Our Guiding Philosophy is our values system of fundamental beliefs and principles about how we conduct business. Our statement of corporate philosophy attempts to capture the essence of these principles in a single sentence:

We believe the purpose of our business is to create superior value for all of our stakeholders through a dedication to service, treating others as they want to be treated, a long-term orientation, and the pursuit of the highest standards.

Throughout the Corporation, we use a collection of statements concerning what we believe about people, business, organizations and life—which we call our Core Values and Beliefs—to explain the six central concepts of this philosophy and to influence our decision making. These are not rules, which always apply to every situation. Rather, they are principles and guidelines, which are often helpful in deciding what course of action is most consistent with our corporate values.

Sometimes we face dilemmas when two or more of these principles are in conflict. In these cases, it is important to remember that principled decision-making in the real world always requires judgment. The following is a very brief summary of our Core Values and Beliefs.

Our purpose is to create superior value, which means meeting the evolving needs of
people, both individually and in groups, better than other organizations like us.

We must do this for all our stakeholders (clients, employees, insurance partners, suppliers, communities, and society as a whole) in an appropriate balance and while improving the tradeoffs between and among our stakeholders’ interests over time. We value dedication to service as shown by the characteristics of placing service to others above self-interest and of demonstrating a genuine customer focus.

We believe in treating others as they want to be treated by showing respect for all individuals, remembering the importance of our people in everything we do, and having fun as we work. Our long-term orientation causes us to embrace change rather than fear it, commit ourselves to lifelong learning, and balance self-confidence with humility.

We maintain the highest standards in everything we do, including an absolute commitment to honesty and integrity, honourable competition, management by fact, proactive management of enterprise risk, continuous improvement, and planning. We take responsibility and are accountable for our actions.