Merchants Insurance Group Wins Second Place in X-Large Company Category at Buffalo Business First’s 2026 Best Places to Work & HR Impact Awards
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Merchants Insurance Group Wins Second Place in X-Large Company Category at Buffalo Business First’s 2026 Best Places to Work & HR Impact Awards

Merchants Insurance Group Wins Second Place in X-Large Company Category at Buffalo Business First’s 2026 Best Places to Work & HR Impact Awards

Group photo of Merchants Insurance Group colleagues at Best Places to Work and HR Impact Awards event, 2026

Sitting, from left: Katherine Trautwein, Sr. Content Marketing Specialist; Jim Fierro, Manager, Claim Quality Control & Compliance; Dawn Malek, Director of Human Resources; Laurie Brinkerhoff, Vice President of Human Resources. Standing, from left: Erica Kellogg, Marketing Manager; Bob Perno, Director of Sales & Marketing; Chris Miller, Supervisor, IT Business Services; Frank Simpson, Regional Vice President, Western Strategic Business Center; Stephen Cross, Vice President & Chief Information Officer; Charles Makey, President & Chief Executive Officer.

For the fourth consecutive year, Merchants Insurance Group proudly attended Buffalo Business First’s annual Best Places to Work & HR Impact Awards event, held annually in March to honor workplace excellence in Western New York.

This year’s event took place at Buffalo RiverWorks on Thursday, March 12, 2026.

At the celebratory event, which highlights companies recognized on Buffalo Business First’s Best Places to Work in Western New York list, Merchants was awarded second place in the X-Large company (250-799 employees) category for the third consecutive year!

The Best Places to Work distinction is based on results from an anonymous employee survey conducted each fall by Buffalo Business First that evaluates employee engagement across key areas including communication, manager effectiveness, team dynamic, and trust in leadership – feedback that comes directly from each company’s colleagues.

Merchants Insurance Group colleagues at the Buffalo Business First Best Places to Work event, pictured in front of the Buffalo Business First step and repeat backdrop

“To be recognized as a Best Place to Work – and with second place in our category – again is an honor rooted in what matters most: our colleagues’ voices,” said Merchants Insurance Group President & CEO Charles E. Makey III. “This award reflects the collaborative, supportive environment our team builds every day, and it inspires us to continue to strengthen our workplace culture!”

Merchants was a Silver Sponsor of this year’s Best Places to Work and HR Impact Awards event.

Read Merchants Insurance Group’s full Best Places to Work in WNY 2026 announcement here.

Interested in joining the Merchants team? Visit our CAREERS page to explore current opportunities.

Katherine Trautwein

Merchants Insurance Group

Founded in downtown Buffalo, New York in 1918, Merchants Insurance Group is a leading regional property and casualty insurance carrier specializing in commercial lines. Merchants partners exclusively with independent insurance agents because they have the expertise to match the company’s portfolio of quality products, and to ensure customers’ assets are properly protected. The large network of Merchants’ independent agent partners spans across Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Vermont.

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