Federated Mutual Insurance Company Review

Christine Lacagnina Written by Christine Lacagnina
Christine Lacagnina
Written by Christine Lacagnina

Christine Lacagnina has written thousands of insurance-based articles for TrustedChoice.com by authoring consumable, understandable content.

Updated

Federated Mutual Insurance Company at a Glance

  • Founded in 1904
  • Offers a range of coverages
  • Focuses on commercial coverages
  • “A+” (superior) rating by A.M. Best
  • “A+” (excellent) rating by Better Business Bureau (BBB)
  • One of the largest mutual insurance companies in the US
  • One of Ward’s Top 50 Property & Casualty Companies
  • Coverage available in 49 states
  • Strong financial stability

Federated Insurance Pros: Over a century’s worth of experience in the insurance industry. Offers a wide range of coverages for businesses. High ratings through A.M. Best and the BBB. Strong financial stability.

Federated Insurance Cons: Not a BBB accredited company. Several complaints filed against the carrier through the BBB in recent years. High volume of dismal customer reviews across the web. No 24/7 claims reporting hotline. Bad publicity. Official website lacks many important pieces of information. No FAQ available for customers.

What Type of Insurance Does Federated Insurance Offer?

Federated Insurance provides a range of insurance products for businesses and professionals. Their coverage offerings include:

  • Commercial property insurance
  • General liability insurance
  • Workers’ compensation insurance
  • Commercial auto insurance
  • Commercial umbrella insurance
  • Errors & omissions insurance
  • Environmental liability insurance
  • Life insurance
  • Disability insurance
  • Annuities

If your business is in need of any of these important coverages, Federated Insurance might just have the type of product you’re looking for.

What to Know About Federated Insurance

Federated Mutual Insurance Company was founded in 1904, giving the carrier ample time to establish itself with well over a century’s worth of experience in the industry today. Though the insurance company had humble beginnings as a group of farmers and business owners in the town of Owatonna, Minnesota, they have now massively expanded their reach to offer their products in 49 states and DC.

Today, Federated Insurance is considered to be among the largest mutual insurance companies in the US. The insurance company has also gained award-winning recognition over the years, being recognized on the list of Ward’s Top 50 US Property and Casualty Companies in the year 2019. Federated Life was also named on Ward’s Top 50 US Life Insurance Companies. Federated Insurance’s LinkedIn page states that the insurance company has between 1,001-5,000 employees across the country today.

Because of its extremely long-standing history, wide reach, and noteworthy financial strength, Federated Insurance is now recognized as a financially stable carrier with a secure outlook for the future. A.M. Best, the leading global credit rating agency monitoring the insurance industry, gives Federated Insurance an “A+” rating, indicating the carrier is a superior choice for insurance customers. A high rating from A.M. Best assures customers that Federated Insurance is capable of offering guaranteed, secure coverage from a financially sound carrier.

Established in 1899, A.M. Best is one of the oldest rating companies in the world. Reviews from A.M. Best indicate an insurance company’s financial strength and creditworthiness, and are based on comprehensive evaluations of the company’s operating performance, business profile, and balance sheet. For customers who aren’t as familiar with insurance companies’ respective reputations, A.M. Best’s ratings system allows them to make an informed decision about who they can trust to meet their needs in the short term, and also to remain a strong, financially sound company in the long term.

What Discounts Does Federated Insurance Offer?

While Federated Insurance does not make information about their specific discounts readily available, many insurance companies offer common discounts on comparable coverages. These discounts may include:

  • Close proximity to a fire station discount: Offered on commercial property insurance when a business is located close to a fire station. 
  • Safe neighboring building discount: Offered on commercial property insurance when a business’s adjacent neighbor buildings are used for safe operations.
  • Sprinklers system discount: Offered on commercial property insurance when a business installs a sprinklers system to prevent fire risk.
  • Good product track record discount: Offered on commercial liability insurance when a business’s products have a good track record of success. 
  • Safe premises discount: Offered on commercial liability insurance when a business provides a safe premises for customers to shop, etc.

Your independent insurance agent can help you find more information about exact discounts offered by Federated Insurance and other ways to save money through the insurance company, helping you to get the most bang for your buck on coverage.

Federated Insurance Customer Service

Federated Insurance allows customers to file claims via phone at specified hours during the week. The carrier also provides the following customer service options:

  • General inquiry contact form available through the website.
  • Online claims reporting available.
  • Main customer service hotline has the following hours restrictions:


Hours (CT)


Monday-Tuesday 7:30 am - 4:30 pm


Wednesday-Friday 9:00 am - 4:30 pm

The best way to get your customer service needs met is by working with an independent insurance agent.  Independent insurance agents can help make customer service easier for you by handling claims and other concerns.

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Federal Insurance FAQ

What is Federated Insurance's average claim response timeframe?

Federated Insurance allows customers to file claims over the phone at restricted hours on business days, or online at any time. The insurance company unfortunately does not provide a specific claims response timeframe promise on their official website or social media pages.

What is Federated Insurance's customer service availability?

Federated Insurance provides phone claims reporting at restricted hours, Monday-Friday, or through the website at any time. The insurance company’s main customer service hotline has restricted hours and is also available Monday-Friday. Federated Insurance also has a social media presence on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, making itself a bit more available to customers.

What is Federated Insurance's claims process?

Federated Insurance allows customers to file claims over the phone at specified hours, or right through the website at any time. However, the insurance company does not provide details about their claims process, other than how to file. If a customer has questions about the carrier’s claims process, they will have to call the insurance company or get in touch with their independent insurance agent to stay updated after filing.

Does Federated Insurance create a user-friendly experience for customers?

Federated Insurance’s official could certainly use some work. Though the layout is fairly easy to navigate and intuitive, a lot of pertinent information seems to be not nearly fleshed out enough, or missing entirely. For example, the insurance company’s website does not detail their official claims process or provide a claims response timeframe. Many modern insurance companies even provide a FAQ for their customers, which Federated Insurance does not. The carrier is available on social media which is pretty much necessary in the modern insurance world, but they have a ways to go to catch up to many other insurance companies, in terms of user-friendliness.

Does Federated Insurance have good errors & omissions insurance?

Federated Insurance offers many types of coverages, one of which is errors & omissions (E&O) insurance. The insurance company provides the following coverages under their E&O policies:

  • Correction of work coverage
  • Loss of revenue coverage
  • Product recall coverage
  • Patent infringement coverage
  • Faulty workmanship coverage
  • Faulty material or design coverage
  • Repair/replacement of product/work coverage
  • Installation floater extensions

Your independent insurance agent can help you find out more about Federated Insurance’s E&O insurance policies, as well as their other products, to see if their coverage would benefit your business.

Is Federated Insurance a good insurance company?

Federated Insurance has received extremely high ratings through both A.M. Best and the BBB, which is certainly respectable. However, the insurance company is not accredited through the BBB and has had several complaints filed against them through the organization in recent years. Federated Insurance has also had its name publicized negatively in recent years for various lawsuits. Customer reviews across the web appear to be dismal at best. It’s important for insurance customers to take all of this into account when considering whether Federated Insurance can be trusted as a good insurance company.

Federated Insurance Customer Reviews

Better Business Bureau
“I had business insurance with Federated Insurance from 11/2018 to 11/2019. At my renewal meeting on 11/21/19, I renewed my insurance with my sales rep. On 12/17/19 we learned that our sales rep had misrepresented information to use that resulted in a breach of trust with this sales representative. This situation caused us to terminate our business relationship. Our policy had been renewed for only 26 days when this happened. Our policy premium was $6,720.00 annually for a 12 month term. Federated is requiring us to pay $1,559.00. We are willing to pay for the prorated daily amount of the policy that was actually in force. Which would be $472.68. (There was an $87 work comp. credit). Federated says they will send us to collection.”


Better Business Bureau
“FEDERATED INSURANCE... Once they HAVE YOU as a customer and setup with "automatic billing" and you authorize through your BANK’S checking account to be debited for your "monthly premium" payments BEWARE!!! They will take any amount OF MONEY they want out of your checking ACCOUNT through a "paperwork technicality" regarding a yearly audit form that they send out via mail... AND THERE IS NOTHING YOU CAN DO ABOUT IT!! They have stolen almost ten grand over 15x my normal monthly payment directly from my checking completely and absolutely UNAUTHORIZED without any knowledge and flat out refuse to give it back!! Saying there is nothing I or they can do about it. Payment has already BEEN PROCESSED !! I am a small business owner in the landscape profession owner of Harp Landscaping in Hermitage, Pennsylvania, a customer for three years and now I don’t know how I am going to pay my mortgage let alone the rest of the bills later this month.”


Yelp
“I have bad experience with this company. Nobody send us any papers for business policy until I told them I am canceling the insurance. Two days later they send all the paper work with their sales agent making some excuse.”


Insureye
“I should have read the review above before I signed up for Federated Insurance! I had nothing but terrible experience with them. Since I've been with them, they switched three agents and each time no one follows up with me. They only told me my last agent is gone because I had to chase after them about certain inquiries after one whole month! And since it was a new agent, she has to do EVERYTHING over again, which took another three weeks. Now I'm asking for a quote and it has been two weeks and I'm still not getting a response... been calling them but always left to a voicemail. This company is extremely slow in response, poor customer service and terrible for claims (Don't even get me started on that). I WOULD NOT RECOMMEND THIS INSURANCE COMPANY TO ANYONE!”


Google
“Total lack of communication. Go with someone else.”


TrustedChoice.com's Final Review

We award Federated Insurance a final rating of 1.5 out of 5 stars. Though the insurance company has received high ratings through A.M. Best and the BBB and is considered to have strong financial stability, it’s also not accredited through the organization and has received numerous complaints filed against it. The insurance company’s customer service options and availability are quite restricted, especially when compared to other carriers today. Coverage is available in almost every state, but customers do not seem satisfied with the coverage they receive from the insurance company. Report after report of customer frustration with getting in touch with the insurance company or having their claims approved or even acknowledged is quite disturbing, and not to be overlooked.

Bottom line: A wide reach across the country, high financial strength ratings, and a good selection of insurance products don’t hold much weight when an insurance company doesn’t deliver on its promises to its customers. Further, the insurance company has a ways to go to catch up to many other carriers in terms of its online presence and user-friendliness. If good customer service and dependable coverage from an insurance company you trust is important to you, we say work together with your independent insurance agent to browse all your other options before settling on Federated Mutual Insurance Company to meet your coverage needs.

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