FM business insurance

Overview

FM is a commercial property insurer and nothing else. The Johnston, Rhode Island, mutual, known for 25 years as FM Global, was ranked No. 26 among U.S. business insurers by 2025 commercial lines direct premiums written, with $5.19 billion, based on NAIC market share data. That is about 1.07% of the national commercial market, and nearly all of it is property: FM is the largest U.S. writer of allied lines (the wind, hail, flood, earthquake and other perils that sit beside fire on a property policy) and of boiler and machinery coverage, fourth in fire insurance and tenth in inland marine.

The NAIC group is small and easy to read. It holds Factory Mutual Insurance Company, the mutual that serves the largest clients; Affiliated FM Insurance Company, now marketed as FM Affiliated, for the middle market; and Appalachian Insurance Company. In May 2025 FM added Velocity Specialty Insurance Company, a Delaware surplus lines carrier. FM Approvals (product testing and certification), FM Boiler Re (equipment breakdown reinsurance for other insurers), FM Cargo and FM Renewable Energy sit under the same brand.

FM is owned by its policyholders, and it says its clients include one in four Fortune 500 companies. It sells both directly and through brokers, which is unusual at this size. Malcolm C. Roberts is chairman and CEO.

History

FM traces its start to 1835, when Rhode Island textile mill owner Zachariah Allen improved his mill to reduce fire risk, was refused a premium reduction, and organized other mill owners into a mutual that would insure only well-protected factories. That idea, now called a highly protected risk (HPR), became the Factory Mutual system. The mutuals championed the fire sprinkler after its introduction in 1874.

By 1987, 42 mutuals had consolidated into three. Those three (Allendale Mutual, Arkwright Mutual and Protection Mutual) combined in 1999, according to FM's history, and the company traded as FM Global from then until July 2024, when it shortened its brand to FM and renamed its middle-market company FM Affiliated. Factory Mutual Insurance Company remains the legal name.

The research arm grew alongside the insurer: the FM Research Campus opened in 2003 at a cost of $78 million, a natural hazards laboratory was added in 2009, and a science and technology center in Norwood, Massachusetts, opened in 2017. FM opened a European insurer in Luxembourg in 2017.

The most recent deal pushed FM into the surplus lines market. It completed the purchase of Velocity Specialty Insurance Company (VSIC) in early May 2025; Ryan Specialty bought the related managing general agent, Velocity Risk Underwriters, separately. AM Best said FM intends to use VSIC to add excess and surplus lines capability and reach more middle-market property accounts.

Business insurance products

FM's core product is the FM Advantage all-risk property policy, which bundles property damage and time element (business interruption) cover with engineering services. Around it:

• Large accounts (FM). Global programs with large capacity, natural catastrophe limits, captives and captive cells for clients willing to retain risk, a "Sustainability Select" option, and climate resilience services. The policy covers physical damage and resulting time element loss from a cyber attack on equipment, but not data itself, so it does not replace a cyber policy.
• Middle market (FM Affiliated). Commercial property for mid and upper middle-market clients, sold only through brokers, with a focus on real estate, healthcare, retail, education and condominium associations.
• Manufacturers (FM Essential). A broker-led program for manufacturers at different levels of risk maturity, with market-compatible coverage, adjustable lead capacity, quick quotes and fast-tracked claims.
• Specialty units. FM Cargo covers goods in transit by land, air and sea, including marine business interruption; FM Renewable Energy covers wind, solar and other energy assets; FM also insures the construction of data centers and renewable energy projects.
• Placing the rest. Corporate Insurance Services, FM's wholly owned brokerage, places earthquake, wind, flood, inland and ocean marine and extra capacity with outside insurers when an FM program needs more.

FM does not write general liability, auto or workers' compensation. Expect to buy casualty elsewhere. Its No. 1 rank in boiler and machinery reflects equipment breakdown cover written as part of its property programs; the best-known specialist competitor there is HSB.

Who it insures

FM's appetite is property-intensive businesses that will invest in loss prevention. Its industry list covers chemicals, data centers, power generation and renewable energy, semiconductors, forest products, mining, molten metals and glass, Manufacturer insurance, real estate, healthcare, education, retail and condominium associations. Size runs from single-location middle-market risks (through FM Affiliated) up to the largest multinationals.

The price of admission is engineering. FM says it has nearly 2,000 field engineers who visit insured sites and issue recommendations, and that it worked with clients to implement more than 48,000 of them in 2025. A business that will not fix sprinkler impairments or follow up on recommendations is a poor fit. FM publishes its engineering standards as the FM Property Loss Prevention Data Sheets, which many risk managers and fire engineers use whether or not they insure with FM. A small shop that needs a business owner's policy is outside FM's market entirely.

How to buy

FM uses what it calls dual delivery: a client can work with FM's own staff or through a broker, and FM says the price is the same either way. FM Affiliated, FM Essential and the surplus lines business go through brokers only. Expect a full submission: a statement of values, construction, occupancy, protection and exposure (COPE) details for each location, loss history, and access for an FM engineer to visit. There is no online quoting.

Membership is part of the economics. Eligible mutual policyholders receive a membership credit applied as a premium offset at renewal, scaled by tenure from 10% (under five years) to 20% (15 years or more). For renewals between June 30, 2026, and June 29, 2027, FM declared about $1.5 billion in membership credits, its largest ever, including a one-time 5% enhancement; with a separate resilience credit, 2026 credits total $2.3 billion, which FM says is more than its entire 2025 underwriting profit. FM says more than 90% of policyholders renew each year.

Clients and brokers use the FM portal for documents, loss reporting and recommendations.

Claims

Report a loss through the FM portal, which runs 24/7 and lets you upload photos and documents, track status and payments, and pull loss history; the reporting page also offers a guest option. Each FM office also has a loss-reporting email address, and FM Cargo lists U.S. cargo loss lines at its Norwood, Massachusetts (781-440-8568), and New York (212-269-8220) offices.

FM handles claims with in-house adjusters who have settlement authority and aim to be on site within 24 to 48 hours. It offers advance payments, a fast-track process for smaller claims, and pre-loss policy workshops run by its claims staff so clients understand how the policy responds before a loss. Read the business income and contingent time element provisions of any manuscript property form carefully; FM's forms are its own, not ISO's CP 00 10.

Financial strength and ratings

On January 30, 2026, AM Best affirmed the A+ (Superior) financial strength rating and "aa" (Superior) issuer credit ratings of Factory Mutual Insurance Company and its core subsidiaries, with a stable outlook, and affirmed Velocity Specialty at A (Excellent). AM Best rated FM's balance sheet at its strongest level, noted underwriting profits in each of the five most recent years, and cited catastrophe-driven volatility as the main risk. FM's own website, as of October 2026, lists AA (Very Strong) from Fitch Ratings and AA- from S&P Global Ratings.

FM reported $31 billion of surplus in its 2025 annual report and $1 billion of membership credits paid in 2025. Since the program began in 2001, it says it has returned more than $8.9 billion to policyholders through membership credits.

Strengths and weaknesses

FM is the reference market for engineered commercial property: deep capacity, research that much of the industry relies on, and a mutual structure that has returned underwriting profit to its owners. The trade-off is that you get property only, and you get it on FM's engineering terms.

• Strengths: A+ (Superior) from AM Best (affirmed January 2026), with AA from Fitch and AA- from S&P listed on its site. National leader in allied lines and boiler and machinery, and fourth in fire. Membership credits of 10% to 20% of premium by tenure, plus a one-time 5% enhancement for 2026-27 renewals. In-house adjusters with settlement authority and a 24-to-48-hour on-site target.
• Weaknesses: No liability, auto or workers' comp, so a buyer always needs a second carrier. Engineering recommendations come with the policy, and ignoring them can affect terms at renewal. No small-business products or online quoting. Its own manuscript forms, not standard ISO forms, so coverage comparisons take a broker's careful reading.

How to contact FM