A strange mix of stuff going on here... - Anonymous employee Selective Insurance Employee Review

2.0
12 Feb 2011
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Excellent benefits, time off, bonuses and pay. A large, yet strangely designed building with a cafeteria, gym (at least when I was there), massage therapy and more. For people living in Northern New Jersey, a "reverse" commute. A large treasure chest of money behind the company. Financially sound. The company has enjoyed slow but steady growth for over 80 years. Very conservative in its investments, which has kept it financially well for so long. The company also has a strong, dedicated agent network that keeps it well fed. They treat their agents well -- and will do almost anything for them.

Cons

In the middle of nowhere. You're inside, all day, no escape. The culture is odd -- it's a real "wannabe" big company, but very hickish in its thinking. Plus, I was part of a team that treated vendors very, very poorly. They promised vendors lots of work, but in reality, Selective is stingy with budgets. So, they get vendors to do considerable amounts of work for free or little money, with no intention of giving them any more, and thereby misleading them. To me, it was unethical. The place is also extremely inefficient. LOADS of meetings -- sometimes for days at a time -- but very little achieved. Yet, they want to meet certain goals. Weird. A lot of wasted time that becomes quite frustrating. The atmosphere is also politically very charged. You have to watch who you're friends with. Outside of their agents and Sussex County, the company is vitually unknown... which will probably mean trouble for it in the future. They're up against household name companies like Alstate, Progressive, and others.

Explore other reviews about Selective Insurance

5.0
17 Apr 2026
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Strong but difficult leadership during transformation.

Cons

Relocation causing some some concern

2
1.0
26 May 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Decent benefits and decent coworkers

Cons

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.

2
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