Customer Stories
Dryden Mutual Insurance Co.
This New York-based insurance company turned to OnBoard to drive substantial improvements in efficiency, compliance, and strategic board engagement.
Customer Stories
This New York-based insurance company turned to OnBoard to drive substantial improvements in efficiency, compliance, and strategic board engagement.
Industry: Insurance
Headquarters: Dryden, New York
Board Management Goals
Results
OnBoard Capabilities Utilized
Dryden Mutual Insurance, a highly successful “A” rated mutual insurance company based in Dryden, New York, near Ithaca, has built a legacy of financial strength and community trust. Dryden’s roots in New York go back 165 years.
It employs 80 full-time people throughout New York, with its headquarters in Tompkins County. In 2024, Dryden Mutual produced revenues in excess of $115 million with assets exceeding $430 million.
Despite its profitability and industry reputation, the company faced significant governance and operational inefficiencies rooted in traditional, outdated board management practices.
This case study explores how Dryden Mutual transitioned to digital board governance using OnBoard, driving substantial improvements in efficiency, compliance, and strategic board engagement.
Before implementing OnBoard, Dryden Mutual’s board management was deeply entrenched in manual processes:
Pete Vercillo, Dryden Mutual’s President and Chief Executive Officer, entered as a relatively inexperienced board leader. He quickly recognized these issues during his training at NAMIC’s Directors and Officers Boot Camp.
His learning journey illuminated how far behind Dryden Mutual was compared to peers, but also underscored the opportunity to lead transformation.
“We were printing all these documents 10 times a year in draft form, then reprinting everything in folders,” Pete says. “It was a nightmare. I said I have to educate myself on corporate governance … and that’s really where it started.”
The search for a board portal was born out of necessity. Pete and the Chief Financial Officer, Janet Johnson, evaluated several board management solutions, including Diligent. However, OnBoard stood out for its user-friendly interface, cost-effectiveness, and responsive support — especially the hands-on guidance from OnBoard Customer Success Manager Brian Martin during the onboarding phase.
Despite initial resistance from board members — some of whom were in their 80s and skeptical of going digital — Pete introduced iPads at a board retreat and led a structured transition to OnBoard.
— Pete Vercillo, President and Chief Executive Officer, Dryden Mutual Insurance Co.
Massive Time Savings: Though unquantified, Pete estimates that OnBoard has saved the team hundreds of hours annually by eliminating manual board book creation, printing, and distribution.
Improved Board Engagement: The shift to OnBoard fostered more informed, active participation:
Board members moved from passive approval to meaningful governance through the creation of charters and committees.
Committees such as audit and corporate governance now handle substantive work ahead of full board meetings.
Regulatory Compliance: Dryden Mutual became an early adopter of New York’s cybersecurity regulations (CGRAT), enabling them to:
Cultural Shift: The transition sparked a broader governance evolution:
The CEO was added to the board, aligning executive and board perspectives.
Six new board members have since been successfully onboarded, bringing fresh insights and modernization.
Ongoing Support and Innovation: Pete credits OnBoard’s support team, especially Brian, for making the software approachable and impactful. The introduction of AI-driven features such as Intelligent Assistant and Minutes AI has opened further possibilities, though Dryden is cautiously exploring these.
“OnBoard was really the first facilitator of us becoming organized and contemporary to standards that we should be at,” Pete said. “One of the naysayers said during a recent meeting, ‘We are really doing good work as a board now.”
Pete emphasizes that OnBoard was not just a tool, but a catalyst. It’s been a facilitator of modernization, organization, and security.
While Dryden Mutual was always financially sound (with a remarkable combined ratio of 82 over 20 years), OnBoard helped ensure the governance infrastructure could scale with its growth, now writing $115 million in premiums.
“If you’re trying to have a better process, if you’re trying to be more efficient, if you’re trying to be able to communicate better and have it secure, then OnBoard is a necessity,” Pete said.
Start your journey and unlock unparalleled security, insights, and efficiency with OnBoard.
