Preserving a 2-century tradition of service
President of Baltimore Equitable Insurance aims to thrive, not grow
Baltimore Equitable Insurance had surely proven itself, despite its unusual niche, Mary B. Harlee believed.
Harlee, Baltimore Equitable’s president since 2014, wondered why a firm that had been writing homeowners insurance policies in the city since 1794 didn’t have more customers lining up for its “perpetual” policies.
The policies require large up-front deposits, instead of annual premiums, that are paid back when a holder moves or sells a house. The company, one of the nation’s oldest financial services firms, pays claims out of the interest it earns on the deposits.
“It’s a no-brainer,” Harlee said, especially for people who are savers, can afford to make a lump-sum payment, typically about $10,000 on a $250,000 house, and who would otherwise earn relatively low interest on that money.
What Harlee found, after hiring a research firm, was that despite Baltimore Equitable’s more than two-century track record, “no one knew who we were.” Harlee, who has worked for the firm since graduating from what was then Towson State University in 1983, intends to change those perceptions.
Baltimore Equitable started as Baltimore Equitable Society, modeled after Benjamin Franklin’s Philadelphia insurance business. It covered policyholders for fire losses.
From 1889 to 2003, the firm was based out of a brownstone building at Eutaw and Fayette streets on downtown’s west side. It has operated out of One Charles Center downtown since 2004 and now has 12 employees and 4,000 policyholders.
Harlee started as the firm’s sole accountant after college, thinking she likely would move on to a bigger firm. But she kept moving up and was named president in 2014.
As of Dec. 31, the company had $50 million in policyholder deposits, and a total of $150 million in investable assets.
Harlee said policyholders who became customers in the early 1990s are beginning to leave. She hopes to attract new policyholders at a rate of about 100 per year.
“We’re not really trying to grow,” Harlee said. “We’re trying to replace the policyholders leaving us with new policyholders.”