Chamber member HUB International gives back to the local community
As the current largest insurance broker in Massachusetts, Chamber member HUB International isn’t your average insurance brokerage company that you meet or Google online.
With a strong sense of community for every town or city they have an office in, being able to give back to the community is a high standard for HUB International. In 2022, HUB New England donated over $500,000 to over 185 local charities in the area, including a $500 scholarship to a graduating high school senior in each town they have a physical office in.
Based off of the hub and spoke model, they continue to grow across the country, not just through acquisitions, but also through the local community.
“Growing organically through the community is something that is very important to us,” said Shawn McLaughlin, President and Chief Executive Officer of HUB International New England. “This is where organizations like the [North Central Massachusetts] Chamber of Commerce come in. We work with a lot of non-profits, and donate a lot of time to the communities we serve.”
Who is HUB International?
According to their website, HUB International’s company mission is “to protect and support the aspirations of individuals, families and businesses, to empower our employees to learn, grow and make a difference in their communities.”
Although HUB International has over 530 offices across North America and over 100,000 customers in New England alone, they provide the “small town feeling” when it comes to personalized, commercial, employee benefits or retirement and private wealth insurance, taking on the “one stop shop” mentality for insurance and risk management.
Because of the size, scope, and scale of HUB International, there isn’t a lot that they haven’t seen when it comes to protecting customers’ needs and assets.
“We focus on protecting the customer’s assets for themselves. A customer would have a local agent to contact, but also have a really strong resource network behind them. We’re able to take care of our client no matter the size or complexities that may be involved,” said McLaughlin. “The goal is to help people through difficult times, and protect them from risk.”
HUB International works with everyone, from the individual sole proprietor to the bigger, global companies, and all of the different divisions are designed to work with the customers that they service.
Truly being a part of the community
The mission of giving back is two-fold: to create awareness in communities and to give back to the local community.
Every year, HUB International supports and holds two annual golf charity outings, coordinated by Hub employee volunteers, where all of the proceeds go to charities as selected by HUB employees. HUB staff nominate and vote on at least three charities based on those nominations.
Additionally, HUB New England employees are serving on 43 boards in their community with local nonprofits, and 54 insurance boards supporting the industry. McLaughlin himself serves on the board of the Insurance Industry Charitable Foundation (IICF.org). This accounts for 121 HUB employees donating their time outside of work at an estimated 2,926 hours per year for local charities within their area.
Strengthening that bond between businesses, individuals, and the community, HUB International is honored to be a part of the North Central Massachusetts Chamber of Commerce.
“The [North Central Massachusetts] Chamber of Commerce is one of the more robust organizations that we work with,” McLaughlin said. “We like the ability to work with other businesses as well as direct to consumer. The chamber hits both of those areas, and it’s an easy way for us to tap into the community.
We’ve found that the [North Central Massachusetts] Chamber is a good connector for the local community and a really good way for us to stay in touch with other local businesses. It’s been an honor to be a part of the organization.”
Looking forward to a bright future
The start of the COVID-19 pandemic has changed the mindset and the way that HUB International does business. Currently, the insurance company has a hybrid environment, where employees will go into the office a few times a week, but are otherwise working from home.
With that being said, HUB has adopted the “first call resolution,” model in their personal lines department, meaning that the issue/situation should be resolved in one call, instead of the hassle of going back and forth with the customer.
“This first call resolution provides more laser focus to ensure our customers receive efficient and effective attention,” McLaughlin stated. “We are now looking at expanding that approach to some of our commercial divisions.”
HUB continues to see growth not only through acquisitions, but organically as well. HUB has a strong focus on niche specialties throughout the local areas, and most recently, the firm added retirement and private wealth management capabilities.
“Our world has gotten far more complicated, and our customers’ needs have shifted so they are much more specific to their business,” McLaughlin said. “As we evolve, instead of being a generalist, our firm developed industry specializations, while retaining our strong local presence.”
You can contact HUB International through their website at www.hubinternational.com to speak with an agent in your local area.
