Posted On: June 25, 2008, 7:33 am CDT

Posted By: Edgen

I think there is some discrepancy as to what a super regional is. In my estimation, there may be 152 "regional" companies but only about a couple of dozen Super Regional companies. IJ should post all the lists of categories they say they have. I agree with comments on Erie and Auto Owners but I also agree with Peerless. Peerless, Indiana, Wassau and Golden Eagle may be under the Liberty umbrella but EVERYONE KNOWS they act separately in almost every way in this industry. That is the idea behind the different companies - different regional focuses, product diversity and agency management. The idea behind a super regional is the regional focus. This is why State Auto is not there - they look like they are going national. I may not agree with everything Liberty does but the idea behind the regional companies such as Peerless, Ohio Casualty and Indiana definitely works. I applaud them for their efforts with holding on to the regional focus that has helped us on the Independent Agency side. Obviously, there will be more discussion on super regionals but Erie, AutoOwners, Country Mutual and Peerless definitely belong on this list. Congrats to those companies!