BACKGROUND TO THE SOLICITATION
On February 2, 2021, Robert Longnecker, Ides’ Co-Founder and Director of Research contacted the Company’s investor relations office through e-mail to request a telephone call with management.
On February 3, 2021, Christopher Whitford, CFO, VP and Secretary of Safety, had a telephone call with Mr. Longnecker. Mr. Longnecker indicated he was doing preliminary research on Safety and in that call, the participants discussed the history of the Company, the Massachusetts insurance market, and general trends and business activities of the organization.
On July 7, 2021, Mr. Longnecker reached out to Mr. Whitford to request a follow-up call.
On July 9, 2021, Mr. Whitford and Mr. Longnecker had a telephone call to discuss additional general insurance topics and business of the Company. Mr. Longnecker asked about premium growth of the Company, underwriting targets, and other property and casualty-specific topics. Mr. Whitford mentioned various insurance transactions that have occurred in the past year, noting that there were very few in the Northeast region.
On July 29, 2021, Mr. Longnecker e-mailed Mr. Whitford to request a meeting with Mr. Whitford and George Murphy, President and Chief Executive Officer, to discuss Safety and management’s long-term vision for the Company. Mr. Longnecker indicated that Dianne McKeever, Ides’ Co-Founder Chief Investment Officer, would also join the call. Mr. Whitford indicated that the Company was in a quiet period ahead of the release of its 2nd quarter 2021 results and proposed a time post-earnings in mid-August to meet. Mr. Whitford inquired if Ides had purchased Safety shares and was informed that Ides owned less than 1% of the Company’s outstanding shares. Both parties agreed to a follow-up call on August 16, 2021.
On August 4, 2021, the Safety Board of Directors held its 2nd quarter board meeting to review the financial statements of the Company, review the Company’s dividend policy, discuss the composition of the Board and review other business matters. The Board directed management to connect it with an insurance industry organization and a Boston-focused women’s development organization as part of the Board’s ongoing refreshment process, which was scheduled to be discussed at its November Board meeting.
On August 15, 2021, Mr. Whitford informed Ides that an unexpected scheduling conflict arose and that it would be necessary to reschedule their August 16th meeting. The meeting was rescheduled for August 26th between Mr. Longnecker, Ms. McKeever, Mr. Murphy, and Mr. Whitford.
On August 26, 2021, Mr. Longnecker, Mr. Murphy, and Mr. Whitford met to talk about the Company’s operations. Topics on the call included the Company’s strong financial results, disciplined underwriting strategy, investment allocation priorities, and use of the organization’s capital.
On September 1, 2021, Mr. Longnecker e-mailed Mr. Whitford to ask for a meeting with the Board of Directors. Mr. Whitford informed Mr. Longnecker that Mr. Murphy was a Board member