Our strength lies in our people, and we proactively support each employee’s well-being and development.

Our Board receives periodic updates on employee satisfaction and concerns and interacts with employees at all levels of our organization. We have an inclusive, team-oriented culture. All employees are treated with respect. We are committed to the long-term development of our workforce and the cultivation of our next generation of leaders.

Diversity and Inclusion

We value diversity of backgrounds, experiences, and ideas, which we believe fosters more engaging discussions, stronger collaboration, and better performance. We therefore seek to attract, retain, develop and advance a diverse talent pool.

White Mountains and its subsidiaries are equal opportunity employers as outlined in our parent company’s Equal Opportunity Employment Policy. Under the guidelines of our Code of Business Conduct and our Employee Handbook, we are committed to cultivating a culture in which all employees are treated with respect. Our parent company Americans With Disabilities Act Policy affirms our commitment to the support of and non-discrimination against disabled employees. Our parent company Harassment and Discrimination Policy clearly outlines prohibited behaviors, complaint/investigation procedures and our non-retaliation policy. We reinforce our guidelines of professional and respectful behavior through training requirements, including sexual harassment training. Employees who believe these policies have been violated can escalate their concerns without fear of retaliation in a variety of ways. These escalation mechanisms include, as relevant, our internal human resources department, our external human resources services provider, and anonymous web-based or toll-free reporting services.

At the Board level, we believe that a variety of perspectives, opinions, backgrounds, tenures and business and life experiences enhances the Board’s ability to perform its duties and to oversee the company’s business effectively.  Following significant Board refreshment in the past several years, the Board has enhanced its racial, ethnic and gender diversity.  As of our 2023 Annual General Meeting, the Board’s overall diverse representation was 40%, of which gender diversity was 30% and racial/ethnic diversity was 20%.

White Mountains also supports diversity and inclusion through our parent company community engagement. We align a portion of our charitable giving to high-quality organizations focused on these issues. For more information about our community engagement, please click here.

Working at White Mountains

At our parent company, we maintain several policies and programs to support human capital development and employee well-being. Our Board is actively involved in these human capital development efforts.

Below are some of the key ways in which we support our people. Our Employee Handbook serves as a resource to employees as they navigate these resources and others.

• Benefits. White Mountains offers all of our full-time employees a generous benefits package, including a selection of health insurance benefits, dental and vision plans, FSA/HSA, life/AD&D insurance, and short- and long-term disability insurance. We also provide employees and their household members with free access to our Employee Assistance Program, which can address a wide range of personal, family and workplace concerns.
• Time off and leave. White Mountains generous and flexible policies with respect to maternity, paternity, adoption personal leave and flexible time off.
• Training and skill development. The ongoing training and development of our employees is a key priority for White Mountains. We organize periodic training programs to enhance our team’s hard skills, soft skills and institutional knowledge. Our mentoring program encourages new relationships and additional career support opportunities. Through our Education Assistance Policy, we offer funding for the professional development of our employees, so that they can maintain and improve job-related skills. All parent company employees receive performance reviews at least annually in connection with our compensation cycle.

Compensation

We structure our compensation programs to create close alignment with our shareholders’ interests, while attracting and retaining talented employees to execute our strategy and create long-term value.  Our overriding goal is to grow intrinsic value for our shareholders over long periods of time. We believe this goal is best pursued by utilizing a pay-for-performance program that closely aligns the financial interests of our team with those of our shareholders. We emphasize variable long-term compensation, the value of which is tied to growth in our per share values over a number of years.  We deemphasize fixed entitlements.  Our senior executive and Board compensation practices are detailed in our Proxy Statement.  Employees at all levels of our parent company have a significant variable component to their compensation, including equity or equity-like incentives tied to long-term performance.