SFM soared to new heights in 2022, and the company’s remarkable financial results are only part of the story. We continue hearing from our agents and policyholders that we’re delivering on our commitment to provide excellent customer service.

“With results this positive, it’s tempting to look back and talk about what a great year we’ve had,” said SFM Senior Vice President Steve Sandilla, “but we remain focused on delivering the highest level of service to our partners.”

In addition to the valuable feedback that SFM representatives receive directly from agents,

policyholders and injured workers, we also gain insights from survey data.

In a survey of agents conducted last August, more than 93% of respondents answered that they find it “easy” or “very easy” to work with SFM. The rating of “very easy” was the most common choice, coming in from nearly 60% of responding agents.

In November, SFM sought input from policyholders whose annual premium falls above $10,000. As with the agents, these customers were asked to rate how easy it is to do business with SFM. This time around, 91.5% of respondents said either “easy” or “very easy.” In fact, 62% of policyholders chose “very easy,” up from 57% the year before.

“We interpret these results as an important vote of confidence in SFM’s service-first approach,” Sandilla said. “We lead with the needs of our customers, knowing that positive results will naturally follow.”

Here are a few operational highlights from 2022:

• SFM’s industry leading customer retention rate has long been a testament to strong relationships with partners. In 2022, SFM saw a new high-water mark, with a policyholder retention rate of 96.8%.
• SFM brought in 6,600 policyholders, adding more than $28 million in new premium.
• Total written premium for the year came in at approximately $250 million.
• SFM’s combined ratio came in under 100% for the 11th year in a row.
• The SFM Foundation announced 13 new scholarships for students whose parents were seriously injured or killed on the job. This brings the historical total to 216 scholarships, representing $3.2 million in funding.

SFM’s book of business has grown to over 30,000 policyholders, covering approximately 500,000 workers across a wide spectrum of workplaces. As a servicing carrier for the Minnesota Workers’ Compensation Assigned Risk Plan, SFM’s Superior Point division adds approximately 15,000 policyholders. SFM was also selected to serve up to 20% of the Wisconsin Worker’s Compensation Insurance Pool, accounting for 3,300 employers in that plan in 2022. In addition, SFM Risk Solutions provided third-party-administration service to 36 self-insured clients in 2022, including two large groups with over 1,600 individual member organizations.

SFM continues to grow its territory of operation, now stretching well beyond its original home in the upper Midwest. Having recently added Kansas and Indiana to its list of core states, the company is now in the process of appointing agents in Tennessee.

According to Sandilla, SFM’s independent agency partners are integral in the successes described above. SFM’s approach is to grow lasting relationships with both agents and policyholders that result in long-term mutual prosperity.

“Agents who bring their accounts to SFM can do so with confidence that their clients will receive the best customer service in the business,” Sandilla said. “Our top measure of success is and always has been delivering customer service that’s second to none.”

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As an agent, you can rest easy when your customers choose SFM. Our focus on workers’ compensation insurance helps us provide the highest level of service and expertise when your clients need it most.

When you’re helping clients understand their options for workers’ compensation coverage, here are a few points you can share about the advantages of going monoline and choosing SFM:

• Service
  First and foremost, SFM’s experienced and dedicated professionals are known for responsive and reliable customer service.
• Claims expertise
  Our experienced claim representatives are skilled in helping injured workers get the best possible treatment outcomes and return-to-work results. With access to in-house doctors, nurses and attorneys, and a team-based approach, they have the resources to skillfully handle even the most challenging claims.
• Easy injury reporting
  Easily report work injuries 24/7 by phone or online. Injured workers who want immediate healthcare advice can speak with a registered nurse when they report by phone.
• Claim cost containment
  Provider networks and in-house medical bill review staff help keep claim costs under control, which helps limit premium increases. In-house fraud and subrogation specialists also produce recoveries for policyholders.
• Loss prevention
  Our loss prevention staff and online resources help policyholders prevent injuries over time, keeping premiums in check.
• Online resources
  Digital solutions make it easy for customers to access claim information, pay bills, and more.
• Separation from package
  Having a separate carrier for workers’ compensation prevents losses from affecting the package coverage underwriting, and vice versa.

Keeping customers satisfied

SFM provides unrivaled service and expertise that’s trusted by thousands of employers, and our industry-leading retention rate of over 96% speaks for itself. For more information on the benefits we have to offer your customers, contact your SFM underwriter.

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SFM’s new Safety Orientation Success Guide helps employers protect a group at high risk for work injuries: new employees.

According to SFM claim data, employees are at higher risk for injuries during their first six months on the job. Policyholders often tell us that training new employees to prevent injuries is challenging.

To provide additional resources for employers, the loss prevention team developed a step-by-step guide for policyholders.

A valuable tool to educate and help reduce job injuries

The Safety Orientation Success Guide offers valuable information that can be used in many industries. Here is a sample of what’s included:

• Actions employers can take to lower new employee injury risk
• Guidance about return on investment (ROI) of training
• Assessing hazards
• Training methods
• Lifecycle of training – including initial general safety, job-specific safety, and ongoing training
• Safety Training Checklist

SFM also has a library of helpful safety resources to use for training in multiple industries, and many of the industry-specific resources can be found in one place on the employee safety orientation page of sfmic.com.

Partners in safety

The Safety Orientation Success Guide is the second in a series of resources (see also the Safety Committee Success Guide) designed by SFM’s loss prevention team to help policyholders make their workplaces safer.

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We’re coming up on three years since we entered the state of Kansas in September 2020. Over that time, our agency partners there have helped us write more than 500 policies for nearly $2 million in written premium. In reaction to this success, SFM is actively expanding our Kansas team.

“We are happy to bring new talent to the team in response to our growth in Kansas,” said Shawn Miner, SFM VP of Regional Business. “We pride ourselves on our unbeatable service, and we’re pleased to be able to provide it to more policyholders than ever there.”

In late 2022, we answered agents’ requests to write more business with us in Kansas by expanding our appetite to policies over $25,000 in premium. Shortly after, our team attended the 2023 KAIA Annual Convention where we once again received excellent feedback from agents about our ease of doing business and quick response times from our underwriters. Agent feedback is valuable to us as we continue to expand our services.

One year in Indiana

SFM exceeded our first-year goal on policies, premium and agency appointments in Indiana, and our forecast remains high for growth in the state in 2023.

Becoming a member of the Big I Indiana and PIA of Indiana, and attending both conventions over the past year, has allowed our team to network with agencies around the state. We’ve built some great relationships, and again, our Indiana team has heard from agents that they’re impressed with our broad appetite, easy online quoting, and quick turnaround times. These positive interactions have us eager to see what 2023 brings for SFM in the state.

Open for business in Tennessee

SFM has opened our doors for business in Tennessee. We set our sights on the state in 2022 and have begun appointing new agencies in 2023.

A recently established agency partnership in Tennessee is drawing interest to SFM in our newest state, and we look forward to making more connections around the state and meeting agents through our involvement in the “Big I” Insurors of Tennessee.

SFM is now licensed in 34 states. You can view a complete state coverage list on the account types and territory page of the SFM website.

“The expansion has been a fun initiative for SFM, as our teams enjoy getting to experience new states and learning how agency partners do business in these territories,” said Cody Allen, SFM Business Development Specialist. “The agencies we’ve connected with in recent years have really delivered for us and we appreciate the partnerships.”

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You may be wondering why you received a notice of cancellation on a current policy indicating a reason of “audit noncompliance.” This notice means that the policyholder failed to complete the premium audit for the prior term.

SFM sends out two mailed notices instructing the policyholder to complete the required annual premium audit. Both the policyholder and the agent receive these communications. If the policyholder does not respond by completing the audit by the specified deadline, this is considered audit noncompliance.

Once a policy becomes noncompliant, SFM sends out a notice of cancellation to both to the policyholder and the agent, specifying the number of remaining days before the current term policy will be canceled. This timeline is determined by state rules (ranging from 30-60 days). To avoid final cancellation, the policyholder would then need to complete the prior term premium audit within the specified time range.

If the policyholder does not comply and complete the premium audit by the specified deadline, the current term policy will be final canceled, and both the policyholder and agent will receive a copy of this cancellation notice.

Contact the underwriter to reinstate a policy canceled for audit noncompliance

When a policy goes into cancellation, even if the insured completes the prior term audit, the policy may remain canceled unless the agent contacts the underwriter.

If the premium audit is completed within the first cancellation notice timeframe (30-60 days, depending on the state), the policy will be automatically reinstated. In these cases, no further action is required from the policyholder or agent.

However, if a policy final cancels due to audit noncompliance, the policyholder should complete the premium audit right away and the agent will need to contact the underwriter to consider reinstating the policy.

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SFM is planning to attend several industry events over the next few months:

• April 20-21 Nebraska Safety Council Conference
• May 2-3 Minnesota Safety & Health Conference
• May 4-5 PIA of Indiana 2023 Annual Convention
• May 10-12 Minnesota Association of School Business Official Annual Conference
• May 16-17 Big I Independent Insurance Agents of Wisconsin InsurCon2023
• June 15-16 Big I Independent Insurance Agents of South Dakota Young Agents River Days
• June 22-23 Iowa Workers’ Compensation Advisory Committee Annual Symposium
• July 12-13 Combined Agents of America Summer Series

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