Longshot

On the day the Belmont Stakes was held in New York, thousands of fans crammed into Philadelphia Park, Smarty Jones’ home track, to view their favorite colt on the big screen. The Philadelphians were there to witness history and the bestowing of a Triple Crown. They cheered at the start of the race and again as the chestnut Smarty Jones took the lead down the stretch.

Then it happened. What horse is that? What’s the number? Oh, no! As the horses neared the finish line, the unknown horse approached then passed Smarty Jones. Silence and disbelief settled over the crowd. The results were announced: Birdstone, not Smarty Jones, had won the Belmont. There would be no Triple Crown winner. “The Philly Jinx rides again,” one fan said. “We should be getting used to this by now.”

Smarty Jones, his owners and his handlers gave it everything they had and even though they came up short, they can hold their heads high. Smarty is resting and getting ready to run again.

Meanwhile, in a very different sphere of the world, in an office in Providence, R.I., a story of a horse of a different breed withdrawing from a race was unfolding. This heartbreaking announcement was also met with silence and disbelief: Providence Washington Insurance Companies, a 205-year old property casualty company, revealed it would be closing. PW is not insolvent. Its executives said they had been unable to raise new capital or find a buyer. The company will not renew or write new business; instead it will just slowly slip away. They said this was the best way for it to meet short and long-term claims.

The company plans to gradually reduce its workforce of 235 employees in line with a reduced amount of work. Its agents in 16 states will have to find new markets for thousands of policyholders.

Rhode Islanders are already dealing with the failure of Pawtucket Mutual. But in the Pawtucket case state officials and others have labored to try to save the jobs. Their efforts may not succeed but people are at least trying.

PW is the oldest insurance company in New England and third oldest in the country. It has withstood the perils of the Civil War, the Great Depression, the stock market crash of 1929 and hurricanes, earthquakes and fires. It is credited with appointing the first U.S. independent insurance agent in 1803.

The image of this once-proud institution just fading away is sad. It feels foreign to shrug and accept this fate like a disappointed sports fan—”We should be getting used to this by now”—as if this loss were some sort of insurance jinx. The sadness over the lost jobs is deepened by the appearance that PW’s leaders just gave up.

Maybe PW, like Smarty Jones, just needs a little rest before rejoining the race. The company may be more than 200 years old but somebody must be willing to bet on it and its 235 employees. Perhaps the people who remember that even Birdstone was a longshot, with 36-1 odds to win.