When it comes to workers’ compensation insurance, agents count on SFM for several reasons: unparalleled service, consistent results, support for injured workers and ease of doing business.

“Agents know that when they place a client with SFM, they’re choosing a carrier that prioritizes safety, empathy and long-term outcomes,” said Steve Sandilla, Senior Vice President and Chief Business Officer. “That’s why we continue to see growth in our core states as our reputation spreads among agents and policyholders.”

SFM has maintained its industry-leading client retention rate over the years. An annual policyholder retention rate of over 95% means that policyholders consistently choose to stay with SFM.

Results from a recent Agency Partner Survey showed that nearly all respondents were satisfied with SFM (93% “extremely” or “moderately” satisfied). And 91% said SFM is “easy” or “very easy” to do business with.

Agents most often cited SFM’s customer service and user-friendliness for their ratings, and the relationship underwriting staff was also regularly mentioned as a reason for overall satisfaction. SFM’s website, processes and technology were noted as strengths by those who completed the survey, as well.

“By working with an insurer specifically dedicated to work comp, agents have access to the tools they need to streamline 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.”

Why work with The Work Comp Experts

There are numerous benefits to working with a carrier dedicated solely to workers’ compensation, especially considering some of the industry developments in recent years. Some concerning trends carriers are watching include:

• Higher claims severity
• Aging workforce
• Rise in workplace violence claims
• Mental health issues
• Increase in litigated claims
• High rates of injury frequency among newer employees
• Medical inflation

Multi-line carriers often lack the expertise it takes to tackle these issues and address the concerns of policyholders and agents.

That’s why SFM’s dedication to work comp has resulted in steady growth in its core states. The 2024 market share numbers released this spring showed SFM continues to garner more business. SFM’s carrier ranking in its top five states, based on 2024 written premium:

• Minnesota – 1
• South Dakota – 3
• Iowa – 6
• Nebraska – 7
• Wisconsin – 10

Also, SFM’s 2024 market rank increased in its three newest states: Kansas, Indiana and Tennessee. SFM hit a new milestone by making the top 10 in Wisconsin, and SFM’s 2024 market rank increased by four spots in Kansas, eight in Indiana and 11 in Tennessee.

“We’re very much guided by our mission: protecting workers from harm and helping the injured recover,” Happe said. “That mission drives every claim, every premium audit and every conversation.”

Next webinar: The SFM Difference

Join us for our next educational webinar as we discuss the features and services that make SFM a premier workers’ compensation partner.

Set for 10-11 a.m. Wednesday, Dec. 3, the webinar will bring together SFM experts to share:

• 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 question-and-answer session at the end

Register now

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SFM is making two significant enhancements to its workers’ compensation operations in Tennessee.

Starting Dec. 1, SFM will begin writing business with Tennessee mid-market employers, further expanding SFM’s presence as it continues to gain a greater portion of the state’s market share. At that time, SFM will also start handling Tennessee claims in-house.

“We’re excited about these coming developments and our commitment to Tennessee,” said Cody Allen, SFM Territory Manager. “The agents we work with know about SFM’s work comp expertise and our reputation for exceptional customer service. Soon, that will extend to a larger pool of clients.”

SFM’s 2024 share of the market in Tennessee jumped 11 spots from the previous year, and starting Dec. 1, agents can expect SFM to be available to write business for accounts larger than $25,000 in annual premium, said Mike Happe, Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer.

“Our relationships with agency partners in our newer states continue to build with each passing year,” Happe said. “SFM’s standing as the work comp experts has helped us develop, retain and grow business in these markets, and we’re excited to expand our book of business in Tennessee.”

Claims handling

Starting Dec. 1, SFM will begin handling Tennessee claims through its in-house team.

Injuries that occur on or after that date will be addressed by SFM claims personnel directly, rather than through a third-party vendor. Open claims will be shifted to SFM staff at that time, as well.

Policyholders will see no change in how they report claims – they can still call the SFM Work Injury Hotline, report online through SFM’s website or use the CompOnline portal.

“With SFM’s extensive knowledge of claims handling, it makes sense for us take on those duties. By taking these claims in-house, we will provide better customer service and an improved experience for policyholders and injured workers,” said Angie Andresen, Vice President of Claims.

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Starting Oct. 30, users of SFM web portals will log in with their email addresses rather than usernames.

The change will allow those with multiple accounts to access all of them with just their email address and a password, and users will no longer have to remember usernames to log in.

Users will complete one-time setup process

The first time customers log in after the change, they will need to complete a one-time setup process where they’ll verify any multi-factor authentication methods they’ve established, change their passwords and verify their contact information.

They’ll enter their email address and the password they had previously established to start the process. (If they have multiple accounts, they can use the password associated with any one of their accounts.)

Users who have chosen to keep their mobile number hidden from their account team during their previous multi-factor authentication setup will have another chance to either confirm their choice, or share their number with their account team.

After they get logged in, users will have access to a new “hub” area where they can manage their login and communication settings.

SFM began sending web application users emails Oct. 1 to let them know the change is coming. Another email will be sent the day of launch.

The change is not expected to be to be too disruptive to users, but it will take a little extra time to log in that first time after the change. Also, they may need to change their password manager or autofill settings to start entering their email address rather than their username.

Following the launch, SFM will have a group ready to support users who have issues.

As a reminder, SFM has several online portals to make the work comp process easier:

• SFM Agency Manager (SAM)
• CompOnline
• ePay
• Claim Connection
• SFM’s certificate portal
• Provider Connection

Contact information becomes separate from log in information

One change rolling out with universal login is that users’ contact email addresses and login email addresses can be different, if desired. This allows users to have a unique log in email, but still have communication directed to a shared email inbox if they’d like.

In the new system, each person must have a unique email address to log in.

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Our online tool for agents, SFM Agency Manager (SAM), offers a variety of convenient features for your team.

Through SAM, you can:

• Quote and bind policies
• Complete a quick class code check to determine whether a risk is in appetite
• View your customers’ premium audit status and claim data
• Pull loss runs or sign up to have them emailed regularly
• View current, future and renewing policies
• Sign up for email alerts to be notified of cancellations, claim developments and more
• Customize your dashboard for easy viewing of renewals and cancellations
• Set up and manage AutoPay for customers
• View clients’ billing information and make payments

To register for a SAM account, contact your agency’s SAM administrator. If your agency doesn’t have an administrator, or you’re unsure who it is, you can register online.

If you have any questions about SAM, or would like a demo of its features, you can contact us.

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Minnesota’s 2025 legislative session resulted in a big change for small-business owners that provide building construction or improvement services.

Small-business owners with no employees often find themselves having to take out “zero estimated payroll” or “if any” policies. Starting Jan. 1, 2026, Minnesota business owners offering building construction or improvement services face additional requirements when applying for workers’ compensation coverage when they have no estimated payroll. Additional disclosure and record retention requirements were also introduced for entities doing business with these employers.

The legislative changes now codify the definition of a zero estimated payroll policy and attestation requirements for building construction or improvement service businesses.

“Zero estimated exposure policy” means a policy of insurance that an employer obtains to cover the employer’s liability to pay compensation under this chapter after reporting the employer’s total estimated exposure is zero.

Additionally, the legislative changes outline new requirements for these business owners as far as providing and retaining insurance documentation.

• To the insurance carrier, a signed attestation is required to be submitted with their application for workers’ compensation insurance and annually at each policy renewal. These business owners must provide the insurance carrier written notice within 60 days of the employment of any employees.
• To their contracting partners, these business owners must provide written notification to each entity they contract to perform building construction or improvement services. This notice must include confirmation of your zero estimated exposure and a copy of the policy.
• Entities receiving this notification are required to retain both the written notice and the policy for three years from the date they were received.

Additional resources

SFM has integrated a Minnesota zero attestation form into our SAM online application portal and have published this form to our website. Reach out to your SFM underwriter with additional questions.

For further details, check out our CompTalk on the subject.

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Recently released reports on workers’ compensation market share show that SFM continues to garner more business in its core states.

The 2024 figures were issued by SNL Financial in April. SNL, a data analytics firm within the S&P Global organization, issues an annual insurance industry study that compares market share and ranks carriers within each state of operation.

SFM’s carrier ranking in its top five states, based on 2024 written premium:

• Minnesota – 1
• South Dakota – 3
• Iowa – 6
• Nebraska – 7
• Wisconsin – 10

At the same time, SFM’s 2024 market rank also increased in its three newest states: Kansas, Indiana and Tennessee.

“We’re growing, and the good news is we’re really growing in all eight of our core states, but we’re also growing profitably and selectively in those states,” said Mike Happe, Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer. “The nationwide work comp market volume actually declined last year, so it’s promising to see that we’re maintaining that upward trajectory.”

SFM hit a new milestone by making the top 10 in Wisconsin, and SFM’s 2024 market rank increased by four spots in Kansas, eight in Indiana and 11 in Tennessee.

“Today, nearly half of SFM’s business is from outside of Minnesota. SFM is proud of our sustained success in recent years, especially in our newer markets,” Happe said. “In addition to maintaining the lead we’ve held in Minnesota for over 20 years, it’s fantastic to see strong growth coming from our other core states.”

Meanwhile, SFM continues to look for opportunities to pick up business that’s being displaced or facing challenges in the market.

“Especially in our newer states, agents are getting to know us and appreciate the advantages we offer,” said Mark Lewis, Team Business Leader. “We’re seeing excellent results as SFM’s reputation for unmatched customer service continues to spread throughout our newer markets.”

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SFM is off to a good start through the first six months of the year, and with a strong July expected for new business, we are looking to maintain that momentum through the next quarter.

Written premium is close to plan year to date, and new business is on plan, as well, at about $13 million. Premium audit additional is solid at more than $6 million so far this year. However, pricing is down 6% through the end of June, which was slightly more than projected.

“Despite the continued market challenges in workers’ compensation insurance, SFM and our agency partners have continued to grow our book of business and sustain our excellent client retention rate of over 95%,” said Steve Sandilla, Sr. VP and Chief Business Officer. “We’ve had a good start to the first half of the year and are planning to make the second half just as robust.”

Following a mild winter in the Upper Midwest, and subsequently fewer slip and fall claims, claim frequency was looking very good for the first six months of 2025. Still, though claim severity is within projections, SFM has increased that range in recent years following a trend of more surgeries and recovery time due in part to an older workforce.

“SFM’s results so far this year mirror our philosophy of steady, measured growth,” Sandilla said. “As we look to build on a good first half of 2025, we want to remind our agent partners that we look forward to working together to generate new business.”

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The results from SFM’s recent Agency Partner Survey are in and show nearly all respondents were satisfied with SFM (93% “extremely” or “moderately” satisfied) and 91% said SFM is “easy” or “very easy” to do business with.

When asked about the reason for their satisfaction rating, respondents most often cited SFM’s customer service and user-friendliness. Additionally, 75% of respondents said they wanted to recognize an SFM employee for excellent customer service.

“We’re extremely proud of the results of this survey,” said Steve Sandilla, Sr. VP and Chief Business Officer. “At SFM, we take customer service seriously, and it’s terrific to hear that our agency partners gave us such high marks.”

SFM’s underwriting staff was also regularly cited as a reason for overall satisfaction. Specifically, one respondent said underwriters are knowledgeable, responsive and focused on customer service. SFM’s website, processes and technology were noted as strengths by those who responded to the survey, as well.

“While we’re pleased with the survey results, we will continue to look for ways to improve in the future, and we will take specific areas of improvement seriously,” Sandilla said. “In fact, we received comments in the survey about upgrading the billing information in SFM Agency Manager. We’d already had a project to address that underway, and the enhancements went live in June.”

SFM appreciates the time agents took to provide their feedback, and those comments provide us with better ways to serve our partners.

Nearly 600 agents responded to the survey, which was distributed in March 2025.

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Here’s a look at the latest promotions and accomplishments for SFM’s underwriting staff over the past several months.

• Tamara Flanagan was promoted to Underwriting Technical Support Representative
• Phil Roberts was promoted to Marketing Underwriter
• Nick Frederickson was promoted to Senior Underwriter
• Michelle Santalucia joined SFM as an Underwriter on the Wisconsin Accounts team
• Crystal Frederick was promoted to Senior Underwriter
• Jason Willis was promoted to Marketing Underwriter Specialist
• Sadie Zorn was promoted to Senior Marketing Underwriter

Other SFM news of note:

• SFM CEO Terry Miller was named the president of the American Association of State Compensation Insurance Funds
• Mark Thalberg joined SFM as Senior Defense Counsel with Schmidt, Scharfenberg & Hollick
• Ryan Jirak was promoted to VP of Regional Business, Large Accounts
• Shawn Miner, SFM’s VP of Regional Business, Iowa/Nebraska/Kansas Accounts, was appointed to the governing board of the Kansas Workers’ Compensation Insurance Plan

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SFM is planning to participate in several industry events in the coming months, including:

• Aug. 21 — IIAN Foundation Golf Tournament in Eagle, Neb.
• Aug. 26-27 — Iowa “Big I” annual convention in Altoona, Iowa
• Sept. 21-23 — South Dakota Big I Convention in Deadwood, S.D.
• Sept. 29-30 — PIA of Minnesota Education Day in Waite Park, Minn.
• Oct. 8-10 — Big “I” Nebraska annual convention in Lincoln, Neb.

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