How Mutual Fire Insurance keeps a spread-out team working as one

At a glance  

The Mutual Fire Insurance Company of British Columbia (MFI), headquartered in Langley, BC, has more people than its building can seat. Part of the team works onsite, many work hybrid, and some staff are fully remote in other provinces. MFI has built its culture around keeping that spread-out workforce connected, and that effort helped earn it a place among Insurance Business Canada’s Top Insurance Employers for 2026. 

Staff rely on Microsoft Teams for face-to-face conversations, team huddles, and day-to-day collaboration, with regular check-ins that keep teamwork and personal connection strong across locations. Meetings make room for social moments, from marking milestones to learning activities, and events run both in person and virtually so remote colleagues can join in. 

The culture is set out before anyone is hired. “During candidate interviews, and as part of the onboarding process, staff are introduced to our culture. We explain how MFI is purpose driven, and that we are both personally and corporately guided by the company’s values,” says Monica Niles, HR director at MFI.  

Niles says new hires find the promise matches their experience. “It is recognized that we are working together and collaboratively toward the single goal of achieving our strategic plan. After staff have been with us for a few months, they often tell us that their experience of our collaborative culture and purpose-driven mindset has been reflected exactly as we described.” 

Staff ratings back that up. MFI’s most recent employee engagement survey returned a score of 6.53 out of a possible 7, and staff rated the hybrid work environment 6.76. 

Niles credits a steady flow of recognition for keeping teams close. “Our monthly internal news articles include kudos that staff receive from brokers or vendors. There are regular kudos from teams to each other, or individual staff to each other. We all wear many hats and are thankful for the one-team approach. This enables us to achieve our many successes,” she says. 

MFI’s employee-led Purpose Committee runs initiatives aligned to four of the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals – zero hunger, good health and well-being, sustainable cities and communities, and climate action. Staff receive two volunteer days a year, and MFI’s 2025 sustainability report shows what that time added up to in 2025. 

• Volunteer hours. Staff logged more than 1,000 volunteer hours 
• Charities supported. Staff supported over 45 charitable organizations across Canada 
• Food hampers. Volunteers packed and delivered 173 food hampers to families at 12 elementary schools in the Mission School District 
• Gift boxes. More than 30 staff helped prepare 110 gift boxes for those supported by a local community services society through a Christmas in July initiative 

Well-being support reaches staff wherever they work, through a benefits package that covers six areas. 

• Calm app. Every employee receives a premium Calm subscription for themselves and up to five dependents, and engagement with the app sits at 79.5 percent, compared with an average of 60 percent among paid Calm subscribers 
• Assistance programs. Staff and their dependents have access to two free employee and family assistance programs 
• Day-one coverage. Benefits coverage starts on the date of hire 
• Spending accounts. A health care spending account or personal spending account is available each year 
• Fitness centre. Staff have access to a fitness centre, according to MFI’s sustainability report 
• Bonus plan. The report also lists a bonus plan, with employee input on performance goals and weighting 

Learning travels just as easily. MFI’s learning management program hosts 9,600 Skillsoft courses, along with hundreds of courses covering MFI, insurance, leadership, sustainability, mutuality, and the Microsoft suite. 

With the next employee engagement survey set for the second quarter of 2027, MFI is focused on keeping a dispersed team working as one.