LAKELAND, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Summit, the people who know workers’ comp®, broke ground on its new 135,000-square-foot, Class A office building in Lakeland, Florida, which will serve as its new headquarters. The approximately 100 in attendance included Summit co-founders, C.C. “Doc” Dockery and Thomas Petcoff, as well as former Summit presidents, William Bull and Rick Hodges, Summit’s current leadership team and members of the building project team. In addition, City of Lakeland Mayor Bill Mutz, City Manager Tony Delgado, city commissioners and other various city officials were present.
Summit officially closed on the property at 117 North Massachusetts Ave. on March 3, and construction will begin later in the month. The completion of the new building is tentatively scheduled for fall 2021.
Mayor Bill Mutz cites the arrival of Summit employees as a catalyst for other downtown businesses. City Manager Tony Delgado adds, “This is a transformational development project, the likes of which we haven’t seen in decades.”
“With a long-standing commitment to the City of Lakeland, we are excited about the opportunity to create a legacy in the Downtown Lakeland community,” says Carol Sipe, Summit President and CEO. “We believe this project will create significant economic benefits for Downtown Lakeland, helping to make it even more successful and vibrant than it already is, and are confident that our new building will create a welcoming and engaging workplace for our employees. This isn’t just a new office for Summit. This is our new home.”
Summit is a member of Great American Insurance Group, and a leading provider of workers’ compensation in the southeastern United States. Summit, which was founded in Lakeland in the late 1970s, has approximately 750 employees, nearly 500 of whom will be located in the new facility.
Based in Lakeland, Florida, Summit Consulting LLC (Summit) is a leading provider of workers’ compensation insurance coverage in the southeastern United States and is a member of Great American Insurance Group. Summit manages the day-to-day operations of five workers’ compensation insurance companies that include its two affiliates, Bridgefield Employers Insurance Company and Bridgefield Casualty Insurance Company, and three non-affiliates, BusinessFirst Insurance Company, RetailFirst Insurance Company and Retailers Casualty Insurance Company. Summit provides its comprehensive workers’ compensation insurance services to businesses in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas. Summit has offices in Lakeland, Florida, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and Gainesville, Georgia. For more information, visit www.summitholdings.com.
About Great American Insurance Group
Great American Insurance Group’s roots go back to 1872 with the founding of its flagship company, Great American Insurance Company. Based in Cincinnati, Ohio, the operations of Great American Insurance Group are engaged primarily in property and casualty insurance, focusing on specialty commercial products for businesses, and in the sale of traditional fixed and indexed annuities in the retail, financial institutions, broker-dealer, registered investment advisor and education markets. Great American Insurance Company has received an “A” (Excellent) or higher rating from the A.M. Best Company for more than 110 years (most recent rating evaluation of “A+” (Superior) affirmed September 11, 2019). The members of Great American Insurance Group are subsidiaries of American Financial Group, Inc. (AFG), also based in Cincinnati, Ohio. AFG’s common stock is listed and traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol AFG.
