CINCINNATI, OH--(Marketwire - June 14, 2010) - Ward Group, a consulting firm specializing in the insurance industry and the leading provider of benchmarking practices, in partnership with the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America (PCI) recently published its findings from an in‐depth study of Human Resources Practices and Employee Benefits for property‐casualty insurance companies. The study focused on compensation, health insurance, retirement plans, and other benefit offerings for the insurance industry for 2009 and 2010 projected for a diverse group of 117 property-casualty companies. Key findings were presented by Jeff Rieder, President of Ward Group, at the annual PCI HR Conference in Seattle on April 14, 2010 and in a webinar hosted to participants on May 10, 2010.
For most property‐casualty insurance companies, employee compensation is a large expense item to be actively managed. Employee compensation represents approximately 30% of the average property-casualty company's underwriting and loss adjusting expenses. As the cost of benefits increase and the soft market continues, most companies are reviewing the structure of employee benefit plans and other compensation to manage expenses. Ward Group and PCI conducted the HR Practices and Employee Benefits Study to help companies benchmark their employee benefit plans and its impact on employee compensation.
The study identified the following observations regarding staffing projections for 2010, including:
Total compensation per employee in 2010 is projected to increase 2.0% with increases in ordinary compensation, incentive compensation, retirement plan funding, major medical expenses and other benefits expense. Several key practices were identified that companies have used to minimize growth in employee compensation expenses.
In closing, Mr. Rieder projected expense deterioration to continue through 2011. Ward Group does not expect large scale staff reductions in 2010 but expects more changes to employee compensation and further reduction in benefits. Based on these compensation changes, Human Resource departments are focusing more on employee engagement and other strategies to provide low cost benefits to boost employee morale and production.
To obtain complete results of the HR Practices and Employee Benefits Study, including detailed benchmarks by company size and geographic location, visit www.wardinc.com.
About Ward Group®
Ward Group is a consulting firm specializing in the insurance industry and the leading provider of industry benchmarking and best practices services. Ward Group analyzes staff levels and expenses for all areas of insurance company operations. For more information about Ward Group and the Ward Research Center, visit www.wardinc.com.
Contact Information:
Contact:
Betty Cornelius
Director, Marketing
Ward Group
+1 (513) 746 2404