Founded in 1899, A.M. Best Company is a full-service credit rating organization dedicated to serving the insurance industry. The company is the world’s oldest and most authoritative insurance rating and information source.

Michigan Millers, headquartered in Lansing, Michigan, is a regional insurance carrier writing commercial and specialty lines primarily in the states of Michigan, New York and Minnesota. Affiliated with The Western National Insurance Group since 2015, the companies write over $800 million in Direct Written Premium sold exclusively through professional Independent Insurance Agents.

In anticipation of Russ’ eventual retirement, we recently added Scott Kornoelje to our leadership team as Director of Sales and Marketing. Most recently, Scott was a Commercial Lines Manager for Hastings Mutual Insurance Company and has experience as a Territory Manager. Russ and Scott are working closely together, and we have every confidence that it will be a seamless transition. Russ will continue to be involved with our senior leadership team over the next couple of months to ensure the Company continues down our current profitable growth path.

Please join me in congratulating Russ on the announcement of his much-deserved retirement! We look forward to building upon his many accomplishments as we continue to focus on profitable results in 2022 and beyond.

Founded in 1899, A.M. Best Company is a full-service credit rating organization dedicated to serving the insurance industry. The company is the world’s oldest and most authoritative insurance rating and information source.

Michigan Millers, headquartered in Lansing, Michigan, is a regional insurance carrier writing commercial and specialty lines primarily in the states of Michigan, New York and Minnesota. Affiliated with The Western National Insurance Group since 2015, the companies write over $800 million in Direct Written Premium sold exclusively through professional Independent Insurance Agents.

Stu joined Western National in 2001, at a time when the company’s equity had fallen to just $60.3 million and its A.M. Best financial strength rating had been downgraded to B+. Henderson orchestrated a quick turnaround, renewing the company’s commitment to the Independent Agency system, broadly diversifying its risk exposures, and rebuilding its equity. Over a 20-year tenure with the company, Henderson’s leadership ultimately grew Western National into a super-regional group of eight active property-and-casualty insurance companies writing over $800 million annually in personal and commercial premium, with a policyholders' surplus of over $610 million and total assets of over $1.59 billion. Following his retirement, Henderson will remain a member of Western National's Board of Directors.

Rick Long became President of Western National last spring amidst the U.S. emergence of COVID-19, and he steadily and successfully guided the company through a globally turbulent 2020 that included widescale remote work, premium and other COVID relief programs, and a significant outage of our systems. Rick initially joined Western National in 2010 as Senior Vice President of Claims, later becoming President of Michigan Millers Insurance Company in 2017. He has served on the Boards of Directors of all Western National wholly-owned stock companies, as well as on the Board of the Property Loss Research Bureau and the Minnesota Insurance Guaranty Association. Prior to joining Western National, Rick served as Senior Vice President of Claims for Farm Family Casualty Insurance Company, having worked his way up to that position from the role of field claim adjuster in 1984. He has a B.S. in Business Administration from SUNY at Binghamton, New York, and he has earned the AIC, CPCU, and ARe designations. Having moved to Mound, Minnesota from New York a decade ago, Rick has finally acclimated to the extremes of Midwest weather and developed a love for lake life with his wife, Lois, and their two dogs.

We send our congratulations to Stu on his upcoming retirement, and we look forward to Rick’s leadership in the CEO role as we work to continue the company’s successes.