Erie Insurance added hundreds of new employees in 2023. Will hiring trend continue?

Officials at Erie Insurance have been saying it for years. What was good for Erie was also good for the company and its efforts to recruit employees.

Now, if a flood of applications is any indicator, efforts to improve Erie's appearance and reputation are paying off for Erie County's largest employer, which does business in 12 states and Washington, D.C.

Erie Insurance, which processed nearly 80,000 job applications in 2023, is on track this year for that number to top 100,000, said Tim NeCastro, the company's CEO.

That's more than seven times the 14,000 applications processed in 2020 during the uncertain early days of COVID-19.

Erie Insurance won't hire nearly all of those 100,000 applicants, a number equal to more than all of the residents of the city of Erie.

But it is hiring.

In fact, Erie Insurance employment in Erie County grew about 8% in 2023 to 3,446 local employees. Across the company's footprint, employment likewise grew 8% to 6,593 total employees.

That's in addition to the company's 13,500 licensed agents who sell its insurance at more than 2,300 agencies.

That employment growth is in line with the company's financial growth.

Net income for Erie Indemnity, the company's publicly traded management agent, was $335.1 million for the first nine months of 2023, compared to $233.1 million for the first nine months of 2022.

Set up for success

In hindsight, Erie Insurance focused on two important things to prepare for the growth that's now taking place: The company needed to find the physical space for hundreds of new employees and they needed to make moves that would make the company and the city an attractive destination.

The groundwork for the company's recent growth — including $147 million for the Thomas B. Hagen Building, $50 million for renovations to the company's Perry Square building and millions more for both the Erie Insurance Technical Learning Center and a new parking garage — was being laid as far back as 2013.

In 2013, CEO Terry Cavanaugh spoke to the Erie Times-News about the need to improve and expand the company's facilities.

"I want to see a vibrant corner there," Cavanaugh said at the time. "Let's not picture what it is today. Let's picture what it can be three and five years from now. Luckily, because of our business model, we have the ability to make an investment that will pay a benefit to us as a community."

What's good for Erie

The company's investments in the community, especially since 2017, have been well documented.

In addition to spending on its own facilities, Erie Insurance has invested about $100 million in the community, much of it through through the Erie Downtown Development Corp., which the company launched, as well as in a number of Opportunity Zone investments.

In the world of business, growth is essential, NeCastro said in a recent interview.

"Companies that aren't growing are dying," he said.

New, more modern and more comfortable facilities are part of that growth, he said. Just as important, he said, are the company's efforts to be part of the community.

"The campus has to be handsome, but the company's reputation has to be solid also," NeCastro said. "That means being a good corporate citizen."

That matters to potential employees, people who might one day call Erie home.

Facts about the company, which has never had a layoff in its nearly 99-year history, are easy for job hunters to find, NeCastro said.

"People's ability to research employment opportunities is at an all-time high," he said. "That information is very searchable and findable. People see the awards and accolades we get. There is a lot of interest outside the market to come here."

That wasn't necessarily the story of the broader insurance industry in 2023.

Nearly 20 insurance companies cut staff in 2023, eliminating nearly 7,000 jobs, according to an article in the Insurance Journal.

Encouraging others to play a role

Christina Marsh, who will retire at the end of February as the company's chief diversity and community development officer, has worked in recent years to help coordinate and encourage economic development in Erie.

Marsh described this community-facing role as the best job she ever had.

"I think for me it was leading with my heart first and helping others to see the possibilities," she said.

Erie Insurance might be playing an outsized role in Erie's economic development, but it wasn't the only one playing a role.

Marsh said one of her favorite examples was the work that's been done by Beacon Communities, owner of Richford Arms, an affordable housing apartment building for seniors at 515 State St.

There was talk a few years ago that the EDDC would buy the building.

But Marsh said she discovered early on that Boston-based Beacon had plans for the building that would bring it in line with other better-appointed facilities that the company operated elsewhere.

With help from a $3.5 million low-interest loan from Erie Insurance and a $2.45 million loan from the city of Erie, Beacon was able to undertake a $27 million renovation.

NeCastro said the investment provided a facelift for the building, a new addition and upgrades to every apartment.

"They are excited to invest in that building and we are excited to have them as a neighbor," NeCastro said.

There are other examples of the company using its influence to support someone else's projects, including an $18 million upgrade and expansion of the Experience Children's Museum, located next door to Erie Insurance.

The museum's fundraising campaign was led by NeCastro and his wife, Lisa.

NeCastro describes himself as one of many leading the charge in Erie as he fills a role once occupied by company leaders in the past.

Marsh is inclined to give him a bit more credit.

"Tim was made for this moment," she said. "I think he is underselling. You have a leader of a Fortune 500 company that is leaning into the community in ways we haven't seen in the past."

The simple fact that the company is growing and that new employees are coming to Erie, "speaks volume about the leadership. This is his hometown. This is his company," she said.

For NeCastro, the biggest victory has not been his ability to marshal Erie Insurance funds, but the community's response to those investments.

He sees that response up and down State Street, where companies, private citizens and the city have invested in remodeled buildings and new streetscapes.

"There is a need to attract more and more people to this area. We thought we will lead this charge," NeCastro said. "Our hope was that the investments could be catalyzed and beget more money and more investment. And that is exactly what we are seeing."

Contact Jim Martin at jmartin@timesnews.com.

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Erie Insurance added hundreds of new employees in 2023