American Modern Insurance Group, Inc., operating under the American Modern® insurance brand, is the
holding company
A holding company is a company whose primary business is holding a controlling interest in the securities of other companies. A holding company usually does not produce goods or services itself. Its purpose is to own shares of other companies ...
for a number of subsidiary
property
Property is a system of rights that gives people legal control of valuable things, and also refers to the valuable things themselves. Depending on the nature of the property, an owner of property may have the right to consume, alter, share, r ...
and
casualty insurance Casualty insurance is a defined term which broadly encompasses insurance not directly concerned with life insurance, health insurance, or property insurance.
Casualty insurance is mainly liability coverage of an individual or organization for ne ...
companies that provide specialty products for owners of a variety of specialty dwellings such as seasonal homes and mobile homes, and collectable or recreational vehicles such as watercraft, snowmobiles and motorcycles. They also provide pet insurance. Among its companies is American Family Home Insurance Company, but it is not affiliated with the mutual insurance company
American Family Insurance
American Family Insurance, also abbreviated as AmFam, is an American private mutual company that focuses on property, casualty, and auto insurance, and also offers commercial insurance, life, health, and homeowners coverage as well as investm ...
.
The company also serves the commercial insurance needs of landlords, as well as of dealers and communities within the manufactured housing market. It also provides services and products to protect lender interests, including mortgage fire,
debt cancellation, vendors single interest, collateral protection insurance,
renters insurance, credit life and flood insurance.
The company's two initial insurance companies were founded in 1965 in
Cincinnati
Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...
, OH. Collectively, the insurance companies of American Modern Insurance Group are licensed to do business in all states.
American Modern's ultimate parent is
Munich Re
Munich Re Group or Munich Reinsurance Company (german: Münchener Rück; Münchener Rückversicherungs-Gesellschaft) is a German multinational insurance company based in Munich, Germany. It is one of the world's leading reinsurers. ERGO, a Muni ...
, one of the 100 largest companies in the world in annual revenue. It is part of Munich Re's primary insurance operations in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
.
History
The group's primary insurance companies were founded in 1965. But, its roots go back to 1938 when The Midland Discount Corporation was founded in
Cincinnati
Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...
as an automobile financing company during a time when the United States was working its way out of the
Great Depression.
In 1949 Midland identified an emerging market in the mobile home industry and became one of the first companies to specialize in the mobile home finance business at both the wholesale and retail levels.
In February 1961 Midland made its initial public offering of stock to help finance expansion and, in 1965, it entered the manufactured home insurance marketplace with the establishment of American Modern Home Insurance Company and American Family Home Insurance Company, which remain to this day as the primary subsidiaries of American Modern Insurance Group.
The financial downturn of the mid-1970s hit the mobile home industry particularly hard and resulted in the discontinuation of the company's finance operations in February 1976.
In 1990, Midland's insurance subsidiary, American Modern Insurance Group, began an important diversification into lines of business beyond manufactured homes, starting with watercraft insurance and then collector vehicle insurance a few years later.
American Modern Insurance Group expanded into the motorcycle, ATV and snowmobile markets in 2000 with the purchase of GuideOne Motorsport's book of business.
The company continued to diversify its product offerings in the first decade of the 21st century to meet special needs in the site built home market, such as vacant, seasonal and
rental home
A leasehold estate is an ownership of a temporary right to hold land or property in which a lessee or a tenant holds rights of real property by some form of title from a lessor or landlord. Although a tenant does hold rights to real property, a ...
s. It also expanded its portfolio of single and dual interest products—including credit life and disability insurance—that were marketed to the financial community through its Financial Institutions Division.
In 2008 Midland and its subsidiaries were purchased by
Munich Re
Munich Re Group or Munich Reinsurance Company (german: Münchener Rück; Münchener Rückversicherungs-Gesellschaft) is a German multinational insurance company based in Munich, Germany. It is one of the world's leading reinsurers. ERGO, a Muni ...
, an international company with approximately 47,000 employees doing business in more than 40 countries. American Modern is part of its primary insurance operations in the United States focusing on penetrating the specialty segment of the market.
Distribution
The company takes its products to market through a variety of distribution channels. Licensed dealers and lenders offer insurance to buyers of manufactured homes to facilitate the closing process and protect lender collateral. Independent agents and general agents use the company's products to satisfy specialty product needs not adequately served by standard lines carriers. Other insurance companies form alliances with American Modern to provide "account rounding" products for their agents in lines they choose not to offer.
Companies
The subsidiary companies of American Modern Insurance Group are rated A+ (Superior) by A.M. Best and the group has been selected for 13 consecutive years as one of the Top 50 property and casualty insurance companies in the United States by the Ward Financial Group. It is part of Munich Re's US operations.
Munich Reinsurance America, Inc.
/ref> American Modern has 9 primary property and casualty insurance subsidiaries.
Property and casualty subsidiaries include:
* American Modern Home Insurance Company - The flagship company, used in nearly all states for all targeted lines of specialty business. Does business as American Modern Insurance Company in California.
* American Family Home Insurance Company – Does business as AFH Insurance Company in California.
* American Southern Home Insurance Company
* American Modern Lloyds Insurance Company
* American Modern Select Insurance Company
* American Western Home Insurance Company - Primarily writes non-admitted commercial business.
* American Modern Insurance Company of Florida, Inc. - Used only in Florida for some personal lines programs.
* American Modern Surplus Lines Insurance Company - Used in many states for non-admitted business.
* American Modern Property and Casualty Insurance Company
References
External links
* {{Official website, http://www.amig.com
American Modern Agent web site
Financial services companies established in 1965
Insurance companies of the United States