Franklin Mutual Insurance Company
Carrier website links, underwriting access points, mapped product lines, and appetite notes in one place.
This appetite summary is only a guide. Confirm eligibility, submission requirements, restrictions, and binding authority directly with the carrier or underwriter before relying on it.
Carrier appetite summary
Scope & geography: - Regional property & casualty mutual focused on New Jersey residential and small-to-mid-size commercial risks. Policies are sold exclusively through selected independent agents; no direct-to-consumer binding.([fmiweb.com](https://www.fmiweb.com/)) Preferred business – Personal Homeowners: - Owner-occupied 1–2 family primary residences in NJ written on an all-risk / open-perils basis (coverage applies unless specifically excluded).([fmiweb.com](https://www.fmiweb.com/site/residential-insurance/homeowner-policy)) - Homes with strong physical characteristics and risk controls: newer construction (less than 12 years old), homes with central station or local alarms, fire sprinkler systems, and higher all-perils and wind/hail deductibles. - Mature homeowners (age 55+) and long-tenured customers, both of which qualify for discounts and indicate stability and lower expected loss frequency.([fmiweb.com](https://www.fmiweb.com/site/residential-insurance/homeowner-policy)) - Accounts willing to purchase extended limit homeowner endorsement (up to 150% of Coverage A) and optional enhancements such as equipment breakdown, water backup, and identity theft – signals better-than-average insurance literacy and value orientation rather than price-only shopping.([fmiweb.com](https://www.fmiweb.com/site/residential-insurance/homeowner-policy)) Restricted / declined – Personal: - Non-NJ locations; carrier is licensed and positioned as a NJ-focused insurer and is listed in NJ DOBI homeowner contacts specifically for NJ.([nj.gov](https://www.nj.gov/dobi/division_consumers/insurance/homeownercontacts.htm?utm_source=openai)) - Homes with significant prior loss activity or adverse prior claims on the property; market feedback shows declinations tied to prior-owner loss history even when buyer is new, so underwriters are sensitive to loss frequency and severity on a location basis. - Higher-risk property conditions (older roofs without updates, unmitigated hazards, missing safety systems) and any risk failing external inspection or failing to provide required underwriting information. - Nonstandard occupancies (rooming houses, short-term rentals, boarders beyond endorsed limits, or substantial in-home business operations without proper endorsement) – likely require referral or are declined based on standard mutual-carrier NJ appetite. Business lines & appetite (overview rather than detailed class list): - Business Owners: Targets small-to-mid-size Main Street businesses needing package coverage (property + GL + business income). Marketing language focuses on protecting the owner’s investment similarly to a home policy, indicating preference for established, physically-occupied risks rather than paper-only entities.([fmiweb.com](https://www.fmiweb.com/site/business-insurance)) - Workers Compensation: Offered as a standard NJ workers comp policy for accounts that also place primary package business with FMI. Marketing focuses on employee safety and indemnity benefits, implying appetite for businesses with documented safety practices and conventional class codes, and likely limited interest in heavy industrial, long-haul trucking, or high-hazard construction without strong controls.([fmiweb.com](https://www.fmiweb.com/site/business-insurance)) - Religious Institutions: Special program for churches, synagogues, temples, and similar houses of worship. Preference is for established congregations with routine worship and community activities, properly maintained buildings, and conventional ancillary operations (meetings, education rooms). High-hazard add-ons (large daycares, social service shelters, or extensive off-premises operations) likely need referral. - Commercial Umbrella: Offered as excess liability support for FMI primary commercial policies; not marketed as a broad monoline umbrella facility. Appetite inferred as standard low-to-moderate hazard mercantile, office, BOP and religious institution risks with underlying carried at adequate limits and with acceptable loss histories.([nj.gov](https://www.nj.gov/dobi/division_insurance/solvency/finexam_rpt13854farmersmut2018.pdf?utm_source=openai)) Geographic notes: - Homeowner policy and marketing position emphasize New Jersey homeowners; NJ DOBI lists Franklin Mutual Group / FMI Insurance Company as an agent-distributed writer of homeowners in NJ. No indication of active personal lines appetite outside NJ.([fmiweb.com](https://www.fmiweb.com/site/residential-insurance/homeowner-policy)) - Business insurance pages are written generically but are housed under an NJ business URL and tied to the same agent network, indicating NJ-centric business and workers comp footprint.([fmiweb.com](https://www.fmiweb.com/site/business-insurance)) Submission & broker/producer instructions (operational): - All business is written via a “select group of local professional independent insurance agents”; producers must be appointed with FMI and use the agent login/portal for submissions. There is no direct online quoting for insureds.([fmiweb.com](https://www.fmiweb.com/)) - Expect standard pre-bind documentation: completed Acord / carrier apps, current valuation/replacement cost information for buildings, loss runs and/or CLUE when applicable, documentation of safety features (alarms, sprinklers), and for workers comp, payroll and class coding details. Religious institutions will require schedule of activities and ancillary uses. - Carrier stresses that website content is informational only and that actual coverage and eligibility are controlled by policy forms and underwriting; underwriters have discretion to decline or modify terms.([fmiweb.com](https://www.fmiweb.com/)) - Inspections and supplemental information are used in practice to validate property condition and underwriting data; failure to provide necessary information or unsatisfactory survey results can lead to non-acceptance or non-renewal (supported by NJ market/consumer exam documentation and anecdotal market experience).([nj.gov](https://www.nj.gov/dobi/division_consumers/insurance/mcexams/fmiadoptedrpt.pdf?utm_source=openai)) Practical placement notes: - Strong fit: NJ homeowners (especially newer, well-maintained homes, mature or long-tenured insureds), Main Street business owners with property + GL package and employees, and religious organizations with conventional worship and community activities. - Use higher deductibles and value-added endorsements (extended limit, equipment breakdown, water backup, personal excess liability) to align with appetite for well-managed risks and to improve pricing competitiveness. - Avoid submissions outside NJ, highly cat-exposed or distressed properties, heavy industrial or high-hazard WC/GL classes, or risks with poor inspection prospects or stacked prior losses, as these are likely to be declined or heavily restricted. Because Franklin Mutual does not publish a public-facing agent underwriting manual or detailed appetite guide, these guidelines focus on what is explicitly disclosed in current marketing materials plus reasonable operational inferences consistent with a NJ-based mutual’s typical risk appetite. Always confirm edge classes and unusual operations with an underwriter prior to quoting or binding.