Serving homeowners a growing niche

A SURE THING: Mike Anselmo, chief information officer at Narragansett Bay Insurance Co., talks with business analyst Karen Langlois. The company's revenue has grown from $6.1 million in 2007 to $60.3 million in 2010. / PBN PHOTO/BRIAN MCDONALD
A SURE THING: Mike Anselmo, chief information officer at Narragansett Bay Insurance Co., talks with business analyst Karen Langlois. The company's revenue has grown from $6.1 million in 2007 to $60.3 million in 2010. / PBN PHOTO/BRIAN MCDONALD

Narragansett Bay Insurance Co. has found a niche in homeowners insurance it is eager to stick with.
“We believe that it’s hard to do one thing really well and there are a lot of people writing automobile insurance,” said Nick Steffey, CEO of Narragansett Bay Insurance Co. “We just don’t think we can be in that market. Our idea is just to be very focused on homeowners, it’s a large market, it’s growing and not that many people want to be in it.”
The company has 80,000 clients in Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York and Rhode Island – with plans to add additional states, said Mike Anselmo, senior vice president and chief information officer.
Anselmo said growth over the years has exceeded expectations, especially in a state with double-digit unemployment and many companies going through hard economic times.
Annual gross revenue grew from $6.1 million in 2007 to $60.3 million in 2010 and to $114 million, in 2011, Anselmo said. It had 15 employees in 2007 and has 72 today.
The homeowners insurer hired 11 employees this year, including property-claims adjusters, software engineers, systems engineers and a regional vice president, and they plan to fill more positions before year’s end.
In November, Anselmo was recognized as one of Insurance & Technology’s 2011 Elite 8 honorees, for leveraging leading-edge industry ideas to support a rapidly growing company.
The magazine’s Elite 8 showcases insurance and technology executives who lead their organizations’ efforts to create business value and distinction.
Anselmo has led Narragansett Bay’s APEX initiative, an enterprise-technology transformation replacing the company’s legacy systems. Developed to support the company’s strategic focus on homeowners insurance, the company credits APEX with being instrumental in Narragansett Bay’s growth.
The company also is poised to get a boost in sales next year after a Columbus, Ohio-based insurance company decided to pull out of Rhode Island and reduce its offerings in Massachusetts.
State Auto Insurance Cos. stopped writing new auto, home and business insurance policies in Rhode Island and will no longer offer home and auto coverage in Massachusetts. Under an arrangement with State Auto, Narragansett Bay Insurance Co. will extend homeowners-insurance offers to State Auto customers in both states, starting Jan. 1. The agreement involves more than 10,000 home-insurance policies and $9 million in total premiums. Without tax breaks or subsidies, Narragansett Bay Insurance Co. has built a business model focusing on one area, with no plans to expand beyond offering homeowners insurance.
The company was started in 1848 in Pawtucket, Steffey said. Then in the early 1990s and part of the 21st century, the company ran into some problems and was taken over by the state of Rhode Island.
Private investors bought the building at 25 Maple St. from Rhode Island and then re-created the business today that specializes in homeowners insurance, Steffey said.
“Our product is required because a number of companies are getting out of the homeowners business in coastal states,” he said.
Steffey says there are a few things that make them unique.
“Our technology is state of the art in that we are able to provide a platform that is easy for our agents and their customer representatives and we have capital from investors that are committed,” Steffey said. “So as we need capital, we are able to drive it, whereas some of our competitors are not able to raise capital.”
Even in tough economic times, with not a lot of homes being built, the company still thrives, he said.
“Whether or not there are a lot of new houses being built, we tend to market to middle-size homeowners and when their insurance comes up for renewal, a lot of homeowners choose to look at how we do business versus others and we pick up those homes when they’re renewing,” Steffey said.
Every new policyholder is provided with an in-home ShelterPride Appraisal – a personalized interior and exterior survey that helps ensure the correct amount of coverage based on replacement cost, alerts homeowners to important safety risks, and makes sure clients get the credit they deserve, the insurer says.
The Pawtucket office is actually two buildings on Maple Street with a connecting main corridor.
“We’re passionate about what we do, strive to provide outstanding customer service and drive growth through relentless innovation,” Anselmo said. •

COMPANY PROFILE
Narragansett Bay
Insurance Co.

OWNERS: Pine Brook Road Partners LLC, RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd. and Soros Strategic Partners LP
TYPE OF BUSINESS: Homeowners-insurance company
LOCATION: 25 Maple St., Pawtucket
EMPLOYEES: 72
YEAR ESTABLISHED: 2006
ANNUAL SALES: $60.3 million (2010)

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