9 insurers make Forbes’ Best Employers for Diversity list

May 19, 2022 6:30 AM

Pedestrians on The Embarcadero Center in San Francisco, California, U.S., on Monday, March 21, 2022. San Francisco Mayor London Breed is planning a series of events, called Bloom SF, to lure workers back to offices, with offerings such as concerts, food trucks and fitness classes throughout downtown. Photographer: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg — Pedestrians on The Embarcadero Center in San Francisco, California on March 21, 2022.

Of the 50 companies found in Forbes’ annual list of America’s Best Employers for Diversity, nine insurers were identified as some of the most diverse and inclusive employers in the country.

Digital Insurance connected with these insurers to discover how they each secured their spots on the Forbes’ list and how creating a diverse workforce impacts the insurance industry.

Progressive, Mutual of Omaha, Blue Cross Blue Shield North Carolina, New York Life and Unum offered a direct response to Digital Insurance. Erie Insurance provided statements from a press release. Responses were not received in time for publication from The Hartford, USAA or Assurant.

#1 Progressive:

Marisa Afzali, director of diversity, equity and inclusion at Progressive says: “At Progressive, the principles of diversity, equity, and inclusion are built into our core values, which are the foundation of our culture and guide everything we do.

"Our DEI efforts are not new but rather a continuation of a long-standing commitment where we focus on four main objectives: maintaining a fair and inclusive work environment, reflecting the customers we serve, having leadership that reflects the people they lead and contributing to our communities.”

Afzali says, “diversity enables us to understand and anticipate the needs of our customers, and inclusion ensures that we leverage the ideas and efforts of all of Progressive’s people… Our unique backgrounds and viewpoints mean we naturally have differing opinions. At Progressive, we see this as a good thing and have created programs to provoke substantive conversations. These programs along with our employee resource groups are not only commonplace at Progressive, but also reinforce our commitment to an open environment where we not only encourage but expect our people to share their opinions and perspectives.”

#14 Mutual of Omaha:

Christina Arellano, vice president of diversity, equity and inclusion at Mutual of Omaha says: “As part of their evaluation process, Forbes prioritizes four focus areas: direct feedback from employees, indirect recommendations received by non-employees, diversity among top executives including the board of director and diversity engagement indicators. This recognition validates our intentional DEI efforts within our workplace, the marketplace and our community. We are proud of the inclusive culture we’re building at Mutual of Omaha, which is integrated in our day-to-day operations."

Arellano continues, “We exist for our customers, which is why it’s critical for us to continue growing diverse representation and facilitating an inclusive culture. Mutual of Omaha has nine employee resource groups, providing a convening network for associates who either identify or choose to be an ally based on age, gender, ethnicity, disability, LGBTQIA+ and Veteran status. These groups are employee-led, providing key education and engagement activities that also help us better understand the needs of our employee population and marketplace.”

#15 Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina:

Pam Diggs, director of diversity, equity and inclusion of Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina, says DEI “is essential to our mission to improve the health and well-being of our customers and communities, and our continued progression on Forbes’ Best Employers for Diversity list reflects this. Our office of diversity, equity and inclusion has been part of the collective conversation about how diversity shapes employee culture and success… Through the efforts of this council, we’ve set measurable and actionable goals aimed at diversifying our leadership, workforce, and company culture, advancing health equity and supporting strategic partnerships for economic mobility across the communities we serve.”

Diggs says, “As an insurer, having a diverse workforce is crucial to better understanding and serving the needs of our members and communities. Our diversity, equity and inclusion strategy is not limited to building a diverse team at Blue Cross NC; we’re working to increase diverse representation across the entire insurance industry. For example, our Health Insurance Agent DEI Initiative focuses on diversifying the insurance sales workforce. This is an industry where people of color have been largely underrepresented and research shows that over the next 15 years, 50% of the current workforce will retire. We recognize the vital role insurance agents play in increasing access to underserved populations and helping individuals and families choose the right health plan for their needs.

“We’re taking the time to listen, with a focus on intersectionality, to the lived experiences of our employees regardless of ability, gender identity, sexual orientation, race and ethnicity and job levels to inform our DEI strategy.”

#26 New York Life:

According to a statement from New York Life: “New York Life’s commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion is ingrained in who we are and how we operate… This commitment is core to the company. DEI at New York Life is not the work of one area, but a guiding principle that permeates what we do across the company. While we have this strong foundation, we know we need to do more and keep advancing our efforts. The strides we are making within the company serve our broader goal of building multigenerational wealth and security for families across all races, ethnicities, abilities, gender identities, sexual orientations, and more.”

The statement continues: “For more than 25 years, New York Life’s Target and Cultural Markets division has been focused on meeting the financial protection needs of historically underserved markets, including the African American, Chinese, Korean, Latino, South Asian, Vietnamese, and LGBTQ+ communities. Our Target and Cultural Markets have been a core component of the company’s growth and success, and the program employs full-time staff members to help our financial professionals better engage with the needs of each community they represent… Our inclusive culture fosters an environment where employees can bring their authentic selves to work, share their perspectives, and have their voices heard.”

#39 Unum:

Unum, in a statement, says: “We know each employee’s unique perspective, experience and background equips us to better serve our customers and be successful as an organization… Our inclusion & diversity strategy revolves around harnessing diversity of thought by building an equitable culture, inclusive teams and a representative workforce.”

“Unum’s purpose is to help the working world thrive throughout life's moments," the statement says. "This starts with our workforce. Promoting inclusion and diversity as a collective responsibility for our organization helps create stronger relationships with our customers and the communities we serve… We listen to what our employees say. Diversity of thought accelerates innovation and is critical to our success. We’ve created a culture of open and honest two-way communication. Through engagement surveys, employees share feedback to help improve in these areas: Enablement - to make sure the company provides the resources they need to do their best work. Agility - we’re able to pivot and change course when needed. Diversity of thought - creative ideas and solutions can come from everyone. When we listen to our employees, we can perform our best as an organization and meet the needs of our diverse customer base.”

#48 Erie Insurance:

Tim NeCastro, president and CEO of Erie Insurance, said in a statement: “We appreciate the recent recognition by Forbes. At Erie Insurance, our values have guided everything we've done for nearly a century. They compel us to do the right thing, to seek common ground and to look beyond our own needs and choose the greater good. Today, those values lead us in our commitment to being an employer — and insurer — that embraces all individuals and ideas and puts fairness, respect and service above all else.”

Christina Marsh, Erie’s chief diversity and community development officer, said in a statement: “A solid foundation of diversity and inclusion at ERIE has been set over the past decade through awareness, celebration and the creation of employee resource groups and affinity networks. We intend to spend the next decade focused on performance and positive results by taking stronger and more deliberate actions to institutionalize diversity, equity and inclusion into how ERIE operates — as an employer, an insurer and community partner.”

#12

The Hartford

:

Did not respond to requests for comment in time for publication.

#18

USSA

:

Did not respond to requests for comment in time for publication.

#45 Assurant:

Did not respond to requests for comment in time for publication.