GNY (Greater New York Mutual) business insurance

Overview

GNY, legally the Greater New York Mutual Insurance Company, is a policyholder-owned commercial insurer built around one product: the package policy for buildings and the businesses in them. Apartment buildings, co-ops and condos, office buildings, shopping centers, restaurants and light industrial risks are its core. In 2024, AM Best ranked it the largest writer of commercial multi-peril (package) insurance in New York and fourth in New Jersey, Connecticut and Illinois.

The NAIC's GREATER NY GRP ranked No. 61 among U.S. business insurers by 2025 commercial lines direct premiums written, with $1.36 billion, based on NAIC market share data. That is about 0.28% of the national commercial market. It is not among the 10 largest writers of any single commercial line nationally. The book is concentrated: commercial multiple peril premium of $1.13 billion is more than four-fifths of the total, and other liability, which includes umbrella and excess, adds $237.3 million.

GNY issues policies through six companies:

• Greater New York Mutual Insurance Company, the parent;
• Insurance Company of Greater New York;
• Strathmore Insurance Company;
• Greater Mid-Atlantic Indemnity Company;
• Greater Midwestern Indemnity Company;
• GNY Custom Insurance Company, its surplus lines company.

It sells only through independent brokers it appoints, which it calls "affiliated brokers." About 485 people work there. Elizabeth Heck has been CEO since January 2015 and chairman since March 2020.

History

• 1914: A group of New York City immigrant property owners who could not get liability insurance form the Greater New York Taxpayers Association. The first policy takes effect on June 1, 1914. Members pay $25 a year and put a plaque on their buildings.
• 1927: New York State tells the association it is acting as an insurance company and must be licensed.
• 1962: Under its third CEO, Alexander Rosenthal, GNY opens branches in Connecticut and New Jersey. It expands into all property and casualty lines and starts selling the Special Multi-Peril package policy. Warren Heck joins to run the New Jersey branch.
• 2001: Heck, president for 18 years, becomes chairman and CEO. After the September 11 attacks, GNY stays in Manhattan but decides to spread its risk. Within a few years it writes in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Ohio, Maryland, Virginia and upstate New York.
• 2014: In GNY's 100th year, Warren Heck retires after 53 years, and Elizabeth Heck becomes the fifth CEO.
• 2020: GNY Custom, a dormant shell, starts writing excess and surplus lines casualty, mainly multifamily residential accounts.
• 2022: GNY enters the excess liability market.
• 2024: GNY issues surplus notes to add long-term capital and catastrophe protection.

GNY has stayed a mutual. It has had no demutualization, sale or merger.

Business insurance products

GNY's main product is an industry-specific package policy combining property and general liability, with more than 20 class enhancements built in. The apartment building package, for example, includes sewer backup, ordinance or law, employee dishonesty, newly acquired property and pollution cleanup. General liability limits run up to $1 million per occurrence / $2 million aggregate, with medical payments up to $10,000. The restaurant package adds liquor legal liability, spoilage, outdoor signs and off-premises power coverage.

You can add the following on top of the package:

• workers' compensation;
• commercial auto (owned, hired and non-owned);
• commercial umbrella and excess liability;
• D&O;
• employment practices liability;
• crime;
• a Cyber Suite with data compromise coverage.

AM Best notes that workers' comp has been less than 5% of GNY's premium since 2008. Comp is written mostly to support package accounts.

GNY Custom writes surplus lines casualty, mostly for multifamily housing. AM Best reported that GNY cut those writings by about 10% through the third quarter of 2025 as E&S pricing softened.

Who it insures

GNY's target classes are:

• apartment buildings, from single buildings to garden complexes and large schedules;
• co-ops and condominiums;
• office buildings and shopping centers;
• hotels;
• restaurants, from family-style and white-tablecloth to chains and 24-hour diners;
• commercial bakeries;
• light industrial businesses;
• private clubs and movie theaters.

See Landlord insurance, Condo and HOA insurance and Restaurant insurance for how these risks are usually insured.

It writes in 16 states and the District of Columbia. Branches serve New York City; Connecticut and upstate New York; New England; New Jersey and Pennsylvania; Maryland, Virginia and D.C.; and Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Ohio. GNY has also entered Wisconsin. In 2003, about 10% of its premium came from outside the New York tri-state area. By 2024 it was more than 30%. It is still a regional carrier: a New York building owner is its classic customer, and it does not write nationwide.

How to buy

Buy through a GNY affiliated broker. GNY sells only through brokers it has appointed, which are independent brokers except where state law requires otherwise. The contact page has a form to find one by state and industry, and agencies apply to become affiliated brokers through GNY's branches.

There is no online quoting for business owners. GNY says a caller can reach an underwriter, claims examiner or senior manager who can make decisions, which is a real selling point for brokers with complicated building schedules. Policyholders get free access to the GNY Risk Management Center. It has tools for managing certificates of insurance, tracking incidents and training employees in safety. GNY also publishes loss-control guides on topics such as Federal Pacific Stab-Lok breakers, ice dams, dryer vents and sidewalk trip hazards.

Claims

GNY prefers that property claims come through your broker, who reports them on the Affiliated Broker Portal 24 hours a day. You can also report directly:

• Property emergencies: call 212-683-9700 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Eastern, Monday to Friday, or the after-hours hotline, 855-276-1271. Non-emergency property claims go to [email protected].
• Liability and auto: report to the office for the territory where the accident happened or the suit is pending. New York claims go to [email protected] (212-683-9700). New England claims go to [email protected]. Claims from all other states go to [email protected], handled by the Edison, New Jersey office (732-238-6300). GNY accepts an ACORD notice of occurrence in any form.
• Workers' compensation: the intake line is 866-290-6833 for New York and states other than New Jersey, and 800-425-3222 for New Jersey. You can also email [email protected] for New York or [email protected] for other states.

For a property loss, GNY asks you to protect the property from further damage, photograph or video it before the adjuster arrives, and report any crime to police. GNY handles claims in-house, and its brokers say the same adjuster often knows the building over years.

Financial strength and ratings

AM Best affirmed GNY's A+ (Superior) financial strength rating and "aa-" issuer credit rating, both with stable outlooks, effective January 30, 2026, for all six companies. GNY says it has been rated A+ for more than 30 consecutive years. AM Best judges the balance sheet strongest, its top category, and puts the group in Financial Size Category XII.

AM Best's report notes three points:

• Net premiums grew 126% over five years, including 15.4% in 2024. Policy retention held up despite steady rate increases.
• The expense ratio has beaten the industry average since 2016.
• Underwriting leverage is elevated, and in 2025 GNY added to prior-year liability reserves. AM Best tied the slower loss development to "litigation system abuse" in admitted liability claims.

GNY's 2026 fact sheet shows about $1.10 billion of surplus and $3.39 billion of assets at year-end 2025. No S&P, Moody's or Fitch ratings are published.

Strengths and weaknesses

GNY is a deep specialist in Northeast real estate and restaurants, with an A+ balance sheet and in-house claims. It is a narrow market: if your business is not one of its classes, or not in its 16 states, it is unlikely to be the answer.

• Strengths: It has been rated A+ (Superior) for more than 30 years, and its balance sheet is assessed as strongest. It has been a mutual since 1914, with no outside shareholders. Its package policies come with class-specific enhancements for apartments, co-ops, offices and restaurants. Claims are handled in-house with published reporting routes and a 24/7 after-hours line.
• Weaknesses: It writes in only 16 states and D.C., and it is heavily concentrated in New York City-area real estate. It has no direct or online buying, and you need an appointed broker. Its comp appetite is minimal outside package accounts. AM Best flags elevated underwriting leverage and 2025 reserve strengthening on liability claims.

How to contact GNY