The Central Structure

Central cannot be all things to all people, but we promise an untiring commitment to prompt, accurate, friendly, and professional service. Good service starts with this corporate commitment.

This type of commitment must be backed up by an internal structure which is streamlined and efficient enough to allow good service. We have the internal procedures in place to carry through on this commitment. Our written service standards are the toughest in the industry and provide a challenging goal to maintain. The following departments and their people allow us to meet our service goals:

Click on any of the following to jump to a description of a Department and its Reporting Units.
HOME OFFICE Located in Van Wert, Ohio, each Home Office department reports to a Vice President who in turn reports directly to Bill Purmort, President and Chairman of the Board.	Actuarial Claims Commercial Lines Underwriting Corporate Accounting Customer Services Human Resources Information Technology Investment Department Legal Marketing Personal Lines Underwriting
REGIONAL OFFICES Central has regional offices located in Waltham, Massachusetts; Alpharetta, Georgia; Irving, Texas; and Van Wert, Ohio. Each regional office has a Vice President who reports to Bill Purmort, President and Chairman of the Board. Each of our four regional offices include:	Claims Commercial and Personal Lines Underwriting Loss Control Marketing Office Services

HOME OFFICE

ACTUARIAL has the important role of analyzing data and working with other company personnel to set the prices Central charges for our insurance products. They guide the decision making team concerning the loss and loss adjustment expense reserves that are included in Central's financial statements. They analyze pricing and coverage options to help the company make reinsurance purchasing decisions. Central's actuaries also forecast what the company can expect in future premium writings and financial results.

CLAIMS is responsible for establishing company claim policies as well as handling large property and casualty claims. They provide support for the regional claims staff and develop and present claims training classes when needed.

WORKERS' COMPENSATION CLAIMS reports to the Vice President of Claims. This department handles all workers' compensation claims, long term "no fault", and medical claims. The department has a medical cost containment section which reviews medical bills and completes pre-certification of medical treatment.

The Company's subrogation unit is also in Home Office Claims and is responsible for all subrogation recoveries for Central.

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The Underwriting Operations staff is responsible for commercial and personal lines rate, rule, and form filings and regulatory changes. This area also provides secretarial support for the commmercial and personal lines Home Office staff.

LOSS CONTROL sets direction and policy for the loss control consultants who are located in each regional office. Our regional Loss Control personnel report to the Home Office Loss Control Director.

CORPORATE ACCOUNTING oversees the preparation of internal and external operating and financial reports for state insurance departments, rating bureaus, and company management. They also coordinate the CPA and state financial examinations and audits. This department also manages bank reconcilements, payroll, budgets, the expense allocation system, and accounts payable. They print all checks, make arrangements for deposits, and handle all federal, state, and local payroll taxes, as well as federal income taxes. They file state and local premium tax returns. In addition, they oversee annual budgeting of expenses and handle premium and loss accounting with reinsurance companies.

CUSTOMER SERVICE

ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE The Commercial Lines group handles all agency bill functions and company bill functions for commercial lines policies including external customer service calls from insureds and agents. They collect premium audits and distribute direct bill commission checks and statements to agents.

The Personal Lines group handles all the cash processing for premium payments for both commercial and personal policies. They deal with a large volume of external customer service calls from insureds and agents as well as handle the collection of earned premium from cancelled personal lines policies.

PERSONAL LINES SERVICES is responsible for the entry of personal lines transactions into the system for the production of personal lines policies. They also enter the underwriting information which the personal lines underwriters use to evaluate exposures and make decisions.

CLAIM SERVICES provides support to Home Office Claims, Regional Claims Offices, and Workers' Comp. Claims by entering first loss notices and reserves, processing images for electronic claim files, and preparing reports of loss for reinsurance. They also process loss run requests from agents and insureds.

COMMERCIAL SERVICES is composed of five units -- Regional Services(4) and Premium Audit.

There are four regional Commercial Services units: CRSS, NESS, SESS, and SWSS. These units process quotes, new, renewal, and endorsement transactions for all lines of business. They refer certain transactions to the various regional underwriters that are beyond their scope of responsibility. They order and screen MVR's for their region as well as handling all 'call in' endorsements for their region. Each unit prepares cancellations and reinstatement notices. In addition, they type, assemble, and prepare all manual transactions. They are also responsible for commercial testing for the Information Technology Department.

Premium Audit orders and processes all premium audits for the company.

HOME OFFICE SERVICES is responsible for the Fax Center as well as fax pick up throughout the Van Wert offices. They process personal lines mail, commercial, and claims mail, and add all permanent personal lines and commercial lines records to the Image system for users. They scan and index Underwriting Operations and Marketing documents into the imaging system. This area is also responsible for our Home Office telephone services.

MAIL AND SUPPLY handles all incoming and outgoing mail for Van Wert. They process supply requests for agents, regions, and departments. This area is also responsible for the policy inserter process which automatically assembles policies, bills, endorsements, and renewals.

HUMAN RESOURCES is responsible for all human resource activities for the company. This includes employment-related activities such as recruiting, hiring, training, compensation, job classification and assignment, promotion, transfers, and employee relations. This department also includes our employee benefit areas which consist of medical, dental, vision, disability, flexible spending, Savings and Profit Participation, pension, life insurance, and voluntary life insurance plans.

TRAINING AND EDUCATION reports to Central's Employment Manager. They develop, implement, maintain, and monitor effective training and education programs to assist employees and agents in meeting or exceeding their responsibilities and encourage future development. Programs from the Insurance Institute of America and the American Institute for Chartered Property Casualty Underwriters are available to employees.

FACILITIES is responsible for the maintenance of buildings and grounds, as well as the purchasing and servicing of office equipment and supplies. This work also includes space planning and telecommunications.

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INVESTMENT DEPARTMENT manages the invested assets for the company. This includes selecting individual bond and stock investments instruments, and monitoring the performance of the entire portfolio as compared to investment policies and models. They also manage the fleet of company cars.

LEGAL consists of attorneys who are responsible for all legal issues for the company except those related to claims. The attorneys render legal opinions and advice to other departments within the company and they also coordinate the activities of outside counsel in various lawsuits and administrative hearings.

MARKETING is responsible for communicating Central's products and programs to our agents and policyholders. The Home Office staff provides support and service to our field representatives who report directly to the Vice President in each of our Regional Offices.

PUBLISHING SERVICES/PRINTING is part of Home Office Marketing. This area is responsible for the typesetting and graphic design of paper and electronic forms, meeting, and presentation materials; publishing of company materials in Silver Plume; and printing and bindery services for all departments. They are also responsible for Internet publishing.

MARKETING SERVICES is also part of Home Office Marketing. This area is responsible for the licensing of all Central agents and coordinates company/agency programs, such as profit sharing and other agency incentive programs.

CENTRAL INSUREX is the wholly owned subsidiary of Central Mutual Insurance Company and reports to the Vice President of Marketing. Its purpose is to provide markets for excess and surplus lines and specialty contracts for any licensed agent in Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois as a wholesale general agent/broker. In other states, they only do business with Central agents.

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REGIONAL OFFICES

The regional CLAIMS staff investigates losses, evaluates coverage, negotiates, and settles claims promptly and equitably.

The REGIONAL PERSONAL LINES UNDERWRITERS analyze a variety of data and information relating to each risk, decide who and what we should insure, and determine the premium to charge for the coverages provided. They work with the agents to train them on our products and the insurance markets we serve and manage the relations with those agencies.

REGIONAL COMMERCIAL LINES UNDERWRITERS are responsible for the development and maintenance of a profitable book of business. The Underwriting process includes evaluation of loss exposures; determining who, what, and how we insure; determining the premium for the coverages provided; communicating with the producing agency and internal personnel to put coverage into effect; monitoring the decisions made on the individual accounts and the book as a whole to maximize the profit potential of the agency and the company.

The regional LOSS CONTROL staff completes surveys of current and prospective accounts to help them identify unsafe conditions and practices. They help our insureds formulate action steps to eliminate or control these hazards and prevent losses. The loss control consultants report directly to Home Office Loss Control.

The regional MARKETING staff develops and manages a territory, has field underwriting authority, keeps our independent agents informed about Central's products and services, and recommends and appoints new agents.

Each regional office is supported by an OFFICE SERVICES staff that assist them in the daily operation of the regional office.

Each office also has a person who is responsible for HUMAN RESOURCES issues.