Page 14 - INSIGHT MAGAZINE - NoBleed_Neat

MEMBER PROFILE

For Dumfries Mutual Insurance
President and CEO Rocco Neglia,
having the ability to manage
risk for someone else, whether
it be an individual or business,
especially during a time of
crisis, remains a key reason that
continues to spark his interest in
the industry.
“The ability for us to help build resilience
with those individuals is when the magic
happens,” he says, while chatting in his
office which offers an expansive view
of the Sheffield countryside just south
of Cambridge. “Obviously, insurance is
not exactly a purchase everybody looks
forward to, but it is a necessity, and
you can’t really do without it. From my
perspective, it gives us the ability – as
corny as it sounds – to help our fellow
citizens and customers.”
Finding ways to build that connection with
clients through new opportunities and
technologies has continually intrigued
Rocco since he first entered the field more
than 35 years ago. At that time, he was
a recent under-graduate from Carleton
University in the mid-1980s with his sights
firmly set on becoming a lawyer when
a summer work experience at Safeco
Insurance in Mississauga would change
the career direction of the Montreal
native. (He eventually went on to obtain
his Master of Laws a few years ago).
“I had gotten married the summer prior
to my September commencement to
graduate school and as most newlyweds,
we needed income,” says Rocco, admitting
Taking on the as a young man he knew very little about
insurance at the time. “I liked it from day
one and thought it was a very interesting
risk to help environment and very diverse because it
touched upon anything you could possibly
others conceive. You can’t operate a vehicle or
purchase a home or manage or operate a
business without it.”
Deciding to embrace this new world, he
The essence of insurance is and his wife, Lea, settled in Burlington and
began to raise their three children. Rocco
based on risk management. jokes that as a proud Hamilton native,
his wife believed Burlington was a good
halfway point between “Steeltown” and
Montreal.

ROCCO NEGLIA, PRESIDENT & CEO OF DUMFRIES MUTUAL INSURANCE

14 Fall 2023 www.cambridgechamber.com