NJM Insurance Group business insurance

Overview

NJM is the workers' compensation insurer that New Jersey manufacturers built for themselves in 1913, and comp still drives its commercial book more than a century later. Most consumers in the Mid-Atlantic know it for personal auto, sold direct without mascots or jingles. On the business side it is a regional mutual that writes comp, commercial auto, a businessowners policy, a package policy and umbrella coverage in six states, sold through a hand-picked network of independent agents.

The NJM group was ranked No. 96 among U.S. business insurers by 2025 commercial lines direct premiums written, with $653.0 million, based on NAIC market share data. It has no line in the national top 10. Workers' compensation was $474.1 million of that, commercial auto $154.8 million and allied lines $24.1 million. All-lines premium was $3.16 billion, so personal auto and homeowners now make up the large majority of the company.

The NAIC group has four insurers, all domiciled in West Trenton:

• New Jersey Manufacturers Insurance Company, the lead company and the mutual that policyholders own
• New Jersey Casualty Insurance Company
• New Jersey Indemnity Insurance Company
• New Jersey Re-Insurance Company

Carol L. Voorhees, formerly executive vice president and chief operating officer, became president and CEO when Mitch Livingston retired on July 31, 2025.

History

New Jersey passed its Workmen's Compensation Act in 1911, and two years later, on June 7, 1913, a group of employers formed New Jersey Manufacturers Casualty Insurance Company to write it for themselves at cost, with an emphasis on safety. By 1922 it was the largest comp writer in New Jersey. A companion fire company formed in 1921 took the group into property and auto coverage, first for member businesses and then for their employees. The two merged into the current legal entity on January 1, 1965, according to the New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance's examination report. Headquarters has been in West Trenton since 1966, with branch offices in Parsippany and Hammonton.

For most of its history NJM was a New Jersey company. That changed with a multi-year plan to become a true Mid-Atlantic regional:

• 2018 — workers' comp launched in Connecticut and expanded in Pennsylvania; personal lines entered Pennsylvania.
• 2021 — the ProEdge Businessowners Policy and a commercial excess and umbrella policy launched in New Jersey in May, then in Delaware, Maryland and Pennsylvania later that year, along with comp and commercial auto for Delaware and Maryland businesses.
• 2022 — the ProPack commercial package policy for mid-size and larger businesses launched in New Jersey in May and in Delaware, Maryland and Pennsylvania from August 1.
• 2024 — ProEdge and ProPack added in Connecticut.

That growth came at a cost. AM Best noted in April 2025 that heavy spending on advertising and agent commissions since 2022 drove strong premium growth but combined with rising loss costs to produce consecutive underwriting losses, the largest in 2024.

Business insurance products

NJM's commercial lineup is short and deliberate:

• Workers' compensation, the original product and still about three-quarters of commercial premium. See workers' compensation insurance: how it works.
• Commercial auto for business fleets, written in all six of its commercial states.
• ProEdge Businessowners Policy, a BOP packaging property and liability for small businesses, with optional coverages by industry.
• ProPack Commercial Package Policy, a commercial package policy for mid-size and larger accounts. It includes crime and inland marine, property extension endorsements for buildings, business personal property and business income, general liability enhancement endorsements for construction, manufacturing and other industries, and optional equipment breakdown, EPLI, professional liability, contractors' E&O and cyber.
• Commercial excess and umbrella, available to ProEdge and ProPack policyholders who need higher liability limits (see commercial umbrella insurance).

There is no E&S operation, no surety program and no standalone professional liability or D&O line. Accounts that need those will be placed elsewhere by the agent.

Who it insures

NJM writes business insurance only in the Mid-Atlantic. Workers' comp and commercial auto are available in Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania. ProEdge, ProPack and umbrella coverage are offered in the same states except New York. Its personal lines also reach Ohio, but business coverage does not.

The appetite reflects its roots. AM Best describes NJM's business profile as a strong foothold in the New Jersey auto and comp markets, and its package policy endorsements are built around construction (General contractor insurance) and Manufacturer insurance. The BOP is aimed at small businesses; ProPack at mid-size to large ones. NJM does not publish class-by-class eligibility, so an agent has to confirm whether a given operation fits.

A multistate employer with operations outside these six states is a poor fit, since NJM cannot write the whole schedule.

How to buy

Commercial lines go through a select network of independent agents that NJM calls Premier agents (see independent agent). Its site sends business prospects to a find-an-agent search and a request-a-quote form for each product. Under the 2021 launch rules, businesses with seven or fewer employees could also apply directly to NJM. Personal lines, by contrast, are sold direct.

Once insured, a business can log in to NJM's business self-service portal to make payments and report claims. Expect a premium audit on comp and auto at the end of each term, as with any payroll- or vehicle-rated policy.

NJM is a policyholder-owned mutual (see mutual vs stock insurance companies: what the difference means for you) and has a long habit of paying annual dividends to policyholders. AM Best estimates those dividends added an average of 9.2 points to the combined ratio over the five years to 2024, and management treats them as a retention tool. Dividends are never guaranteed, so do not price an account on last year's return.

Claims

Report business claims other than workers' comp, including commercial auto, ProPack and ProEdge losses, 24/7 at 800-367-6564. Workers' comp claims go to 800-435-7656, weekdays 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Online reporting through the business portal is available for workers' comp and commercial auto policies only, so a property or liability loss under ProPack or ProEdge has to be phoned in. For the comp side, the usual sequence applies: get the injured employee care, then report promptly so the claim and any lost-time benefits start on time (see the workers' comp claims process for employers).

NJM's claims reputation comes mostly from personal auto. It has earned J.D. Power's Auto Claims Certification for "An Outstanding Auto Claims Experience" nine years running, including 2026. That certification covers personal lines customers only and says nothing directly about commercial claims handling.

Financial strength and ratings

AM Best affirmed New Jersey Manufacturers Insurance Company's A+ (Superior) financial strength rating, stable outlook, on April 14, 2026, along with its "aa" (Superior) long-term issuer credit rating, which remains on negative outlook. AM Best first rated the company in 1922. Its Financial Size Category is XV, the top band (USD 2 billion or more of adjusted surplus).

The negative outlook dates from April 30, 2025. AM Best cited volatility in pre- and post-dividend operating results: several straight years of underwriting losses, with 2024 the worst as uninsured and underinsured motorist claims added nine points to the loss ratio. It also said that without improvement a downgrade of the issuer credit rating is likely. On the other side, it assesses NJM's balance sheet as strongest, noting that surplus has kept growing from investment income despite underwriting losses and dividends. NJM has responded with rate increases and tighter underwriting.

Strengths and weaknesses

NJM is a very well-capitalized mutual with deep comp expertise in New Jersey, but its business offering is narrow in both products and geography, and its recent underwriting results have been weak.

• Strengths: A+ (Superior) from AM Best, affirmed April 2026, and a balance sheet AM Best rates strongest. More than a century of workers' comp experience, with comp still about 73% of its commercial premium. Policyholder ownership and a long history of dividends. A tidy small-to-mid-market lineup (comp, auto, BOP, package, umbrella) through selected independent agents.
• Weaknesses: Business coverage in only six Mid-Atlantic states, and only comp and auto in New York. Negative outlook on the issuer credit rating since April 2025 after consecutive underwriting losses. No E&S, surety or standalone professional lines. Online claim reporting covers only comp and auto, and commercial quotes require one of its Premier agents for most businesses.

How to contact NJM Insurance Group