CHICAGO - The Property Casualty Insurers Association of America (PCI) and Ward Group, an Aon Hewitt company, are conducting a joint study through March 20, 2014 to benchmark human resources practices and employee benefits among property casualty insurance companies.

This in-depth study, which is open solely to the property casualty insurance industry, will provide insight into current human resources practices along with future trends in employee benefits design. The findings of the study will be presented at the PCI Human Resources Conference, held April 6-9, 2014, in St. Petersburg Beach, Florida.

“We encourage insurers to participate in this unique human resources practices and benefits study that was developed specifically for the property casualty insurance industry,” said Elysa Robin, director, human resources for PCI. “By focusing solely on our industry, the PCI/Ward Group study provides tremendous value and insight on trends affecting employee compensation and benefit plan design within our industry. Additionally, study participants will receive comprehensive information that may help them benchmark their practices directly to others in the industry and confront the challenges of managing employee benefits and the HR function.”

“A key benefit of the study is that it organizes company data by size and metro or non-metro location to give participants valuable information they can use for their specific needs,” said Jeff Rieder, president of Ward Group. “It is easy to participate in the study and those who do will receive a summary of the results once the study is completed.”

The study will provide data on staffing conditions and total employee compensation within the property casualty insurance industry including:

•           Employee benefits

•           Base salary

•           Incentive compensation for executives, middle management and staff

•           Non-monetary benefit offerings

•           Staffing needs and expenses related to the Human Resources function

•           Employee benefit plan design and redesign trends

•           Health insurance programs

•           Retirement plans

•           Year-to-year trends

There is no charge to participate in the survey; however, participation is required to receive the summary results. Customized reports comparing your company’s practices directly to others in the industry, are available for a fee of $500. Participating companies in this study will not be identified by name in either the results or customized reports.

Use this link BENEFITS STUDY to complete the study questions.

For questions or more information about the study, please contact Swapna Thomas at 847-553-3703 or email PCI.Surveys@pciaa.net for additional information.

PCI is composed of more than 1,000 member companies, representing the broadest cross-section of insurers of any national trade association. PCI members write over $195 billion in annual premium, 39 percent of the nation’s property casualty insurance. Member companies write 46 percent of the U.S. automobile insurance market, 32 percent of the homeowners market, 37 percent of the commercial property and liability market, and 41 percent of the private workers compensation market.

About Ward Group

Ward Group is the leading provider of benchmarking and best practices studies for insurance companies.  The firm analyzes staff levels, compensation, business practices and expenses for all areas of company operations and helps insurers measure results, optimize performance and improve profitability.  For more information about Ward Group, visit www.wardinc.com.

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