Frankenmuth Insurance business insurance

Overview

Frankenmuth Insurance is a super-regional carrier based in Frankenmuth, Michigan, a town founded by German immigrants. It started in 1868 as a mutual aid society. Today it writes business insurance in 16 states, sold only through more than 800 independent agencies, along with home and auto in five states, surety bonds and life insurance. Commercial lines make up about 70% of its business.

The Frankenmuth group was ranked No. 82 among U.S. business insurers by 2025 commercial lines direct premiums written, with $920.0 million, based on NAIC market share data. It has no line in the national top 10. Its book leans on package and auto business: commercial multiple peril $364.1 million, commercial auto $264.8 million, workers' compensation $104.8 million and other liability $75.7 million. All-lines premium was $1.33 billion.

The group's insurers are:

• Frankenmuth Insurance Company, the lead company
• Patriot Insurance Company of Yarmouth, Maine, which works through more than 100 independent agencies in Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Vermont
• Ansur America Insurance Company
• Patriot Life Insurance Company, which writes life coverage
• Frankenmuth Surety, which sells surety bonds

Fred A. Edmond, Jr., CPCU, is chief executive officer.

History

In 1868, about 200 residents of Frankenmuth formed the Deutschen Frankenmuther Unterstützungs-Verein, the German Frankenmuth Aid Association, and pledged to share one another's losses. Early members had to speak German and be practicing Lutherans. That fire association became Frankenmuth Mutual Fire Insurance Company. A separate Frankenmuth Mutual Insurance Company was formed in 1921 to insure autos; its first policy covered a 1923 Dodge that is on display at headquarters. The two merged in 1958 and moved into the current headquarters in 1960. The building has been expanded four times since.

The company's footprint grew well beyond Michigan. In 2007 it bought Patriot Insurance Company of Maine, which had been a mutual. Maine regulators describe how Frankenmuth became Patriot's mutual holding company through a conversion and merger, and Patriot's policyholders became Frankenmuth members on equal footing with Frankenmuth's own. Patriot began as a health insurance venture in New England and later expanded into home, auto and business coverage.

Mutual holding company reorganization. In 2022 Frankenmuth Mutual asked Michigan regulators to approve a plan to form a mutual holding company. Michigan's insurance director approved it on June 16, 2022. Effective January 1, 2023, the insurer became a stock subsidiary of the new mutual holding company, and the members who owned the mutual became the members who own the new parent. Regulators noted no planned change in management or operations. A mutual holding company structure generally gives a mutual more room to raise capital or buy other insurers while policyholders keep ownership (see mutual vs stock insurance companies: what the difference means for you). The operating company now carries the name Frankenmuth Insurance Company.

Growth has picked up recently. Direct written premium rose 11.6% in 2025 to more than $1.3 billion, the company's third straight year of double-digit growth. In the second half of 2025 Frankenmuth launched commercial lines in Virginia, its first new state since 2009.

Business insurance products

Frankenmuth sells a full commercial lineup through agents, sized by account:

• Small business. A business owner's policy combining general liability, property and business interruption. It comes in Diamond, Premier and Select coverage levels, with add-ons for EPLI, inland marine, hired and non-owned auto, equipment breakdown, professional liability and employee benefits liability.
• Mid-size and larger accounts. A commercial package policy combining property and general liability, plus commercial auto, commercial umbrella and workers' compensation. Its comp policy includes employers' liability and coverage for employees working in other states.
• Specialty coverages. Cyber and information protection, equipment breakdown, professional liability (E&O), employment practices liability and commercial crime, including employee theft, forgery and funds transfer fraud.
• Surety. Construction, commercial and express bonds through Frankenmuth Surety (see surety bonds explained: how they differ from insurance).

Business owners in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont and Massachusetts may also see coverage written on Patriot Insurance Company paper. Patriot sells commercial auto, workers' comp, commercial umbrella, cyber and surety bonds alongside personal lines.

Who it insures

Frankenmuth's published industry segments are construction, manufacturing, offices and professional services, real estate, retail, service industries, and wholesalers and distributors. Its BOP is built for contractors, retailers, professional offices, personal services and distributors (General contractor insurance, Wholesaler and distributor insurance). It does not publish detailed eligibility rules, so ask the agent whether a class fits.

Business insurance is written in Alabama, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia and Wisconsin. Personal home and auto are limited to Maine, Michigan, New Hampshire, Ohio and Vermont, so an owner outside those states will place personal coverage elsewhere. Its published products target small businesses and mid-size to large accounts placed through local agencies.

How to buy

Only through an independent agent. Frankenmuth's site sends prospects to its find-an-agent search and does not offer direct online quoting for business coverage. Its agency force numbers more than 800 agencies. That brings the usual trade-offs: you get an agent who can shop other carriers and package coverages, but you cannot buy from Frankenmuth without one.

Once insured, customers can register a business account online, pay bills, use the mobile app and handle premium audit requests through the customer resources pages. Business customers also have safety services, workers' comp forms and a telematics option listed among their resources.

Claims

Report a claim around the clock at 800-234-4433 or online. Auto glass-only claims have a separate form. For workers' comp, Frankenmuth runs a 24/7 injury triage hotline at 833-833-1934. Supervisors and injured employees speak with trained healthcare professionals at no extra cost, and the call automatically creates the first report of injury. That kind of early triage can steer minor injuries to first aid or the right clinic and get serious ones reported fast (see the workers' comp claims process for employers).

Frankenmuth cites claims satisfaction ratings of 95% or more. It offers an auto repair shop search, a building repair contractor search run through Sedgwick, and a separate surety claims process.

Financial strength and ratings

In June 2026 AM Best again affirmed Frankenmuth's A (Excellent) financial strength rating and "a+" long-term issuer credit rating, both with stable outlooks. The ratings apply to the companies in the Frankenmuth Insurance Group, including Patriot Insurance Company. Patriot Life Insurance Company holds its own A (Excellent) rating. Frankenmuth says it has held an A-category AM Best rating for nearly 50 consecutive years.

From its 2025 annual report: direct written premium of more than $1.3 billion (up 11.6%), admitted assets above $2.5 billion (up 12%), and a policyholders' contingency reserve fund, its term for surplus, of $912.2 million, up nearly $74 million. The report does not give a combined ratio. Frankenmuth has appeared on the Ward's 50 list of top-performing property-casualty insurers, 15 times as of 2017.

Strengths and weaknesses

Frankenmuth is a well-capitalized, steadily growing regional that does most of its business with small and middle-market commercial accounts through independent agents. Its limits are geographic reach and the lack of direct buying.

• Strengths: AM Best A (Excellent) with an "a+" issuer rating, affirmed June 2026, and $912.2 million of surplus at year-end 2025. Commercial lines are 70% of the book, with a full small-business and middle-market lineup including surety. A 24/7 injury triage hotline that files the first report automatically. Policyholder ownership kept through the 2023 mutual holding company structure.
• Weaknesses: Business insurance in only 16 states, and personal lines in only five. No direct or online quoting; you need one of its agents. Limited published appetite detail, so placement depends on the agent and underwriter. Limited financial disclosure: the annual report gives premium, assets and surplus but no combined ratio.

How to contact Frankenmuth Insurance