Policyholders of Jewelers Mutual Insurance Company have voted to approve the company's plan to convert to a mutual holding company.
The conversion was approved at Jewelers Mutual's headquarters in Neenah, Wisconsin, where it received 87.1 percent support from votes cast by proxy or in person, surpassing the required approval of two thirds of voting members.
The conversion to a mutual holding company, previously approved by the Wisconsin Office of the Commissioner of Insurance and Jewelers Mutual's board of directors, will become effective upon issuance of a certificate of authority from Wisconsin, which the company said it expected on or shortly after January 1, 2020.
Under the new structure, Jewelers Mutual Holding Company will become the group's new parent company, with Jewelers Mutual Insurance Company becoming a stock subsidiary company wholly owned by the mutual holding company.
The approval "confirms our policyholders' support and trust in Jewelers Mutual," said Scott Murphy, president and chief executive officer of Jewelers Mutual. "We are dedicated to supporting our customers, and we are now better able to evolve our company to serve the needs of our policyholders without structural limitations."
Jewelers Mutual said that creating a mutual holding company would enhance its ability to innovate and bring new value to its customers – and the jewelry industry – with new ventures. It added that coverage, premium rates, and claims handling under existing Jewelers Mutual insurance policies would be unaffected by the change to a mutual holding company.
Learn more: www.JewelersMutual.com.
Steven A. Meyerowitz
Steven A. Meyerowitz, a Harvard Law School graduate, is the founder and president of Meyerowitz Communications Inc., a law firm marketing communications consulting company. He may be contacted at [email protected].