Selective Insurance Reviews

Working at Selective was a toxic work environment shaped by favoritism, excessive workload expectations, and poor boundaries around employee availability. Management often applied expectations unevenly, which created a lack of fairness and accountability. High performance did not always seem to be the primary factor in decision-making, which undermined trust in leadership. There was also a strong “big fish, small pond” dynamic, where internal status and informal influence often carried more weight than actual performance or collaboration. This contributed to a highly political environment where trust between colleagues was limited and information did not always feel safe to share openly. Employees were expected to be available far beyond normal working hours, creating an unsustainable “always on” culture with no real work-life balance. The workload was consistently too high for the compensation provided. Internal politics further interfered with day-to-day work and made collaboration more difficult than it needed to be. In practice, this environment often encouraged self-preservation over teamwork, which made it difficult to build trust or rely on others consistently. Overall, the environment was not structured in a way that supported long-term employee wellbeing or retention. This is not a workplace that supports a healthy work-life balance. For me, the experience felt unsustainable, and over time it became clear that the environment was not conducive to long-term growth or wellbeing.

Executive management demonstrates a serious lack of foresight and repeatedly makes decisions that appear likely to have long-term negative consequences for the company. There is a clear disconnect between leadership and corporate employees, with many employees feeling undervalued and unsupported. Over the past nine years, the company has expanded its footprint by nearly 50% while adding little to no corporate staff and even downsizing certain departments, creating overwhelming workloads and making it difficult to work effectively or efficiently. What was especially disappointing was seeing long-tenured, highly respected employees — some with 30+ years of service and invaluable institutional knowledge — let go in an abrupt and disheartening manner. The impact their departure will have on the organization appears to be greatly underestimated. The ongoing lack of resources, excessive workloads, and poor leadership decisions have created an increasingly stressful and toxic work environment.