingert said, “I’m looking forward to Rick being part of our Grinnell Mutual leadership team and to work closely with our actuarial group as they enhance and expand our capabilities, which are so critical in today’s property-casualty industry.”

The position is the top leadership position in the Actuarial Services division and reports to the president. Osborn’s role includes overseeing product pricing, valuation, capital modeling, actuarial analysis, and reporting for both direct lines of business and assumed reinsurance. He will also oversee strategic and operational activities for the actuarial teams.

“I am excited to join Grinnell Mutual and lead the Actuarial Services team to support the goals of the company,” Osborn said.

Osborn grew up in Grinnell, Iowa, and is a graduate of Grinnell College in his hometown, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in Mathematics. He also holds CPCU and FCAS designations.

He and his wife, Tari, have four grown children and live in Johnston, Iowa.

Grinnell Mutual Group Foundation donates EV fire blankets

Grinnell Mutual Reinsurance Company — Wed, 20 Nov 2024 14:27:58 GMT

The Grinnell Mutual Group Foundation, working with Jasper County Emergency Management and area fire departments, granted $8,020 to an initiative to enhance emergency responses to vehicle fires along the I-80 corridor. Emergency personnel identified a critical need for fire blankets specifically designed to manage electric vehicle (EV) fires effectively.

Foundation funds were used to purchase four of these specialized blankets; a fifth blanket was donated by Shomo-Madsen-Woythaler Insurance in Newton. Blankets were distributed to fire departments in Grinnell, Kellogg, Newton, Colfax, and Mitchellville, allowing emergency personnel to respond more effectively to EV-related fires. These departments are also committed to helping neighboring jurisdictions if the need arises.

“The Grinnell Mutual Group Foundation recognizes the importance of equipping our first responders with the contemporary tools needed for their jobs,” said Barb Baker, Grinnell Mutual’s director of Advertising and Community Relations. “EV fires are much harder to extinguish than gas-powered auto fires and these blankets help reduce the damage and injury caused by them. We appreciate the opportunity to assist the local emergency management agency and area fire departments in their efforts.”

“With the increasing number of EVs on the road and the significant traffic volume on I-80, it was only logical to prioritize this initiative,” said Jamey Robinson, EMA Director. “We are incredibly grateful to Grinnell Mutual and Shomo-Madsen-Woythaler Insurance for their support, which has allowed us to take a proactive step in equipping our departments for modern challenges.”

Grinnell Mutual exceeds United Way giving goal

Grinnell Mutual Reinsurance Company — Wed, 23 Oct 2024 08:44:43 GMT

Grinnell Mutual employees and matching funds from the Grinnell Mutual Group Foundation raised over $160,000 during the company’s 2024 United Way fundraising campaign.

Employees pledged over $80,000, exceeding the company’s $70,000 goal, as they have for at least nine consecutive years. The foundation matched the employee donations.

“Grinnell Mutual's outstanding employees have a long-standing tradition of supporting the United Way's annual campaign. Our staff genuinely care about our company, our customers, their colleagues, and the communities in which they live,” said Grinnell Mutual CEO, Jeff Menary. “We are proud to serve others, and contributing to the United Way is a perfect way for us to make a positive impact in our local communities.”

Funds from the campaign will be distributed to several different community United Way, United Funds, and Community Chest organizations where Grinnell Mutual employees live.

Director of Advertising and Community Relations Barb Baker said, “Grinnell Mutual employees continue to support the company’s annual United Way fund drive with generous donations to their local communities. With the promise from the Grinnell Mutual Group Foundation to provide additional, matching funds, staff members have exceeded the company’s goal again this year. We are proud to see our employees’ passion to help their neighbors and home communities.

Menary inducted into Iowa Insurance Hall of Fame

Grinnell Mutual Reinsurance Company — Wed, 16 Oct 2024 11:48:44 GMT

Jeff Menary, CEO of Grinnell Mutual, was inducted into the Iowa Insurance Hall of Fame (IIHOF) in a ceremony on Oct. 8, 2024, at the Meadows Event Center in Altoona, Iowa.

More than 50 Grinnell Mutual board members, senior leaders, employees, family members, and friends attended the ceremony to honor Menary. Menary was introduced by Frank Harrison, board chair and CEO of Holborn, one of Grinnell Mutual’s long-time reinsurance broker.

“I am humbled and honored to be one of this year’s Hall of Fame inductees,” Menary said. “While I am being recognized I must point out that the credit for my accomplishments, at Grinnell Mutual or in our industry, goes to all of those who helped me along my personal and professional journey. All great accomplishments belong to a team and not an individual.”

Jeff Menary joined Grinnell Mutual in 1980 and has served in leadership roles at the company for over 25 years, working his way up through the company as a marketing and reinsurance manager, director of Underwriting and Production, assistant vice president of Commercial Lines, vice president of Direct Underwriting and Production, and vice president of Reinsurance.

He was tapped to take the helm at Grinnell Mutual as president and CEO at the end of 2017, succeeding the late Larry Jansen.

In September 2017, just a few months before Jansen’s retirement, Menary became gravely ill with West Nile Virus and spent nearly seven months in the hospital and in rehabilitation.

But Menary always intended to return to Grinnell Mutual as its leader, and in June 2018, he made that happen. He has proved his mettle repeatedly as a compassionate and effective leader, steering the company through a global pandemic, historic losses from a derecho, and some of the toughest years the insurance industry has ever seen.

In January 2024, with his sights on the future of the company and an orderly succession, Menary stepped out of the president’s role but remains CEO until his retirement within the next few years.

As a staunch supporter of Grinnell Mutual’s employees, one of Menary’s proudest accomplishments is the creation of the company’s Care & Share program. Through a local 501 (c)(3), the program disburses funds to employees to help cover unexpected needs such as medical bills and emergencies. The funds come from an annual employee fundraiser and the company matches what employees contribute. Since 2018, the program has distributed nearly $400,000.

Throughout his career, Menary has been active in the insurance industry and his community, sitting on the Iowa Fair Plan Association Governing Committee since 2012; he is currently its vice chair. He is also a past chairperson of the Iowa Auto Insurance Plan. He was a director of the Poweshiek Iowa Development organization for 10 years, five as the chairperson, and is also a member of the Unity Point Grinnell Regional Medical Center’s foundation.

Menary holds a Master of Business Leadership degree from William Penn University and a bachelor’s degree from Central College. He has also earned several insurance designations including the Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter (CPCU), Certified Insurance Counselor (CIC), Associate in Risk Management (ARM), Certified Risk Manager (CRM), Associate in Reinsurance (ARe), and the Contractors Risk and Insurance Specialist (CRIS).

He lives in Grinnell, Iowa, with his wife Renee. They have two children and two grandchildren.

Grinnell Mutual is a Top Workplace for 14th year

Grinnell Mutual Reinsurance Company — Tue, 24 Sep 2024 14:00:53 GMT

In March, Grinnell Mutual was named a top workplace in Energage’s Top Workplaces USA, ranking 56th nationally.

The Register and WorkplaceDynamics evaluated survey responses from more than 30,000 employees of participating employers. Top Workplaces are categorized by number of employees in Iowa and chosen based on employee feedback.   

“Grinnell Mutual is honored to be recognized as one of Iowa’s Top Workplaces for the 14th consecutive year,” said Jeff Menary, Grinnell Mutual CEO. “At Grinnell Mutual we recognize that the reason for our long-term success is the outstanding work by our staff, which is why their happiness and job satisfaction are top priorities at Grinnell Mutual. Our employees care about their company, our customers, and their co-workers. If you truly care about and trust your employees, they’ll make great business decisions and provide best-in-class service to your customers.”

Under the AI hammer?

Grinnell Mutual Reinsurance Company — Fri, 13 Sep 2024 12:26:27 GMT

When you have a hammer in your hand, everything can look like a nail, and there are few bigger hammers these days than artificial intelligence (AI).

AI is driving innovation — and concern — in sectors from colleges and universities to Hollywood, and lots of points in between. The insurance industry is no exception.

AI is identified, sometimes in the space of a single sentence, as both a transformative boon and an existential threat. So, which is it? And how can insurers and reinsurers resolve this and use AI to help chart a course through waters already roiled by dramatic changes in the insurance industry?

“Education is going to be critical if we’re going to use AI effectively,” said Grinnell Mutual President Dave Wingert. “There’s a lot of good the technology can do, but we also need to figure out how bad it could get.”

As one might expect with such a powerful technology, Grinnell Mutual has been deliberate about its exploration of AI. The attitude the company’s senior leadership team has adopted is one of optimism tempered by a cautious, let’s-see-the-numbers approach to change.

“This is gold-rush time for AI,” said Roby Shay, Grinnell Mutual’s chief information and chief operating officer. “We want to see if we can put some guardrails in before we start thinking about tying it into any of our core business processes. We think it would be wise to let things settle out and that we should align with major existing software platforms like Guidewire, where they’re already doing the heavy lifting in figuring AI out.”

CLEAR EXPECTATIONS

One way insurance companies can help themselves during this transitional period is to be very clear about what they want out of AI.

Doug McElhaney, a partner at McKinsey & Co. who focuses on AI’s effects on property-casualty and life insurance companies, said, “I think the thing an insurer really needs to keep in mind is the problem they’re most trying to solve for. If they’ve been struggling with how they’re adjudicating risk or handling their underwriting process, then focusing on leveraging more ‘traditional’ AI abilities like machine learning may provide the most benefit.

“But if what they want to address is customer service — streamlining their claims experience, for instance — then maybe generative AI would be the way they should go.”

A brave new world, right? But “new” can mean a number of things, some good, some maybe not so good. Innovative, groundbreaking. Untried, untested, error-prone. Or, all of those things.

THE GOOD

Used wisely, AI promises to be an important tool in the insurance industry’s effort to surmount the challenges that have beset it in recent years. According to a Carrier Management magazine article by Dennis Winkler, director of insurance for the Information Services Group (ISG), AI’s greatest potential will be the help it can offer insurers as they work to “unlock value and innovation, gain deeper insights into their clientele, enhance the precision of risk assessments, and elevate the quality of offerings.”

Paul Carroll, editor-in-chief of Insurance Thought Leader magazine, has for years kept a weather-eye on AI as it affects insurance. “Claims and renewals are where the rubber meets the road,” he said. “With claims, AI can gather all the info you need, ping the people you need to ping, and keep that process moving along. Before, it was a manual process that might take days, weeks, even months. It’s the same with underwriting — 500 possible data points, and the underwriter might look at 70–80. It’s hard to sort everything.

“With AI, though, you can grab all that info, prioritize it, and be more efficient. The biggest improvement so far has to do with renewals. AI can tell you what’s changed, but also put the things that are most important up front. The theory is that AI will enable better decision-making than humans can do on their own.”

Insurance software developer Guidewire has been using GenAI to help Grinnell Mutual streamline policy administration, claims management, and billing.

Amy Mollin, Guidewire’s vice president for product management, foresees insurers shifting from static workflows and forms-based systems to systems offering real-time guidance drawn from analyses of historical and current data. As befits the AI’s varied nature, she says, a combination of its techniques will enable this shift. Downstream, she said, GenAI will yield a vastly improved customer experience.

“It will enable new interaction patterns that are supported by the insights and recommendations machine learning provides,” she said. “We’re especially enthusiastic about opportunities in claims and underwriting.” Mollin predicts faster quote turnaround times, reduced wait-time in claims processing for both claimants and adjusters, and increased efficiency with straight-through processing.

THE NOT-SO-GOOD

For all the potential generative AI could have for the insurance industry, currently its promise is just that: a promise. According ISG’s Winkler, only 5 percent of AI-driven initiatives in insurance have yielded tangible value, and though insurance firms have received AI enthusiastically, most have confined their involvement to sandbox experimentation. Winkler said that 36 percent of insurance firms in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa are running “isolated projects,” while 25 percent claim they are working toward “transformation.” Only 2 percent have achieved full integration.

Why the slow pace of adoption? In a word, results. Or rather, a lack thereof.

“We mocked up some data that represented a problem and asked Chat GPT to give us some analysis,” Shay said. “In a couple of instances, what it confidently provided was just flat wrong. So, that experience gave us a perspective check. We know a lot of our people have been experimenting with Gemini, Chat GPT, and the free version of Co-pilot; so far, they haven’t showed us any big gains in productivity or business value out of that.”

This suggests that however “intelligent” AI might be, it will still be subject to that oldest of computer problems: garbage in, garbage out. Bad data or bad instructions produce bad results. This means human oversight of the tech is always going to be key if the industry is to stay on the right track with it.

“As our teams move forward with implementing AI tools, we need to ensure that humans remain in the loop, to catch any errors or biases,” said Nicole Chesmore, Grinnell Mutual’s assistant vice president for information technology. “AI can be useful in detecting fraud for example; that’s something it can do well. But human intervention will still be necessary to review the findings and make final decisions.”

For one thing, GenAI can be prone to hallucination. This is a phenomenon in which it sees patterns or objects in data that aren’t really significant, or are nonexistent, yielding outputs that are nonsensical or inaccurate.

Chesmore is confident the payoff for vigilance will be significant. Kept on a tight leash, AI “will give us opportunities to substantially improve customer service — for instance, using AI-powered systems that can provide quick responses, while maintaining a personal touch through human interactions when necessary.”

Wingert stresses that as the company moves down the road toward integrating AI into its critical systems cybersecurity will be a pressing concern.

“[With AI] there are scams and security risks that we didn’t have to face before,” Wingert said. “We have to stay a step ahead of cybercriminals, and to do that we need more sophisticated tools.”

BEYOND THE HYPE

“We don’t see [insurance] companies looking to replace people and jobs with generative AI,” said McKinsey’s McElhaney. “Rather, AI is going to enable companies to evolve their core processes, and enable carriers to look at how they’re going to make better decisions and unlock productivity.

“As generative AI continues to evolve, it has the potential to reshape roles and the associated tasks people in these roles execute. That’s going to allow companies to make better decisions and unlock capacity. That being said, it should also be said that AI is going to be disruptive.”

Grinnell Mutual’s Roby Shay agrees that a clear-eyed assessment of needs, goals, and expectations should be the starting point.

“While we’re careful not to get swept up by every new trend, we also recognize the importance of staying at the forefront of innovation,” Shay said. “Our goal is to adopt new technologies, like AI, when they’ve proven their value and can truly enhance our core processes. It’s about finding the right balance between caution and progress to ensure we continue delivering the best possible outcomes for our members and customers."

Shay references the Gartner Hype Cycle. “A technology is introduced, there’s a Peak of Inflated Expectations, then a Trough of Disillusionment, followed by the Slope of Enlightenment, leading finally to the Plateau of Productivity,” Shay said. “We’re going to wait until AI has reached its Plateau of Productivity before we implement.

“We’re people-centered and our success as a business is founded in our relationships. So, there’s going to be some skepticism for a while, and we’re going to wait until a lot of the dust settles before we make a judgement about what works for us, our members, and our customers.”

SIDEBAR

Despite AI’s ubiquity in current technology discussions, defining what “AI” means is harder than it might seem. In part, that’s because AI isn’t just one thing.

Artificial intelligence is an umbrella term that covers a wide range of technologies. Broadly speaking, it’s a branch of computer science focused on giving computers the ability to mimic human intelligence. At AI’s most basic level, AI-equipped computers can go where their programs tell them to, performing specific tasks by following specific rules. But they don’t create anything new.

Machine learning is another facet of AI in which statistical algorithms “learn” from data and extrapolate to perform tasks without explicit instructions.

Generative AI — GenAI for short — builds on machine learning models to simulate the creative process, producing new text, images, video, audio, or even software code in response to a prompt.

9/2024

New vice president of Actuarial Services

Grinnell Mutual Reinsurance Company — Tue, 30 Jul 2024 09:05:03 GMT

Grinnell Mutual has named Joe Highbarger as its new vice president of Actuarial Services, a new division at the company, effective July 29, 2024.

The new division was created to bring all the company’s actuarial expertise under one umbrella, and to expand capabilities in the granular pricing and predictive modeling that is becoming more and more important in the industry.

Highbarger comes to Grinnell Mutual with more than 25 years’ experience in actuarial work for the insurance industry, 18 of those at an AVP or VP-Chief Actuary level.

“We are very happy to have Joe join our senior leadership team and be able to work with the strong actuarial members we have at Grinnell Mutual,” said Grinnell Mutual President Dave Wingert. “His leadership and experience will be instrumental as we build even more capabilities for the future.”

The new position is the top leadership position in the division and will report to the President. Highbarger’s role includes overseeing product pricing, valuation, capital modeling, actuarial analysis, and reporting for both direct lines of business and assumed reinsurance. He will also oversee strategic and operational activities for the actuarial teams.

Highbarger has a Bachelor of Mathematics with a minor in Accounting from Clarke College in Dubuque, Iowa. He recently moved to Ankeny, Iowa, with his wife and son.

Grinnell Mutual hosts 116th Annual Meeting

Grinnell Mutual Reinsurance Company — Mon, 01 Jul 2024 08:01:31 GMT

Grinnell Mutual’s 116th annual business meeting convened on June 26, 2024, in Grinnell, Iowa, at the Grinnell Mutual Bartelt Conference and Education Center.

The secretary of the board of directors presented the financial statements and elections were held.

The following board members were re-elected for a three-year term, ending June 2027: Dan Anderson of Great Plains Farm Mutual Insurance Co., Canton, S.D.; Mark Schmidt of American Mutual Assoc., Grand Mound, Iowa; and Jim Wellman of German Farmers Mutual Insurance, New Knoxville, Ohio.

New board member, Dave Heynen, president of Farmers Mutual Insurance Assoc. of Hull, in Hull, Iowa, was elected to replace Randy Druvenga. Druvenga is outgoing president of First Maxfield Mutual Insurance Association in Denver, Iowa, and has served on the Grinnell board of directors since 2013.

Heynen has a bachelor’s degree from Dordt University in Sioux Center, Iowa, and has served on the National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies’ (NAMIC) Farm Mutual Conference board and is a NAMIC Merit Society and PAC member.

Heynen has also been active with the Mutual Insurance Association of Iowa (MIAI), serving on several committees, and is a MIAI PAC member. He holds the NAMIC Professional Farm Mutual Manager designation and was elected to a three-year term on Grinnell Mutual’s board

Grinnell Mutual Foundation donates $150K to Greenfield

Grinnell Mutual Reinsurance Company — Fri, 24 May 2024 06:00:00 GMT

On Tuesday, May 21, 2024, Greenfield, Iowa, was hit by a destructive tornado. The Grinnell Mutual community is heartbroken about the devastation and loss of life in Greenfield.

The company has historic ties to Greenfield, where Grinnell Mutual was founded in 1909 as the Iowa Farmers Mutual Insurance Association. J.E. Brooks of Adair County Mutual Insurance Association was one of three committee members that filed Grinnell Mutual’s original articles of incorporation.

The company thrived in Greenfield for 25 years under the leadership of Brooks, providing reinsurance to farm mutuals. In 1934, Brooks retired, and the company’s headquarters moved to Grinnell, Iowa, where it continues to operate as Grinnell Mutual.

Kenneth Stowell, long time secretary-manager of Adair County Mutual, is also linked to Grinnell Mutual. He served on the Grinnell Mutual Board of Directors from 1986 to 1995.

To honor our roots and support the community that gave us our start, the Grinnell Mutual Group Foundation will donate $150,000 to help the community recover. The Foundation was established as the company’s charitable arm and has been supporting communities across its writing territory since 1987.

To help with cleanup efforts, Grinnell Mutual is offering its employees eight hours of extra paid volunteer time off.

“Our hearts and prayers go out to the community of Greenfield and everyone who lost family members, suffered injuries, or had property destroyed,” said Grinnell Mutual CEO Jeff Menary. “Grinnell Mutual is proud of our history, and Greenfield and Adair County Mutual have been a big part of that heritage.

“Now we hope to play a small part in Greenfield's recovery.”

If you’d like to help storm victims:

Greater Greenfield Community Foundation – Monetary donations
Iowa Red Cross – Monetary and blood donations, volunteer opportunities

Grinnell Mutual Road to Success Scholarship 2024 recipients

Grinnell Mutual Reinsurance Company — Mon, 20 May 2024 14:18:44 GMT

Grinnell Mutual, in partnership with its independent agency force, is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2024 Road to Success Scholarships (see complete listing below).

Since the program began 19 years ago, Grinnell Mutual and its agents have provided college-bound students over $1 million in scholarships through the Road to Success program.

Congratulations to the 2024 Road to Success Scholarship recipients! Listed in alphabetical order by hometown.

Illinois

Scott Connor, Bradford

Noah Brooks, Farmer City

Cade Sievers, Hardin

Grace Vance, Onarga

Ella Gunderson, Shannon

Indiana

Luke Stroud, Owensville

Iowa

Carter Miller, Allison

Carson Noteboom, Alton

Nicholas Hiney, Ankeny

Josie Tieskoetter, Calmar

Maya Benhart, Clarence

Elspeth Hogg, Cleghorn

Catrina Sells, Crawfordsville

Carter Buck, Danville

Katie Steward, Earlham

Cooper Habel, Epworth

Blake Borchers, Estherville

Hailie Snider, Exira

Ava VanDaele, Fairbank

Jacob Schoer, Fairbank

Joshua Kawalek, Forest City

Elizabeth Davis, Garnavillo

Emma Wedeking, Greene

Riley Binder, Greenville

Ella Smothers, Grinnell

Brooke Hansel, Guttenberg

Mariha Werger, Guttenberg

Emma Kovarik, Hawkeye

Bria Gengler, Hinton

Larissa Pohlen, Hospers

Kate McNeal, Hudson

Karlee Hofmeyer, Ireton

Sydney Anton, La Porte City

Blake Taylor, La Porte City

Ava Mills, La Porte City

Tate Lahr, Lake View

Kyle Wessels, Lamont

Dawson Barthole, Le Mars

Haddie Hanson, Manly

Larae Steiner, Mediapolis

Logan Branch Mediapolis

Abigail Verwers, New Market

Ella Berns, North Liberty

Macey Hoekstra, Ocheyedan

Kendall Olson, Osage

Caleb Levan, Osage

Nolan Cushion, Randalia

Ashley Dieren, Rock Rapids

Lauren Geerdes, Rock Rapids

Matthew Dieren, Rock Rapids

Abagail Peyton, Rowley

Levi Ferguson, Shellsburg

Fallon Sheldon, Sidney

Samual Ludwig, Waterloo

Natalie Byrnes, Waukon

Minnesota

Jessie Hanson, Adams

Jonas Wiste, Adams

Ryan Herdering, Freeport

Teagan Hinsch, Goodhue

Ryan Hoffmann, Lafayette

Thomas Hansen, Pequot Lakes

Ashlyn Brouwer, Raymond

Brooklyn Brummund, Red Lake Falls

Cortney Brambrink, St. Cloud

Liv Borchardt, Welcome

Missouri

Avery Martin, Cairo

Mallory Brown, Clifton Hill

Lauren Gutting, Kahoka

Chloe Grisham, Moberly

Allison Coats, Richmond

Gibson Halbert, Steelville

North Dakota

Natalie Nechiporenko, Butte

Alex Kratcha, Cayuga

Ohio

David Kremer, Celina

Aaron Hummel, Rossbugh

South Dakota

Cash Lehrman, Spencer

Wisconsin

Karter Butt, Edgar

Makayla Wirkus, Edgar

Emmalee Mann, Fountain City

Olivia Pitz, Juneau

Grinnell Mutual honored with ESGR award

Grinnell Mutual Reinsurance Company — Tue, 14 May 2024 15:45:26 GMT

Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR) presented Grinnell Mutual with its highest state-level honor, the Pro Patria Award, at its April 26 Iowa Committee Employer Recognition Dinner. The award is given to employers that stand behind their citizen-warriors with policies and a culture that support and honor both reserve and active-duty employees. Only three Pro Patria Awards are presented each year. Grinnell Mutual’s award was in the Large Employer category (more than 500 employees).

Nicole Chesmore, assistant vice president, IT, and Melissa Feisel, a director in Human Resources, accepted the award on behalf of the company.

It is the second honor Grinnell Mutual has received from ESGR. In May of 2023, Chesmore was presented with the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve’s (ESGR) Patriot Award, given to individual supervisors nominated by an employee serving in the National Guard or Reserve or their spouse. The award is for support provided directly to the nominating service member and their family. It recognizes leaders’ efforts to support citizen warriors through actions like offering flexible schedules and time off before and after deployment and granting leaves of absence if needed.

Grinnell Mutual

Aiming at A Moving Target

Looming Threats

AI as a Threat Multiplier

Best Practices

The ABCs of Protection

The P&C Industry’s Response

Grinnell Mutual’s Response

Grinnell Mutual Road to Success Scholarship 2026 recipients

Please check back later. The 2026 winners will be announced on or about May 15, 2026.

Grinnell Unites to Aid Families During SNAP Benefit Suspension

Grinnell Mutual reaches United Way giving goal

Grinnell Mutual earns AM Best rating of ‘A’

Grinnell Mutual is a Top Workplace for the 15th year

Grinnell Mutual Road to Success Scholarship 2025 recipients

Illinois

Indiana

Iowa

Iowa (continued)

Minnesota

Missouri

Nebraska

North Dakota

Ohio

South Dakota

Setting the course for success

How did we get here?

Easing off the rocks

Looking forward, not back

Grinnell Mutual wins Gallup Exceptional Workplace Award for engagement

New vice president of Actuarial Services at Grinnell Mutual

Grinnell Mutual Group Foundation donates EV fire blankets

Grinnell Mutual exceeds United Way giving goal

Menary inducted into Iowa Insurance Hall of Fame

Grinnell Mutual is a Top Workplace for 14th year

Under the AI hammer?

CLEAR EXPECTATIONS

THE GOOD

THE NOT-SO-GOOD

BEYOND THE HYPE

SIDEBAR

New vice president of Actuarial Services

Grinnell Mutual hosts 116th Annual Meeting

Grinnell Mutual Foundation donates $150K to Greenfield

Grinnell Mutual Road to Success Scholarship 2024 recipients

Illinois

Indiana

Iowa

Minnesota

Missouri

North Dakota

Ohio

South Dakota

Wisconsin

Grinnell Mutual honored with ESGR award

Grinnell Mutual is a Top Workplace for the 15th year