The long summer is over here in Pennsylvania (or for me, New Jersey, since I am working from home). While we are all still dealing with COVID-19, we at PLM have also been contending with the western wildfires and two hurricanes that made landfall in the U.S., as well as a surge of interest from many wood businesses throughout the country.

COVID-19 has brought soaring demand and prices to the lumber industry, as people nationwide have begun renovating their homes or building new ones through the pandemic. According to MarketWatch, both lumber futures and lumber demand have doubled since the beginning of the pandemic.

If you work with PLM, you know our employees’ dedication and knowledge are at the core of the services and products we provide. That’s why we are proud to announce that PLM was recognized as a Top Workplace in the Greater Philadelphia Area for the second year in a row.

It has always been PLM’s priority to provide not only advanced insurance knowledge and experience for the wood industry, but also exemplary customer service. This is especially true of claims, as we strive to fulfill our fiduciary responsibility to our customers and the promise that we will be there for them through some of their toughest times.

As you may have read in the last edition of the Lumber Memo, we recently rolled out AskNicely, our net promoter score survey, which is meant to check in with you periodically to see how your PLM experience is going. While we talk to the industry and our insureds regularly, we feel that checking in directly has been an invaluable experience for PLM to learn about you.

Risk is inherent to life and business and it takes constant vigilance to stay on top of it. That’s why PLM places a significant emphasis on risk management for your operations, with 16 dedicated loss control and 26 business development representatives across the country, all trained to recognize the risks common to businesses like yours.

Cold weather brings problems like accumulation of snow and ice on roofs and freezing pipes. Here are some simple steps to take to help protect your business before the sever winter season hits.

During our July Board of Directors meeting, Sean Briscoe was appointed to Assistant Vice President – Underwriting. This appointment reflects the leadership and success Sean has brought to PLM over the last five years.

John K. Smith, President & CEO Hopefully, by the time you read this, some normalcy will have returned to all our lives. Our aim is to have the PLM team back in the office, but frankly, we can’t be sure, considering the pandemic. As I write this, we continue to operate on a remote basis.... [Read More]

Earlier this year we introduced you to our wholesale brokerage operation, Allied Building Material Agency, Inc. (ABM). After lying dormant under the umbrella of Indiana Lumbermens Mutual Insurance Company (ILM), ABM was brought back to life by PLM with a new staff (headed by VP Angelo Ganguzza) and some hearty enthusiasm. In January of 2020, we hit the ground running and haven’t stopped since.