|
Go To
Fortune
500 Job Source
Washington
Job Source
Add
Your Resume
|
Headquarters:
4333 Brooklyn Avenue NE
Seattle, WA 98185
Employees: 7,600
CEO: Paula Reynolds
Stock Symbol: SAF
Website:
http://www.safeco.com
Career Site
Safeco is a provider of auto, homeowners
and small-business insurance policies. The company sells its
products exclusively through a national network of 9,000 independent
agents and brokers.
Safeco has 4.3 million personal and business
customers worldwide.
Regional offices are located in Atlanta;
Dallas; Indianapolis; Orange County, CA., and Seattle.
Safeco reported revenues of $6.28 billion
in 2006 and net income of $880 million.
History
In 1923, insurance executive Hawthorne
K. Dent organized a company to combine the financial stability
and responsibility of an investor-owned stock company with the
preferred-risk underwriting and lower prices of a mutual or policy-owned
company. He founded the company in Seattle, far from the recognized
insurance centers of the metropolitan Northeast.
As the first U.S. insurance company organized
along those lines, General Insurance Company of America, or "The
General" as it was known, became known for its competitive
prices and exemplary service.
In 1953, the company's innovative spirit
sent it in pursuit of an emerging technology that offered independent
agents the tools to compete with the direct insurance writers
- computer-based automation. That quest produced the Selective
Auto and Fire Insurance Company of America. The name Safeco was
derived from the company's acronym.
The company entered the life insurance
business in 1957. In 1968, the board of directors recognized
Safeco's rapid growth and success by changing the parent corporation's
name from General Insurance to Safeco. Also in the late 1960s,
Safeco further diversified its financial services by introducing
mutual funds and a commercial credit company.
Always highly successful on the West Coast,
Safeco took a major step in geographic and product diversification
in 1997 with its acquisition of American States Financial Corporation.
The combination doubled Safeco's independent agency distribution
force, increased its presence east of the Rockies and, through
its American States Business Insurance product line, the company
became a leading writer of business insurance for small- to medium-sized
businesses.
The company further increased its national
presence in 1998, when it purchased the naming rights to the
Seattle Mariner's ballpark.
Benefits
401(k)/Profit Sharing Retirement Plan
The 401(k) Account portion of this Plan
is a voluntary employee participation account that allows salaried
employees to begin contributing to the plan soon after joining
the company.
Key features include the ability to:
- Contribute any percentage of your earnings before and/or after
income taxes have been withheld to a 401(k) Account in the Plan
through automatic payroll deductions. Tax limits and other payroll
deductions requirements may limit the amount you are able to
put into the 401(k) Account.
- After satisfying the service requirement of 1,000 hours and
12 months of service, Safeco will match 2/3 of the first 6% of
earnings you contribute to your 401(k) Account.
- Invest 401(k) Account contributions among one or more of fifteen
investment fund options
- After satisfying the service requirement of 1,000 hours and
12 months of service , Safeco will contribute a guaranteed 3%
contribution on a per payroll basis to eligible employees' Retirement
Accounts in the Plan
- Up to an additional 9% profit sharing contribution (depending
upon company profits) may be contributed to eligible employees'
Retirement Accounts in the plan after the end of the year.
Cash Balance Plan
The Cash Balance Plan combines the financial security of a traditional
pension plan with added advantages of being easy to understand,
since it shows the value of individual accounts in current dollars.
Safeco establishes an account in the eligible employee's name
after the employee has satisfied the service requirement of 12
months of service and 1,000 hours. The company credits eligible
employees with a guaranteed 3% of their compensation each year.
Also, accounts grow at a guaranteed 5% rate, after monthly compounding,
each year.
Vacation and Holidays
At the time of hire, employees receive a prorated share of
a 77.5-hour vacation grant. After that, vacation is granted annually
at the first of the year according to the following schedule:
- During years 1-2, employees receive a vacation grant of 77.5
hours.
- During years 3-10, employees receive a vacation grant of 116.25
hours.
- During years 11-14, employees receive 124 hours in year 11
an then an additional 7.75 hours per year.
- During years 15-19, employees receive a vacation grant of 155
hours.
- The following 11 company-paid holidays per year: New Year's
Day, Martin Luther King Jr.'s Birthday, Presidents' Day, Memorial
Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day and the following
Friday, Christmas Day, and two personal floating holidays.
Medical, Dental, and Other Benefits
Medical Coverage
Employees can select the medical option that best meets their
individual and family needs. A cash-back option is available
to those who opt out of medical coverage.
Dental Coverage
Dental coverage is available through a national Preferred Provider
Organization. A cash-back option is available to those who opt
out of dental coverage.
Vision Coverage
Vision coverage is available through Vision Service Plan. Employee's
may select the option that best meet's their individual and family
needs.
Sick Leave
The core of the sick leave plan is based on an annual paid sick
leave allotment. The allotment is determined by length of service
(prorated up to 38.75 hours upon hire, 77.50 hours from January
1st after hire date). After seven consecutive calendar days of
illness or injury, the Short-Term Disability benefits described
below may apply.
Disability Plans
The disability plans work with sick leave to continue an employee's
salary during a serious illness or while recovering from a serious
injury:
- Short-term Disability (STD) is a company-paid plan that pays
benefits up to 26 weeks, depending on length of service
- Long-Term Disability (LTD) is a company- paid plan that pays
up to 40% of your salary after you have been ill or disabled
for 26 weeks. Employees have the option to purchase additional
LTD coverage of 26- 2/3% of monthly earnings for a total of 66-2/3%
of salary. (Subject to additional conditions.)
Life and Accident Insurance
You have the option to purchase Supplemental Employee Life Insurance,
Dependent Life Insurance, and Accidental Death and Dismemberment
Insurance. Safeco provides company-paid basic employee life insurance
and Travel Accident Insurance for employees on business travel.
Health Care and Dependent Care Reimbursement Accounts
The FSA accounts allow employees to set aside money on a before-tax
basis to pay for the health care and dependent care expenses
incurred during the calendar year. This benefit lowers taxable
income and may result in significant tax savings.
Work Life Program
Safeco contracts with Working Solutions Inc., a division of United
Behavioral Health, to provide employees with a variety of free
services to help with personal, family and work-related concerns,
including child care and elder care referrals and confidential
short-term counseling.
Employee Learning and Development
Safeco is a company dedicated to Employee Learning and Development.
New employees receive appropriate and necessary classroom and
on-the-job training preparing them for their new assignment.
Safeco also offers other learning benefits to qualified employees,
including College Tuition Assistance, a sponsored program that
provides up to $3500 annually for work-related courses and to
obtain work-related degrees. Safeco also pays associated expenses
for qualified employees to obtain vocationally related professional
designations (such as CPCU, AIC, and ARM, etc) through our Professional
Education Program.
Updated August 22, 2007
|