Auto-Owners Insurance Named 2017 Company of the Year by National Association of Professional Insurance Agents

WASHINGTON, Sept. 20 -- The National Association of Professional Insurance Agents issued the following news release:

The National Association of Professional Insurance Agents (PIA) has named Auto-Owners Insurance Company as the recipient of its prestigious 2017 Company Award of Excellence. The presentation was made on September 15, 2017 at a gala ceremony held in conjunction with PIA's Board of Directors meeting in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

"Auto-Owners is highly deserving of this, our association's highest company honor," said PIA National President Gary Blackwell, in presenting the award. "For independent agents, Auto-Owners is a true partner. Many of us have placed Auto-Owners Insurance high among the carriers we represent. There are many good reasons for this: Financial strength and stability. Excellent service. Superior products. Unparalleled quality. And ease of doing business."

"Perhaps the most important reason we are so loyal to Auto-Owners, is that Auto-Owners is loyal to independent agents," Blackwell said. "It's a perfect match!"

The PIA National Company Award of Excellence honors a company for its commitment to PIA, to the American Agency System and to furthering the interests of professional insurance agents by creating a better business environment.

"We are honored and humbly accept this award on behalf of the associates of Auto-Owners that make such awards possible," said Chairman & CEO Jeff Harrold, who along with Mary Pierce, senior vice president, marketing & sales, was on hand for the presentation.

"In our 101-year history, we have marketed exclusively through the independent agency system and see no reason to change. Like the PIA, whose focus is on enhancing the capabilities and skills of their members, we have found the better we serve our agents, the mutually stronger we become."

Established in 1916 and headquartered in Lansing, Michigan, Auto-Owners Insurance Group is the 17th-largest property/casualty insurance group in the nation, based on written premium of over $6.3 billion. The company also ranks 398th on the Fortune 500 list.

Auto-Owners, which employs 4,900 associates in the 26 states in which it operates, is one of 12 insurance carrier groups in the U.S. to receive the highest rating possible, A++ Superior, by A.M. Best, which is a nationally recognized rating agency for insurance companies.