Grange Insurance adds new logo & Web services

New brand reflects company's heritage as well as its future

By Phil Zinkewicz

Next year, Columbus, Ohio-based Grange Insurance Company will celebrate its 25th anniversary. In addition, this past February, Grange held a virtual news conference announcing its new brand, which it said reflects “the company’s strong heritage and financial security while promoting its desire to create innovative, customer-focused products, and position independent agents as valued insurance experts.”

Since the company last updated its logo in 1988, Grange has grown from annual revenues of $250 million to $1.3 billion, with $2 billion in assets, according to Phil Urban, president and CEO. The company has expanded from five states to 13, he said. And, Urban emphasized, the company has increased its independent agent network from 1,258 to more than 15,000 agents. Through that network, Grange offers auto, home, life and business insurance protection. Established in 1935, the company and its affiliates serve policyholders in Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and Wisconsin.

In conjunction with the brand launch, the company introduced new television, radio and print commercials. “Our new brand represents both our heritage—a stable Midwestern company offering competitive pricing, outstanding claims service and the expert counsel of independent agents—and the company we want to become,” said Urban. “People value established companies for security but also want them to be nimble enough to keep up with their life’s changing demands. They value variety in products, efficient service and multiple options when it comes to how to conduct business.”

During the teleconference, Doug Sharp, vice president/agency relations for Grange, said that the company’s agents are an “extension of the new brand.” Said Sharp: “There is a new middle class out there. People’s lives are moving faster and becoming more complex. The independent agent is ever more important because of these rapid changes.”

Carol Drake, vice president of marketing for Grange, said one of first things that is noticeable about the new logo is a new open, round font indicating an organization that’s “solid, yet approachable and friendly.”

Continued Drake: “Multiple colors representing energy and diversity also imply strength and security from a network family approach. Finally, it has a graphic element that represents the blurred lines of the open road, indicating a sense of adventure and forward movement. We’re going to always be looking for ways we can be better.”

In addition to the new look, another part of the teleconference dealt with the revamped Web site, where customers will soon be able to access policy information, print insurance cards and check on their claims status. The new site also includes information that makes insurance easier to understand, said Drake.

“The new design is fresh and modern and reflects the fact that Grange is a forward-looking company, yet it also demonstrates stability,” said Bill Sturkie, an independent agent in Georgia and vice chair of the Grange Agent Advisory Board. “I believe the new brand repositions Grange and accurately reflects the company’s approach to inviting everyone to become part of the Grange family.”

Doug Sharp said that Grange has a “unique relationship with its independent agent network that differentiates it in the marketplace.” He continued: “For years Grange has touted its 100% commitment to the independent distribution channel. The new brand not only maintains that commitment but strengthens it by positioning independent agents as trusted advisors of a complicated product.”

The participants in the teleconference also discussed Grange’s Ease of Doing BusinessSM (EODB) core philosophy. Said Mike Buzek, vice president of EODB: “The company’s new brand comes with not only a renewed commitment to deliver EOBD to agents but to extend the same philosophy to all customers. Evidence of the company’s ability to do so includes its 96% claims satisfaction rating.”

“Customers find our claims process simple, efficient and quick,” Urban said. “A great example is our turnaround time when the winds of Hurricane Ike took their toll in the Midwest last fall. Not only were we often the first insurance company on the scene, but we settled 90% of policyholders’ claims within 30 days of the hurricane. This is the type of service our customers and agents have come to expect from Grange, and it’s something we will always take very seriously.”