As a mutual insurance company owned by our policyholders, we have no outside stockholders who financially benefit from our operations – SFM’s decisions are motivated only by our partners’ best interests.

Service guides every decision we make, with a clear focus on doing what’s right for the insured, keeping workers safe and being a reliable partner to the agents who represent us.

SFM brings stability to a market that can be unpredictable. It’s not part of our corporate strategy to chase short-term trends or overreact to shifts in the workers’ compensation market.

Instead, we can stay consistent in our appetite, remain competitive and write business thoughtfully – without being at the whim of shifting market conditions. For agents, that stability translates into confidence, continuity and fewer surprises when servicing accounts.

This approach benefits everyone involved:

• Agents get a carrier partner that values certainty, transparency and sustainable results
• Employers get dependable management of their coverage
• Injured workers get consistent support, focused on outcomes

As The Work Comp Experts, we bring deep industry knowledge across underwriting, claims and safety. That expertise helps employers manage risk, respond quickly to injuries and build safer workplaces. And it gives agents confidence they’re backed by a carrier that truly understands work comp.

Agents consistently tell us they value how easy SFM is to work with and how much they appreciate the level of service we provide. Agency survey results reinforce that message year after year. Our mutual insurance company structure keeps us aligned with the needs of agents and policyholders, and it allows us to respond with solutions that support successful outcomes.

We understand that when we take care of our clients, we all succeed together.

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Coming off a strong 2025, and with the competitive market and economic uncertainty we see today, SFM continues to lead with service and put the needs of our agency partners and policyholders first.

“One of the keys to our success has been our ongoing stability in the work comp market,” said Steve Sandilla, Sr. VP and Chief Business Officer. “While we can’t control the economic and market conditions that influence the work comp industry, we can lean on our industry-leading expertise and service to further us in writing new business, managing renewals and maintaining the trust of our stakeholders.”

Collaboration and service are two pillars that reinforce SFM’s stability in workers’ compensation. That stable base is reflected in the broad range of industries we serve (see chart below). Our book of business represents a robust spectrum of company types and remains consistent from year to year.

SFM also continues to focus on streamlining processes for agents, including the procedures for getting quotes, and providing ongoing enhancements to SFM Agency Manager portal (SAM). For more information about how we make work comp easier to manage for agents and policyholders, check out the recording of our webinar, The SFM Difference.

“We always strive to give agents access to the tools they need to strengthen their processes and better serve their clients,” said Mike Happe, Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer. “For agents, SFM is more than a carrier – we’re a collaborator. With fast response times, superior medical outcomes, and cost controls that reduce e-mods over time, SFM delivers what agents need most: confidence, clarity and care for injured workers.”

Lastly, as a refresher, some highlights from 2025 include:

• 93% policyholder retention rate
• Total written premium of just over $253 million for the year
• New business premium of $28.4 million
• Added 6,071 new business policyholders
• Another year of an Excellent (A-) rating from AM Best
• Moving claims in-house in Indiana and Tennessee
• SFM Foundation awarded 19 new scholarships, bringing the total to $4.7 million
• Ongoing member of the Minnesota Keystone Program, which recognizes business that donate 2% of their pre-tax profits to charity

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You can now view the recording of our latest webinar – The SFM Difference.

Our experts discussed the features and services that make SFM a premier workers’ compensation partner.

Watch the hour-long video above to see why we are The Work Comp Experts:

• SFM’s philosophy on service to our partners
• Our focus on injury prevention and returning injured employees to work
• How our unique company structure and departmental expertise benefit our partners
• Our customer-centered approach to premium audits
• How our medical services team supports injured workers’ recovery
• Much more, including a Q&A session at the end of the hour

View more educational webinars from SFM.

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The National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI) has given SFM excellent marks for the quality of its data reporting, continuing a series of recognition from the organization. The NCCI is the nation’s most comprehensive source for workers’ compensation data, insights and solutions.

Recently released results from 2025 reflect SFM’s commitment to accurate reporting in several categories:

• Financial data
• Unit statistical data
• Policy data
• Medical data
• Indemnity data

“The accuracy of our data reporting makes SFM a better carrier and makes doing business easier for agents and policyholders. We put a great deal of effort into ensuring accuracy,” said Brian Bent, SFM Vice President and Director of Underwriting. “Quality data leads to a quality experience. And SFM’s grades from NCCI are important to us and our partners.”

It’s uncommon for SFM to receive notices about issues with data reporting, said Bent, who also serves on the NCCI Underwriting Committee. SFM has received exceptional grades from the NCCI consistently over the years.

Mike Happe, Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer at SFM, said accurate data reporting also helps agents spend less time on policy tweaks or corrections, and makes it easier to track down experience modification factor numbers.

“Plus, having precise data also frees up agents to manage accounts and prospect for new business,” Happe said. “SFM is committed to quality customer service, and that extends to our data reporting.”

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Mark Lewis is SFM’s 2025 Richard J. Marshik Service Excellence Award winner.

He started as an underwriting trainee, later moving up to marketing underwriter and small business marketing rep before landing in his current role as team business leader.

He called the honor “truly a customer service award.”

“That’s the one thing I try to focus on, and it’s easy to do,” Lewis said. “All of our agencies, whether they’re large or super small, they’re all important to us. About 99% of our business comes from independent agents, so I show them respect and thank them for their business. Then when they have success, we do, as well.”

Being a monoline carrier in an aggressive market means SFM must make customer service the backbone of all its functions, he said. SFM differentiates itself through “a great model with great teams. That’s a big key to our success.”

Lewis also noted the support he has received from others during his time at SFM, including VP of Regional Business Ryan Jirak, VP of Regional Business Mark Arrington, VP of Small Business Dennis Logstrom and Sr. VP & Chief Business Officer Steve Sandilla.

“That’s what’s great at SFM. They’re not like, you’re on your own, figure it out. There are so many people who want you to be successful,” he said.

He added: “It’s an individual award, but success for me is success for others, as well,” he said. “No one at SFM works in a silo, so if one person has success, it’s always due to other folks along the way.”

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SFM Agency Manager (SAM) users can now receive an email notification when the action plan is updated on one of their policyholder’s claims.

To enroll, select “Manage alerts” on the SAM dashboard, and enable “Action plan update.”

The email notifications are sent overnight, and if multiple updates occur on the same day, they are consolidated into a single email.

An action plan is a brief statement, prepared by the claims adjuster, of the current status of a claim and expected activities and timeframe for the life of the claim.

SFM Agency Manager is our online portal for agents, offering access to policy details, new business applications, and more. Learn more about SAM.

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The next time users login to Provider Connection – SFM’s portal that allows medical professionals to access a wealth of information about workers’ compensation claims – they will see several enhancements.

It’s part of a broader redesign to enhance SFM’s portals, make them more user friendly and create a consistent look and feel across all platforms. Our approach is to start with the policyholder portals, then make upgrades to SFM Agency Manager (SAM). SFM’s public website, SFMIC.com, will also be improved and redesigned in the coming months.

The redesigned Provider Connection adds new features and reduces the need to email or fax medical information to SFM. In addition to an improved look and feel, the upgraded Provider Connection will allow users to:

• Upload documents such as prior authorizations, medical records or other items related to appeals and reconsiderations
• See reconsideration and appeal status
• More easily search for patient information
• Improve search functionality

Upgrades to other SFM portals – CompOnline, ePay and the certificate portal – will happen at a later date. We are also continuously improving SAM, and that work is ongoing.

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