Greatest Company to Work For – East Gold Winner: Mackoul Threat Options

As an alternative of changing into a significant league umpire, Ed Mackoul selected to assist his father construct an insurance coverage empire.

Ed wasn’t positive how his life would prove earlier than becoming a member of Mackoul & Associates in 1995. Faculty didn’t give him a solution. So, whereas he was working as a bartender, he had determined to journey south to Florida to develop into an expert baseball official.

Earlier than Ed might be positioned within the minor league umpire growth program, although, his father, Robert, approached him with a proposal. “Why don’t you simply be part of the enterprise with me, and we’ll construct an empire?” Robert requested.

Ed mentioned “sure,” and that impartial insurance coverage company’s ebook of enterprise has since grown to $125 million in premium throughout three areas. After holding the president title and serving as associate alongside his father, Ed grew to become CEO and altered the identify to Mackoul Threat Options in 2018.

Not the whole lot has modified. Mackoul’s chief nonetheless believes in treating his workers proper.

That philosophy has led the Lengthy Seashore, New York-based company to safe the 2024 Gold Award for the East area because of Insurance coverage Journal’s 2024 Greatest Insurance coverage Companies to Work For survey. Of their nameless responses to the survey, a choice of Mackoul’s 54 workers praised the company for fostering a supportive work atmosphere that emphasizes recognition and appreciation.

Many respondents mentioned they really feel valued and are given skilled development alternatives.

“This company genuinely cares concerning the workers,” one wrote. “Ed as soon as mentioned, ‘The shopper doesn’t come first to me, you all do.’ I’ll always remember that. Administration actually has our again.

Serving to folks and competing inside the business hooked Ed on insurance coverage when he started working on the company. The overwhelming majority of the company’s ebook is concentrated on insuring co-ops and condos. Employees additionally works with purchasers to safe house owner, auto and enterprise insurance coverage.

Ed credited Robert with instilling in him a drive to prioritize worker well-being. “Our tradition got here from my father,” Ed defined. “[He] actually instituted quite a lot of the issues we nonetheless do right this moment, though some issues have modified as we’ve added. He is absolutely the cause why our workers come first.”

Mackoul Threat Associates operated on a hybrid work foundation earlier than COVID-19 surfaced in early 2020. Since then, the workers has had the choice to work absolutely distant, with 10 workstations out there in the principle Lengthy Island workplace ought to workers select to return to the workplace for a day or extra.Productiveness is up, workers are happier and the company’s hiring pool elevated.

‘Administration actually has our again.’

“We by no means actually noticed a cause to come back again,” Ed Mackoul mentioned. He described his workers as “very loyal,” and he trusted them to work remotely.

Of their survey responses, one worker mentioned that “though we work remotely, Mackoul Threat Options nonetheless seems like a household.” One other mentioned that the distant work “is unbelievable and solely helps us all be happier in our roles and to allow us to have a implausible work/life stability.” A 3rd added that working remotely “has not impaired administration’s potential to foster a household type work atmosphere, which makes day by day communication easy and the workflow stronger.”

When he heard that his company was nominated for this award, Ed Mackoul mentioned he felt ecstatic. Mackoul Threat Options has received a number of awards through the years, together with a Prime 100 Impartial Companies nod from Insurance coverage Journal in August. “This one means far more,” Mackoul mentioned of the Greatest Companies to Work For honor. “As a result of we’re nominated by our workers, which implies that they’re joyful. And in the long term, that makes me very, very joyful.”