White Mountains

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

Our Board receives periodic reporting on employee satisfaction and concerns and interacts with employees across our organization. We have an inclusive, team-oriented culture in which 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.

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

White Mountains and its subsidiaries are firmly committed to providing equal employment opportunities, as outlined in our parent company’s Equal Opportunity Employment Policy and our Code of Business Conduct. 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, business and life experiences and tenure among the members of the Board enhances the Board’s ability to perform its duties and effectively oversee the company’s business.  Following significant Board refreshment in the past several years, the Board has enhanced its racial, ethnic and gender diversity.

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. These practices and benefits are relevant to all of our full-time holding company employees. Our Employee Handbook serves as a resource to employees as they navigate these resources and others.

• Benefits. White Mountains offers our 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 has generous and flexible policies with respect to maternity, paternity, adoption personal leave and flexible time off.
• Training and skill development. To support the advancement of our employees at the parent company, we endeavor to strengthen their qualifications by providing access to training in financial skills, effective communication and institutional knowledge. Our parent company mentoring program encourages new relationships and additional career support opportunities, and our Educational Assistance Program funds external professional development opportunities to further enhance 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.