In an industry that’s known for being male-centric, Safe Harbor Pollution Insurance has always taken a more egalitarian approach and had women in leadership roles since Day One.

Safe Harbor’s small-but-mighty team has built their success on strong leaders, including one woman in particular who’s setting new standards: Joan Hencler.

Tony Gerone and Russ Brown, Principals at Safe Harbor, speak of their appreciation for Joan. “We were very lucky to have Joan join our team when we started Safe Harbor. Her intelligence and work ethic have enabled us to reach historic growth much quicker than we could have ever imagined. We often say she has the hardest job at Safe Harbor because she has to keep all the promises we make. Over the last 5 years, Joan is just one of the amazing women - from our Accounting team to Marketing team to all of the support staff at Falvey - we have been lucky enough to work with and contributed to our success.”

Joan Hencler – Underwriting Operations Manager, Safe Harbor Pollution Insurance

Joan joined Falvey Insurance Group as an accounting assistant in 2006, and quickly moved up in the company due to her clear aptitude for the industry and strong work ethic. In 2013, Joan was recruited to help launch Falvey’s newest offering, Safe Harbor Pollution Insurance, and was appointed as the only underwriting technical assistant. As the Safe Harbor team grew, Joan was promoted to underwriting operations manager and was responsible for creating an entire support team. Since then, Joan has hired four full-time employees, whom she oversees daily.

It’s been clear throughout Joan’s career at Falvey that she’s committed to developing her own leadership skills and knowledge, as well as assisting other women within the organization. When she formed her team in 2014, she was one of just three female managers at Falvey. In her current role, Joan leads the company’s most diverse team, composed of 50 percent men and 50 percent women. Additionally, Joan is a mentor to female employees and has helped one mentee rise from administrative assistant to deputy underwriter in just three years.

Since joining Falvey, Joan has earned her Producer’s License, and was the first female in her team to receive underwriting authority. Joan is and always has been the backbone of Safe Harbor’s Underwriting Operations team, and plays a crucial role in the customer service excellence Safe Harbor is known for.

Learn more about why Safe Harbor leads the industry.

Safe Harbor is a subsidiary of Falvey Insurance Group who employees more women than men in overall staff (51%), and have an even split of male and female management.