Harford Mutual Insurance Group executive vice president Jeffrey S. Rink (pictured) has joined the board of the Upper Chesapeake Health Foundation, adding a healthcare role to his nonprofit work in Harford County, Maryland, where the commercial insurer was founded in 1842.
“I’m honored to join the Upper Chesapeake Health Foundation Board and support its important work in our community,” Rink said. “Access to high-quality healthcare is vital to the well-being of our region, and I look forward to contributing to the Foundation’s efforts to make a meaningful impact.”
The appointment adds to a long record of community involvement. Rink previously served on the foundation board of The Arc Northern Chesapeake Region, and held the posts of vice president and president on its governing board. He also sits on the annual golf outing committee for Harford Family House.
For independent agents, Rink’s day job matters more than his board seats. He has more than 35 years of insurance experience and joined Harford Mutual in 2009, after earlier roles at Travelers and Great American Insurance. He became executive vice president in 2021, taking on oversight of administrative operations, customer service and the special investigative unit.
Those are the functions agents deal with most often after a policy is placed. Customer service shapes how quickly policy changes, certificates and billing queries are handled. The special investigative unit decides which claims warrant closer scrutiny, and how quickly suspect claims are resolved. Both affect how clients experience the carrier and how agents defend it at renewal.
Harford Mutual writes commercial property and casualty insurance exclusively through independent agents, in 12 states and Washington, DC. It is rated A (Excellent) by AM Best.
The group has grown substantially over the past five years. It ended 2025 with more than $446 million in direct written premium. In 2021, it projected premium of just over $277 million for that year. Part of the growth since then has come through acquisition: its 2023 merger with Kentucky workers’ compensation carrier ClearPath Mutual, now operating as ClearPath Specialty, added a specialist workers’ compensation book to its commercial lines business.
As a mutual, Harford is owned by its policyholders rather than by shareholders, and it reelected four directors at its annual policyholder meeting in May.
Executives taking seats on local nonprofit boards is common among regional mutuals, whose relationships with agents and policyholders are often rooted in the communities where they operate. For a carrier that has stayed headquartered in the same Maryland county for more than 180 years, Rink’s appointment fits that pattern.
