There are not many companies that can boast reaching theircentenary. Recently, New Jersey's largest insurer, in terms ofmarket share according to SNL, New Jersey Manufactures InsuranceCompany reached that milestone. NJM says today it is the largestwriter of both auto insurance and workers' compensation in thestate and, as a mutual insurer, it has never wavered in itsmission—to serve the needs of policyholders. “That single-mindedfocus reflects the culture of our organization and remains asstrong today as ever before,” said President and CEO BernieFlynn.

The company says faces have changed, buildings have modernized,and computers have replaced typewriters and ledgers, but NJM'sfocus is still workers' compensation, auto and homeowners insurancein New Jersey, with an emphasis on safety, sound underwriting andcost controls. The benefit is a total of $5.4 billion in dividendsto policyholders over 100 years.

Celebrating its June 7th anniversary, the company donated$700,000 worth of driving simulators to 55 New Jersey High Schoolsthat participated in the Brain Injury Alliance of New Jersey'sChampion Schools Program, a statewide investment in driver safety.The company also gave two $10,000 grants to Lenape Regional HighSchool in Medford, and Columbia High School in Maplewood, forwinning this year's “U Got Brains” event.

Click next for a peek into how NJM and insurers have changed in100 years.

NJM's home office in the1920s and today.

Like the Affordable Care Act today, workmen's compensationinsurance in the 1910s was a controversial new government mandateon employers. New Jersey was the first state to enact it. In adesperate last-minute effort to stop the bill, a Trenton factorymanager argued, “All right, Senator, go ahead and pass it. Themanufacturers will organize their own insurance company if youdo.”

That manager and 54 others made personal loans to incorporateNew Jersey Manufacturers Insurance Company on June 7, 1913, withthe express purpose of operating in the interest of itspolicyholders and paying dividends to policyholders, notstockholders.

The Falstrom Company insuredby NJM since the 1910s, and Gerber Metal as it appearstoday.

As the name implies, “Manufacturers” were NJM's firstpolicyholders during New Jersey's industrial heyday, but theCompany's insured businesses now include research facilities,offices, hospitals, hospitality services and retail supermarkets,as well as trucking companies, high-tech metal producers,manufacturers and many others.

NJM's safety engineeringservices includes classes for employees andinspections.

Focused on quality service rather than profit, NJM pioneered anengineering department to inspect workplaces and require safetystandards. From 1917 through 1919, NJM insurance business more thandoubled while its covered accidents fell from 9,021 to 8,275.Workers avoided injuries while employers paid lower insurancepremiums. Such service helped NJM to grow briskly, becoming thelargest workers' compensation insurer in New Jersey in 1922, andremaining so today.

NJM clinic circa 1960 andmedical treatment today.

In the early 20th Century, New Jersey was the center of theindustrial Northeast. For efficiency and effectiveness in assuringmedical treatment for injured workers, NJM established its own“hospitals” near factories in major cities, starting in Newark in1919 and lasting until the 1990s. Today, with insured businessesthroughout suburban areas, NJM operates a cost-effective managedcare program.

Many of NJM's founders werestill on the Board of Directors in this 1926 photo.

At NJM, the interest of policyholders has always meant bothservice and savings. The goal of paying dividends to policyholderswas set by the founders themselves who loaned their personal creditto start the Company, rather than investing in it as stockholders.Those loans were repaid in four years so that, in 1918,policyholders received 20% of their premiums back for both workers'compensation insurance and for the then-new line of auto insurance.NJM has paid dividends to policyholders in each and every yearsince.

NJM claim adjusters ensurethat covered repairs are settled promptly and fairly.

The value of an insurance policy is the company's service duringa claim. NJM's own staff investigates and settles claims promptly,garnering recognition from national consumer publications. Due toits reputation, NJM has grown without significant advertising toinsure more than 800,000 automobiles, 280,000 homes and more than350,000 employees for workers' compensation. Ironically, NJM's only1-in-100-year storm, “Sandy,” struck during NJM's 100th year. Sofar, NJM has closed 99% of Sandy claims and paid $265 million tocovered policyholders.

NJM employees post mail withearly 20^th Century technology and today's ZIP-codepre-sort machine.

Through it all, employees have adapted to the day's mostefficient technology for providing superior service at a controlledcost. Founded as a direct writer, NJM has used its own staff tointeract directly with policyholders for both underwriting andclaims, as well as for administrative duties including printing andmailing. NJM is a major employer in New Jersey, including 2,500people in three offices today. During NJM's history, more than 800employees have achieved 25 years or more of service.