New vice president of Actuarial Services

Grinnell Mutual has named Joe Highbarger as its new vice president of Actuarial Services, a new division at the company, effective July 29, 2024.

The new division was created to bring all the company’s actuarial expertise under one umbrella, and to expand capabilities in the granular pricing and predictive modeling that is becoming more and more important in the industry.

Highbarger comes to Grinnell Mutual with more than 25 years’ experience in actuarial work for the insurance industry, 18 of those at an AVP or VP-Chief Actuary level. 

 “We are very happy to have Joe join our senior leadership team and be able to work with the strong actuarial members we have at Grinnell Mutual,” said Grinnell Mutual President Dave Wingert. “His leadership and experience will be instrumental as we build even more capabilities for the future.”

The new position is the top leadership position in the division and will report to the President. Highbarger’s role includes overseeing product pricing, valuation, capital modeling, actuarial analysis, and reporting for both direct lines of business and assumed reinsurance. He will also oversee strategic and operational activities for the actuarial teams.

Highbarger has a Bachelor of Mathematics with a minor in Accounting from Clarke College in Dubuque, Iowa. He recently moved to Ankeny, Iowa, with his wife and son.