Mission and history
Our mission and history are what made us the industry leaders we are today. A lot has happened since we were created in 1983, but through the years our overall mission at SFM has remained constant. We are passionate about:
- Helping employers maintain safe work environments
- Restoring injured workers to health and productivity
- Avoiding unnecessary costs
- Providing the very best in customer service
Our mission
Inspiring safer workplaces
by protecting workers from harm
and helping the injured recover.
How we got our start
We began as a member-owned mutual company started by the State of Minnesota and quickly grew to an industry leader in Minnesota — and eventually the Midwest and beyond.
It all started with rising costs and unpredictability in the 1970s and 1980s that caused insurers to get out of the Minnesota workers’ compensation market. In 1983, pressure from businesses and insurance agents resulted in Minnesota passing legislation that created a member-owned mutual state fund that would compete with other insurers in the market.
The State of Minnesota appropriated us $5.7 million in start-up capital that we were to repay with eight percent interest as soon as we became profitable. We paid it off in 1997 — 16 years early.
SFM, then Minnesota State Workers’ Compensation Mutual Insurance Company, wrote its first policy on April 1, 1984. We have grown and changed a lot since then, but some things have stayed consistent, like our emphasis on medical management, return to work, service excellence and innovation.
Our vision
To be the workers’ compensation partner of choice for agents, employers and workers through unrivaled service, expertise and commitment to workplace safety.
Quick rise to the top
- We started with 12 policies in 1984 and issued 537 policies for $4.1 million by the end of our first year in business
- Five years later we grew to 5,064 policyholders and $49.7 million in premium
- By 1991, we became Minnesota’s largest workers’ compensation insurer, serving nearly 5,500 employers
SFM today
With the expansion into states outside of Minnesota, today we are the leading workers’ compensation insurer in the Midwest, insuring more than 30,000 policyholders and retaining 96+% of our customers year after year.
We are the leading workers’ compensation insurer in the Midwest, insuring more than 30,000 policyholders.
Our operations also now include:
- SFM Risk Solutions, a subsidiary that provides claims administration to self-insured employers
- CompRehab Inc., a subsidiary that specializes in returning injured employees to work and providing access to rehabilitation specialists
- Lynn, Scharfenberg & Hollick (LSH), an in-house law firm that represents SFM policyholders in litigation
One of our subsidiaries is also a servicing carrier for the Minnesota Workers’ Compensation Assigned Risk Plan, providing policy, claims and other services for employers insured through the plan.
Giving back to families affected by work injuries
In 2008, we started the SFM Foundation , a nonprofit that awards higher education scholarships to students whose parents were killed or seriously injured at work.
