ICW Group business insurance

Overview

ICW Group is a San Diego workers' compensation carrier that is in the middle of turning itself into a broader commercial insurer. It was ranked No. 69 among U.S. business insurers by 2025 commercial lines direct premiums written, with $1.17 billion, based on NAIC market share data, about 0.24% of the national commercial market. It does not rank in the national top 10 in any single line. Almost all of that premium, $1.15 billion, is workers' comp. Inland marine, at $18.1 million, is a distant second.

Direct premium understates the company's size. ICW says it wrote $3.2 billion of direct and assumed premium in 2025, because its reinsurance arm, ICW Re, assumes a large book from other insurers, MGAs and captives.

The NAIC group is made up of six companies: Insurance Company of the West (the lead company, founded 1972), ICW National, ICW Casualty, ICW Premier, Explorer Insurance Company and VerTerra Insurance Company. VerTerra is the group's surplus lines company and carries the new ICW Specialty unit. Explorer used to write personal auto. ICW Group calls itself the largest privately held insurer domiciled in California. It sells only through independent agents and brokers.

History

Businessman Ernest Rady founded Insurance Company of the West in 1972. The milestones, from the company's own timeline:

• 1978: adds workers' compensation, now its main line.
• 1981: opens in Arizona, its first office outside California.
• 1991: expands its surety business, with offices opening in Northern California, Texas and Oregon over the following years.
• 1993: launches its catastrophe line, which grew into a major commercial earthquake book.
• 1999 and 2005: takes workers' comp into Nevada, then Florida.
• 2004: Kevin Prior, who joined in 1990 as an actuary, becomes president and CEO. He remains CEO.
• 2009: opens its first Midwest office, in Illinois.
• 2017: passes $1 billion of direct written premium.
• 2018: AM Best raises the group to A (Excellent).
• 2019: makes assumed reinsurance a core business.
• 2021: Explorer finishes withdrawing from personal auto; the last policies expired on September 30, 2021.
• 2024: starts writing comp in New York, for policies effective July 1, 2024 or later, bringing it to 22 primary states.
• 2025: hires Mark Moitoso, a former Lockton and Liberty Mutual executive, as president (January 27). Launches ICW Specialty, an E&S unit based in Atlanta, on June 19.
• 2026: adds alternative risk transfer (January) and workers' comp legacy solutions (August) to ICW Specialty. On October 1, it opens five new commercial lines in California.

The company no longer writes surety bonds and only services old surety claims. ICW remains privately held. Its 2025–2026 changes were internal (a new president and new business units), not a sale or merger.

Business insurance products

Workers' compensation. This is the franchise: workers' comp and employers liability for more than 1,000 SIC codes, with premiums starting at $1,500 and no premium commitments for agents. Policyholders get loss control and safety consulting, the Safety OnDemand online library, live and recorded webinars, a 24/7 nurse triage line in English and Spanish, telemedicine in some states, California's Premier medical provider network and the Texas Healthcare Network. HR OnDemand, a free hotline for employment questions, is included too. ICW pitches all of this as a way to get fewer and cheaper claims and a lower experience mod.

Catastrophe. Commercial earthquake insurance covers buildings, business personal property, business income and earthquake sprinkler leakage. ICW also sells stand-alone commercial flood in California. Elsewhere, flood is only incidental to its difference-in-conditions cover.

New commercial lines. On October 1, 2026, ICW began taking California submissions for commercial property, general liability, commercial auto, inland marine and excess liability, for policies effective January 1, 2027 and later. The launch is aimed at middle-market accounts in industries that match its comp book: contractors, food manufacturing, wholesalers, retailers, real estate, hotels and manufacturing. ICW says it plans to add more states over time.

ICW Specialty (E&S). Policies are issued by VerTerra on a non-admitted basis through wholesalers only. Excess casualty offers up to $10 million of capacity for middle-market and large national accounts in hospitality, manufacturing, construction and real estate (see umbrella vs excess liability). The unit also writes alternative risk transfer and structured casualty, and it takes over workers' comp legacy liabilities from public entities, corporations and captives.

Who it insures

ICW's comp appetite is broad. It writes everything from agriculture to hospitality and from small employers to large ones, with California still its largest market. AM Best has noted that concentration in the past. The new package lines are aimed at contractors, Manufacturer insurance, food manufacturers, wholesalers and hotels.

Workers' comp is primary in 22 states, with incidental coverage in 24 more for employers whose main operations are in an ICW state. The new property, liability and auto lines are written only in California for now. Excess casualty is written nationwide on a surplus lines basis, but VerTerra is not licensed in California. A small shop that wants to buy a package policy online will not find that here.

How to buy

Go through an independent agent or broker. ICW says it has more than 3,000 appointed agents and brokers, and its site has a find-an-agent tool. It does not quote online or sell direct. Agents deal directly with underwriters, who double as the sales contacts. ICW Specialty excess casualty must be placed through a wholesale broker and a licensed surplus lines producer.

After binding, the myResource portal handles loss runs, claim summary reports, payroll reporting and policy documents. An owner or officer has to authorize who gets access to loss reports. Invoices can be paid online or through the automated phone line at 888-339-0843.

Claims

ICW handles its own claims. For workers' comp, injured employees with non-emergency injuries can call the nurse triage line at 855-469-6877 at any hour. The nurse can start the claim for you. You can also report online (not available in New Mexico or Hawaii) or use the state forms on ICW's claims page. A claims examiner contacts you within two business days. For examiner questions, call 800-877-1111. Property, general liability, employers liability, excess casualty and catastrophe claims (earthquake, flood and DIC) are reported through online forms. If you are unsure which form fits, call 877-442-9669.

Two services stand out. ICW's special investigations unit reviews every comp claim for fraud within 24 hours, using proprietary software that checks more than 3,000 data points. Injured workers also get access to return-to-work support through the injured workers center. Mail for claims goes to PO Box 509039, San Diego, CA 92150, and medical bills go to P.O. Box 2965, Clinton, IA 52733.

Financial strength and ratings

ICW Group's companies are rated A (Excellent) by AM Best, Financial Size Category XV. AM Best's rating disclosure for Insurance Company of the West shows the rating affirmed with a stable outlook, effective December 10, 2025. In its December 7, 2023 review, AM Best moved the outlook from positive to stable. It described the balance sheet as strongest, operating performance as strong and the business profile as limited. It also warned that fast growth in assumed reinsurance could bring more volatile results and property aggregation risk. An earlier AM Best report, from November 2021, flagged the comp book's concentration in California's regulatory and legal environment.

ICW has been named to the Ward's 50 list of top-performing P&C insurers for 12 consecutive years, through 2026.

Strengths and weaknesses

ICW is a well-capitalized, privately owned comp specialist with deep California experience, in-house claims and a real earthquake franchise. The open question is execution. Assumed reinsurance and a brand-new E&S unit are growing quickly. The new property, liability and auto lines are only months old and limited to California.

• Strengths: A (Excellent) from AM Best, affirmed December 2025, with capital AM Best rates strongest. Comp premiums start at $1,500 across more than 1,000 class codes. In-house claims, a 24/7 bilingual nurse line and a fraud unit that reviews every claim within 24 hours. A long record in commercial earthquake insurance.
• Weaknesses: Comp is primary in only 22 states. Package lines are California-only, with first policies effective in 2027. No online quoting or direct sales. VerTerra's surplus lines policies generally fall outside state guaranty funds. Growth in assumed reinsurance adds volatility that AM Best has flagged.

How to contact ICW Group