Overview
At Kinsale, our employees are a top priority. We recognize, promote, and reward our employees based on the contributions they make to our long-term success.
The Kinsale Team
We believe it is important to cultivate a collaborative, entrepreneurial work environment, where employees have the freedom to develop solutions and make decisions that benefit Kinsale, our insureds and ultimately our shareholders. To make this happen, we hire the best people, give them the training they need to succeed, and reward high performance. We make our employment-related decisions without regard to race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, age, veteran status, disability, or other characteristics or activity that is protected by law.
We have an anti-nepotism policy in place to ensure fairness, and business decisions are based on individual qualifications, skills, ability, and performance.
We value the diverse perspectives, talent, and experience that our employees bring to our organization. We believe the best business decisions are reached by listening to diverse views and opinions. We survey our employees at focused and strategic points in their employment. This allows us to make thoughtful improvements quickly. We also hire from non-traditional backgrounds – like law enforcement and teaching – to name a few.
We believe all of our employees should be able to work in an environment that fosters collaboration and diversity, as well as upholding a culture of honesty and integrity. Our Code of Business Conduct and Ethics and our employee handbook provide for equal opportunities for all employees. Management takes discrimination and any forms of harassment seriously. Employees are asked to report discrimination and harassment-related incidents to their manager, Human Resources, or a corporate officer. Our ethics resources are clearly outlined in our Code of Business Conduct and Ethics and employee handbook, both of which are provided to all employees and available to them at any time on the Kinsale intranet.
Oversight of our human capital strategies and policies are performed at the Board of Directors level by the Compensation, Nominating and Corporate Governance (CNCG) Committee. Administration and management of our human capital is provided by our Chief Human Resources Officer, who reports to the President & CEO. Key responsibilities of the Chief Human Resources Officer include providing effective programs for recruiting and retaining talent, employee training and development, and competitive compensation and benefits, which are monitored by the CNCG Committee.
As of December 31, 2023, we had 574 employees, of which 561 were full-time employees, and all of whom were located at our headquarters in Richmond, Virginia. In addition, our employees had the following demographics(1):
| Gender | Company Wide | In Supervisory Positions |
|---|---|---|
| Female | 40% | 33% |
| Male | 60% | 67% |
Training
Employee training and development programs enhance our employees’ skills and capabilities and directly lead to Kinsale’s success.
We have a number of avenues available to our employees to give them the training and support they need to succeed through both in-house and external programs.
We have implemented a Management Development Program designed for managers at every level in our organization to enhance their knowledge, skills and abilities. Our Management Development Program partners with a globally recognized business school to create a leading-edge curriculum. We have also developed our own programs and courses that range from basic professionalism to technical leadership skills to appeal to a wide range of disciplines. Many of these programs are specifically tailored to a variety of functional areas such as underwriting, services, claims, and information technology to allow new employees to get up to speed and integrated quickly.
All employees have the opportunity to enroll in courses or classes that will enhance their contribution to our organization and/or prepare them for more advanced positions at Kinsale. We sponsor third-party on-site education courses, such as the Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter (CPCU), Construction Risk and Insurance Specialist (CRIS), as well as online resources that make professional development programs more accessible to our employees. In addition, through our Educational Assistance Program, we offer tuition reimbursement to encourage employees to enhance their education, skills, and knowledge for their continued growth. This program reimburses our employees for the cost of courses which are taken towards a designation program, continuing education requirements, college courses and certification tests.
Performance & Success
We believe that performance management ensures our continued success through cultivating the right talent and skillsets and equipping our employees with the necessary tools and feedback.
We recognize and promote our high-achieving employees financially and by giving them challenging and rewarding work.
On an annual basis, every employee at Kinsale actively participates in a performance evaluation. The annual performance management process requires setting goals, planning development, and assessing progress against those goals as well as discussing opportunities for improvement. Our performance management process provides a forum for meaningful conversations to discuss what went well and what can be improved.
Compensation
We believe that paying our employees well is the foundation of our performance-based culture.
In order to attract and retain high-performing talent, we offer and maintain market-competitive compensation for all of our employees. Kinsale’s compensation program includes base salary, performance-based bonuses, and equity grants for certain management-level employees. Every employee participates in our performance-based bonus program. We believe that having employees share meaningfully in the financial success of Kinsale reinforces our entrepreneurial business culture. From 2021-2023, our annual bonus payout represented approximately 50% of the base salary for non-officers who had been with us at least one full year.
The mix of compensation awards varies depending on the employee’s role at Kinsale and our long-standing pay-for-performance philosophy. While all employees are eligible to receive variable compensation (annual cash bonus and equity), variable compensation becomes a larger portion of the total mix for employees at higher levels in the organization to ensure financial alignment with Kinsale’s stakeholders. Our executives, who are responsible for the development and execution of our strategic and financial plans, have the largest portion of their compensation tied to equity-based incentives.
We participate in a number of compensation surveys each year to ensure that we are paying within market value for all of our roles. As calculated and reported in our 2024 Proxy Statement, in 2023, the median pay of all our full-time employees was approximately $120,000.
Benefits
We believe our employees are one of our most valuable assets and we are committed to helping them be healthy and productive in all aspects of their lives.
At Kinsale, we offer our employees comprehensive and flexible benefit options including:
- Health savings, with large employer contributions and flexible spending accounts
- Health insurance
- Company-paid insurance benefits
- Paid time off
- Fitness center discounts
- Professional, emotional, financial, and legal services and resources
We believe that saving for the future is paramount for our employees’ long-term financial wellbeing. The Kinsale 401(k) Savings Plan provides employees with a vehicle to save for retirement and the opportunity to receive a dollar-for-dollar company match up to 6% on their contributions. In addition, our 401(k) Savings Plan offers immediate vesting in employer contributions. As of 2023, 97% of our employees participate in the Kinsale 401(k) Savings Plan.
Community
Kinsale is an active participant in the non-profit community. We established our corporate citizenship program, KinsaleCares, to support programs that are important to our employees. Kinsale employees annually select charitable programs to sponsor.