2011 Plan
A message from Stu Henderson, President & CEO

We have always shared our annual Business Plans with you, since you are our partners in this and because if you know where we want to go, you can help us get there. We are doing that again now. However, with all the changes in 2010 and 2011 (new product lines, new companies), we can no longer issue one plan for the Group that contains very specific targets and tactics; the specific annual goals and targets for each of our companies are too different.  What we can, and will, do is provide the overall strategies for the Group (with a few examples of tactics) so that you know the framework within which we will make our business decisions.  These strategies will enable our group of companies to achieve our financial, operational, and personnel goals for the benefit of you, our policyholders, our employees, and all other partners in service. An individual company’s plan and the specific of its tactics will be shared with you by that company through its underwriters and marketing representatives.

1. Profitable premium growth

By achieving a combined ratio that consistently adds to our policyholder surplus (even in a persistently soft market), we ensure our continued ability to deliver on our claims promise.  Our 2011 target combined ratio is 98.5%.  This is higher than our norm, but it reflects the realities of the economy and of the fact that our mutual policyholders need us to have a lower return in this time of their need.

2. Commitment to employees and our communities

Western National is a community of people working together.  The stronger that community, the better our ability to achieve our common purpose: serving our policyholders and partner agents.  We are committed to building those communities by fostering a culture of respect, wellness, innovation, and personal growth throughout our group of companies.  2011 initiatives include wellness, stable compensation, very solid benefits, personal development opportunities and community service (including contributing 1% of prior-year profit to charities).

3. Relationship marketing and selling

“Relationships” are, and must continue to be, more than just a warm-and-fuzzy word at Western National.  They are our differentiator.  First and foremost, we are committed to our independent agents.  We will invest in people and programs that help us build long-term, personal relationships with policyholders and partner agents.  In 2011 we will look for ways to deepen our existing relationships, while building very few new ones with new agencies, specifically by conducting focus groups and training programs, enhancing portal and customer facing system useability, and by financial and other support of our agents/agent associations.

4. Continuous improvement to customer service

We rely on excellent customer service to continue to prove the value of our relationships to our policyholders and partner agents.  As the world of commerce evolves, and as customer expectations follow suit, we are committed to finding new ways to ‘wow’ our customers.  In 2011, we will continue to develop the customer relationship center, finalize the new billing enhancements, and review all processes for ease of use.

5. Leverage appropriate technology

We understand that our technology needs to be stable, available and effective to earn the business of our policyholders and partner agents.  We dedicate ourselves to maintaining this standard, as well as to building and upgrading our systems to better support our initiatives and balance our available resources.  In 2011, we will primarily build on what we have to fully utilize existing technologies and will increase our self-sufficiency to avoid issues of third party vendors that can adversely affect our business and reputation. System availability goal is 99% or greater of published times.