Union Mutual Ceding Control to Massachusetts Insurance Companies

This story by Phil Dodd was first published in The Bridge on Oct. 10.

Giving up its independence after 150 years, Montpelier casualty insurance company Union Mutual will be “affiliating” with a group of Massachusetts insurance companies known collectively as the N&D Group. The affiliation was approved by the state Department of Financial Regulation on Sept. 25.

Affiliation is the term used when mutual insurance companies combine but operate separately, so this is not technically a merger and no payment is involved. But the expanded group of companies will be governed by a new board of directors that will have eight representatives of the N&D Group and four from Union Mutual, effectively giving the Massachusetts firms control over Union Mutual.

In the approval order, the state said the N&D Group and Union Mutual agreed “there will be no layoffs or separations of employment as a result of the agreement unless for cause.” Union Mutual employs just under 100 people, and is the third largest insurance company in Montpelier, after National Life and Vermont Mutual.

The approved agreement also states that the principal office of Union Mutual will remain in Montpelier for a period of not less than ten years from the closing date. However, if the combined surplus of the companies ever declines by more than 30%, the offices could be moved to “an alternative location in or near Montpelier,” the order says.

The N&D Group is made up of three mutual and casualty insurance companies: Dorchester Mutual, Fitchburg Mutual, and Norfolk & Dedham Mutual. The N&D Group “is rated A (Excellent) by A.M. Best,” the order notes.

Union is a Vermont domestic mutual property and casualty insurance company located at 139 Main Street, Montpelier. Union, which is owned by its policyholder members, was first issued a certificate of authority in Vermont on Jan. 1, 1875.

The Union affiliation is the latest of three recent local affiliations or mergers. In 2022, by a very close vote, members of the Vermont State Employees Credit Union, which was based in Montpelier, approved a merger with New England Federal Credit Union, with the merged credit union run by a CEO from New England Federal. The merged credit union, which is seeking to expand its business outside Vermont, recently announced it was renaming itself as EastRise Credit Union.

And in a 2023 affiliation agreement approved by regulators, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Vermont became part of the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan enterprise family of companies. The Vermont organization remains headquartered in Berlin, Vermont.