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Leading the Lumber Mutual Insurance Industry with John Smith

Dec 6, 2023

John Smith is President and Chief Executive Officer at Pennsylvania Lumbermens Mutual Insurance Company (PLM). With more than 40 years in the insurance business, he was a property underwriter at Aetna Casualty, a branch manager at CNA, and the Northeast Regional Vice President at General Accident. John has served on the Board of Directors of both PLM and Indiana Lumbermens Mutual Insurance Company (ILM) since the companies affiliated in 2013 and has served on many boards of directors including the National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies (NAMIC), the Insurance Society of Philadelphia (ISOP), The Institutes, and the Hardwood Federation. John was awarded the 2018 Distinguish Leadership Award from the Insurance Society of Philadelphia (ISOP), the 2019 Chairman's Award from the National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies (NAMIC), and a 2020 Franklin Award given by ISOP and The Institutes CPCU Society. In today’s episode of the In The Know podcast, Chris Hampshire and John discuss the steps to building a career you love, the importance of team building and diversity, and what it takes to succeed in today’s insurance industry.

 

Special thank you to the Pennsylvania Lumbermens Mutual Insurance Company (PLM) for being a generous annual partner of The Institutes CPCU Society.

 

Pennsylvania Lumbermans Mutual Insurance Company

 

Key Takeaways

  • John started his prestigious insurance career not knowing what an underwriter was.

  • Transitioning from a stock company to a smaller mutual company.

  • A great team, hard work, and a lot of luck are John’s keys to success.

  • The skills John looks for when he’s hiring a new member of his team.

  • Creating a clear career path through training, education, and mentoring.

  • Instilling a company culture from the CEO's perspective.

  • Working for a smaller company can have a big impact on a career.

  • The state of technology in the insurance industry today.

  • A look at where the industry is heading in the future.

  • Taking charge of your career to craft the story that you want to tell about your work.

  • John’s advice to his early career self was to get to the corner office.

  • The importance of diversity in a successful company.