West Bend Insurance homeowners insurance

Overview

West Bend Insurance is a property and casualty insurer based in West Bend, Wisconsin, that sells home, auto, umbrella and business insurance only through independent agents. Its personal lines, including homeowners, condo and renters policies, are sold in six states: Arizona, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin. The company's website is thesilverlining.com, after its long-running "Silver Lining" slogan, which is why agents and policyholders sometimes call it by that name.

West Bend Insurance Group ranked #71 among U.S. homeowners insurance groups by 2025 direct premiums written, with $293.9 million (0.16% of the national market), according to NAIC market share data. The group appears under a new NAIC group code because of its 2024 restructuring. Its two biggest homeowners states are close to equal: in 2025 West Bend was the 7th-largest homeowners insurer in Iowa ($78.0 million, 4.41% of the state market) and 9th in Wisconsin ($84.5 million, 3.11%).

For most of its history West Bend was a mutual insurance company. Since January 1, 2024 the operating company, West Bend Insurance Company, has been a stock insurance company owned through an intermediate holding company by West Bend Mutual Holding Company, whose members are the policyholders. Two newer affiliates, West Bend Premier Insurance Company and West Bend Select Insurance Company, also issue policies under the West Bend name.

History

West Bend traces its start to a fire that destroyed an entire commercial block in the city of West Bend in 1894. Local business owners organized a mutual insurance company in response; its constitution was adopted on April 13, 1894, and the first policy was sold two weeks later. The company grew into a regional writer of commercial, workers' compensation, surety and personal insurance, and says it has relied exclusively on independent agencies since 1894. It reports insuring more than 220,000 families and businesses, with more than 1,500 agency partners and about 1,600 employees.

The structure changed in 2023 and 2024. West Bend Mutual's board adopted a mutual holding company plan in December 2022, and the company filed it with the Wisconsin Office of the Commissioner of Insurance on June 2, 2023. The plan created West Bend Mutual Holding Company and WBM Corporation and converted West Bend Mutual into a stock company renamed West Bend Insurance Company. Proxy materials went to 367,960 members, the members voted at a special meeting on December 8, 2023, and the commissioner approved the plan with conditions the same day. Missouri's insurance department records the name change and conversion as effective January 1, 2024. The company told members the structure would let it grow through subsidiaries, raise capital more flexibly and acquire other mutual insurers, while policy terms, premiums and claims rights stayed the same.

Leadership turned over at the same time. Kevin Steiner, chief executive since 2009, handed the role to Rob Jacques, president since 2022, in March 2024. In July 2025 West Bend put commercial and personal lines underwriting under a single chief underwriting officer, Marc Emery.

Homeowners coverage

West Bend sells homeowners, condo and renters policies. The homeowners policy covers the house and other structures, personal belongings (including theft or damage away from home), personal liability and medical payments to others. Condo policies include what West Bend calls "all-risk" coverage for the property you own inside the unit, such as fixtures and appliances, plus loss assessment coverage for your share of an association's uninsured loss.

The selling point West Bend emphasizes is putting everything on one policy. It says a single West Bend personal policy can cover your home, a vacation property, vehicles, ATVs, jewelry and artwork with one premium and one deductible. Say a tornado damages your roof and the car in your driveway: with separate home and auto policies you could owe two deductibles, while West Bend says that under one policy you pay one. Ask the agent how the single deductible is set for your combination of property before you assume the savings.

Optional coverages named on the company's site include scheduled personal property for jewelry, cameras, fine art and collectibles (with no deductible on scheduled items), water backup, and identity theft and cyber protection for a small added premium. Pet AID comes built in at no charge: up to $500 per dog or cat, and $1,500 per event, for vet bills or replacement after injury or death caused by fire, lightning, explosion, smoke, windstorm and hail, vehicles, aircraft or falling objects, with no deductible. A personal umbrella policy is sold separately.

West Bend does not publish its roof settlement rules, deductible options or whether it writes an HO-5-style package. Before you buy, ask the agent whether the roof is settled at replacement cost or under a roof payment schedule, and what wind and hail deductible applies in your county.

Discounts and savings

The signature program is the Claim Free Award: for each year without a claim, West Bend returns a portion of your earned annual premium in cash. Other personal-lines discounts or pricing credits listed by the company are new and updated home, protective devices, specialized construction materials or methods, and professional group memberships, plus several auto discounts. West Bend uses credit-based insurance scores in eligibility and rating, and says credit alone is not used as a reason to refuse coverage. Discounts are applied through your agent, and eligibility varies by state.

Where it sells and recent market moves

Homeowners, condo and renters coverage is available in Arizona, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin. The company holds business insurance licenses in 14 states (adding Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee and Virginia) and writes surety bonds nationwide, so an agent in, say, Ohio may represent West Bend for a business but not for a home.

The most important recent change for homeowners is pricing and underwriting. AM Best said in August 2025 that after elevated weather losses and rising claim costs in 2022 and 2023, West Bend refined its underwriting guidelines, raised rates and changed its claims and litigation management, and that results improved materially in 2024 and the first half of 2025. For a homeowner, that translates into rate increases at renewal and stricter eligibility rules than a few years ago, a pattern shared by many Midwestern insurers exposed to hail and wind (see The Midwest's rising storm losses and rates).

Claims

Claims can be reported 24 hours a day through the policyholder website or mobile app, by calling West Bend's DirectConnect line at 877-922-5246, by emailing [email protected] with your name, address, phone number, policy number, date of loss and a description, or through your independent agent, whose contact details appear on the policy. West Bend reports a 94% overall claims satisfaction score from its own policyholder surveys; that is a company figure, not an independent study.

Ratings and reputation

AM Best affirmed West Bend Insurance Company's financial strength rating of A (Excellent) and its long-term issuer credit rating of "a+" on August 13, 2025, with a stable outlook, and assigned the same ratings to West Bend Premier and West Bend Select. AM Best assessed the balance sheet as strongest, operating performance as adequate and the business profile as neutral, describing West Bend as a super-regional personal and commercial lines insurer with a leading position in Wisconsin. The company has been rated A or better since 1971, and Best's Review listed it in 2025 among insurers that have held that level for at least 50 years. See Financial strength ratings: AM Best, S&P, Moody's and Demotech for what the letters mean.

Who it suits

West Bend fits homeowners in its six states who want an independent agent's advice and like the idea of one policy, one bill and one deductible across a house, cars, toys and valuables. It fits less well for someone who wants to buy online without an agent, lives outside those six states, or wants published detail on roof settlement and coverage packages before talking to anyone.

• Strengths: A (Excellent) from AM Best, affirmed August 2025, and A or better since 1971; Claim Free Award pays cash back in claim-free years; Pet AID and no-deductible scheduled property built into the program; a single policy can combine home and vehicles.
• Weaknesses: homeowners sold in only six states; independent agents only, with no online quotes; little coverage detail published on its website; rate increases and tighter underwriting since 2023.

How to contact West Bend Insurance