Issue link: http://www.insightdigital.biz/i/201303
Jewelers Mutual, the only insurance company in the United States dedicated solely to insuring jewelry and jewelers, has carved an influential niche in a market driven by passion and intrigue. It's an industry as much concerned about its clients and their bling as it is about teaching store owners how to avoid the bang of increasingly sophisticated criminals. How it strives to stay one step ahead of organized crime — when jewelry is considered a "gateway" item to the drug industry and even terrorism — sets it in an entirely unique class of property and casualty insurance. Jewelers Mutual enjoys exclusive endorsements from many of the major jewelry trade organizations in the U.S. and Canada. It has given more than $6.1 million in the past five years to support the jewelry industry for loss prevention education, training and research. It works with the FBI to foil high crimes. Although the company's name is widely known in the region, exactly what its 220 employees do is a bit of a mystery to many outside the industry. "Jewelers Mutual is a really well-kept secret here," says David Sexton, vice president of loss prevention consulting at the company. "Even people I know very well don't really know what we do. In the jewelry marketplace in North America, we're a very significant player. We are the balancing company for the whole (jewelry) industry." Indeed, the company is a "major player" on the national jewelry scene, says John Kennedy, president of the Jewelers Security Alliance based near the diamond district in New York City. "It has had a remarkable impact on reducing jewelry crime in the U.S.," Kennedy says. "Things are much safer for jewelers today then 10 or 20 years ago with the support of Jewelers Mutual." Among property and casualty insurance companies, Jewelers Mutual was named to the Ward's 50 list of topperforming insurance companies in the nation this year for the fifth time in the last nine years. For 26 consecutive years it has earned the rating of A+ Superior from A.M. Best Company. Owned by its policyholders – some 10,000 commercial clients and another 300,000 individual policyholders in all 50 states and Canada – it provides more than $17 billion in coverage. The company projects 2013 written premiums to total about $150 million. Jewelers Mutual has specialized in the commercial jewelry market for 100 years, insuring jewelry stores, wholesalers and R. Harder Gallery of Gems & Minerals A nonprofit gallery featuring a large collection of rocks, gems and minerals from around the world, located in the lobby of Jewelers Mutual Insurance Company, 24 Jewelers Park Drive, Neenah. Hours: 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday (excluding holidays) Call (920) 725-4326, ext. 2301 for group tours or escorted visits. "This collection represents our interest in broadening your understanding of how rocks become jewels." – Ron Harder, museum founder and retired CEO of Jewelers Mutual craftsmen. For at least 50 years it has also offered individual jewelry insurance, but only began actively promoting its personal lines with the launch of its Perfect Circle Jewelry Insurance brand in 2012. The company has seen double-digit growth in its personal lines for the past six years. Think: Every couple who buys engagement and wedding rings is a potential client. Big guns in a little town W hy is the most influential jewelry insurance company in North America headquartered in Neenah, Wisconsin? Copeman loves to share the story. "Jewelers Mutual was formed by jewelers for jewelers," begins Copeman, in his characteristically engaging, polished tone. "In 1913, there were about 115 members of the Wisconsin Jewelers Association who said, 'We all have the same problem – there aren't a lot of companies providing insurance for us.' They provided coverage for businesses or farms, but the leading edge of East Coast insurance companies were appointing agents further and further from their roots. Jewelers were, on a regular basis, burning down their buildings," due to the highly flammable chemical used in watches at the time. "And these companies didn't appreciate they were having all these losses in the Wild West. So the Wisconsin jewelers came together in the back of what was the Nelson-Anderson Jewelry Store in Neenah. They challenged a few people to put together a plan and said, 'Let's start a mutual insurance company and insure each other.'" The new company leaders thought big-picture. They "The best part of my job is getting the opportunity to work with our jewelers. We are there protecting them in their happiest times and some of the worst times in their lives." – Katherine Bodoh, director of Industry Relations and Corporate Events 26 | Insight • N o v e m b e r 2 013 w w w. i n s i g h t o n b u s i n e s s . c o m