Early in his career at SFM, VP of Regional Business Ryan Jirak heard our CEO talk about agent relationships as “business friendships.”
“I’ve never forgotten that. Our agency partners and SFM usually share the same goals, but not always. What matters is how we navigate those moments,” he said. “When we can work through differences and come out the other side with even greater respect for one another, that’s when business friendships get stronger.”
That philosophy of working together to achieve the best possible outcomes is core to what SFM does. And it starts with a dedication to service excellence.
“For me, our service goes hand in hand with our relationships with our agents. We have strong relationships with our agents because we do what we say we’re going to do,” said Mark Lewis, Team Business Leader, who also won SFM’s service excellence award last year. “When they place an account with us, they know it’s in good hands and ultimately that leads to accounts staying with us for many years.”
In fact, SFM has an industry-leading customer-retention rate, and in 2025 we saw a record number of former policyholders return to SFM.
“What tells me we’ve done our job well is when those everyday contacts reach out to their agent and our team with genuine regret about leaving,” Jirak said. “That’s when you know the relationship meant something. And more often than you’d think, a few years later they’re back. The same agent is there. The same SFM team is there. We pick up where we left off. To me, that’s the best example of the service we offer.”
In a competitive workers’ compensation insurance market, SFM strives to be responsive, work in tandem with our agency partners, and focus on keeping employees safe.
“At SFM, our success is built on relationships,” said Cody Allen, Territory Manager. “By delivering exceptional service and standing alongside our agents and policyholders when they need us most, we earn trust that drives lasting results.”