Officials at Arbella Insurance Group of Quincy were no-shows at a recent award ceremony for their local state representative, Ronald Mariano, the House chairman of the Legislature’s Committee on Financial Services.
Arbella officials say it was a "budgetary decision" not to put in an appearance at the Oct. 10 event, but industry officials say the Quincy company snubbed its own representative in the Legislature because of his strong support for auto insurance competition. Arbella was one of a handful of companies that initially resisted efforts by the Patrick administration to introduce "managed" auto insurance competition this year; Mariano was a supporter of greater competition.
Mariano was named Insurance Professional of the Year by the Insurance Library Association of Boston. Arbella chief executive John F. Donohue serves on the library association’s board. The award ceremony was held at the Boston Harbor Hotel and tickets were $75 apiece, or $750 for a table.
Arbella spokesman Doug Bailey said the company, which had a $441 million surplus at the end of last year, is cutting back on events like the library association award. Bailey said the decision was "prompted in part by managed competition, which is a recent phenomenon." Arbella is the state’s third largest automobile insurer.
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About Bruce Mohl
Bruce Mohl is the editor of CommonWealth magazine. Bruce came to CommonWealth from the Boston Globe, where he spent nearly 30 years in a wide variety of positions covering business and politics. He covered the Massachusetts State House and served as the Globe’s State House bureau chief in the late 1980s. He also reported for the Globe’s Spotlight Team, winning a Loeb award in 1992 for coverage of conflicts of interest in the state’s pension system. He served as the Globe’s political editor in 1994 and went on to cover consumer issues for the newspaper. At CommonWealth, Bruce helped launch the magazine’s website and has written about a wide range of issues with a special focus on politics, tax policy, energy, and gambling. Bruce is a graduate of Ohio Wesleyan University and the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. He lives in Dorchester.
About Bruce Mohl
Bruce Mohl is the editor of CommonWealth magazine. Bruce came to CommonWealth from the Boston Globe, where he spent nearly 30 years in a wide variety of positions covering business and politics. He covered the Massachusetts State House and served as the Globe’s State House bureau chief in the late 1980s. He also reported for the Globe’s Spotlight Team, winning a Loeb award in 1992 for coverage of conflicts of interest in the state’s pension system. He served as the Globe’s political editor in 1994 and went on to cover consumer issues for the newspaper. At CommonWealth, Bruce helped launch the magazine’s website and has written about a wide range of issues with a special focus on politics, tax policy, energy, and gambling. Bruce is a graduate of Ohio Wesleyan University and the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. He lives in Dorchester.
One industry official doesn’t buy Arbella’s explanation. The official, who asked that he not be identified, said the absence of Arbella officials at the event was a sign of sore feelings. "If they’re worried at Arbella about spending a few hundred dollars, I hope this doesn’t mean they’re facing financial problems," the official said.
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