As the landscape of the jewelry industry continued to change, Scott Murphy’s innovative leadership style and abilities to cultivate new ideas and approaches to insurance were well-suited to position Jewelers Mutual for years to come when he took over as chief executive officer in 2015.
Murphy was drawn to Jewelers Mutual because of its strong reputation, solid financial performance and the opportunity to focus on a particularly diverse niche industry. While Jewelers Mutual had established itself as a trusted brand, the company needed to adapt to an evolving market, of which Murphy ignited new possibilities with a vision to transform Jewelers Mutual into a powerhouse enterprise to better serve its customers and the jewelry industry.
Jewelers Mutual Group was founded in 1913 by a group of Wisconsin jewelers to meet the unique insurance needs of their jewelry businesses. Today, over one million customers turn to Jewelers Mutual for innovative products, services and technology solutions.
Upon joining Jewelers Mutual, Murphy immersed himself in understanding the company’s rich history, values and customer base. He recognized a crucial growth area lay in embracing innovation while preserving the company’s core principles. Under his leadership and guidance, the company has made investments in technology, analytics, and data to expand its capabilities and support its customers beyond insurance to meet their changing needs – improving operational efficiencies and increasing customer satisfaction.
As a result, Jewelers Mutual has tripled in size and quadrupled its surplus from profitability over the past nine years since Murphy joined as president and chief executive officer. The firm has been recognized as one of the top-performing property-casualty insurance companies as part of the Ward’s 50 for the 14th year in a row, earned the great place to work certification, and was recognized as one of 2024’s fastest growing companies of Northeast Wisconsin.
As a leader, Murphy has an innate ability to inspire and empower his teams, his staff said. “Murphy empowers employees to be curious and make their mark – whether they’ve been with the company two days or 20 years.”
Empowering others is what ignites Murphy’s passion. “I believe that fostering a culture of curiosity and empowerment is crucial for the longevity of our company,” said Murphy. Regardless of tenure, I encourage all employees to think like entrepreneurs, and this means creating an environment where every individual feels empowered to contribute ideas, take ownership of their work and collaborate across the enterprise.”