American Modern Stops Writing Commercial Liability, Affirms Commitment to Specialty Markets

American Modern Insurance Group, a wholly owned subsidiary of The Midland Company and a provider of manufactured housing specialty insurance products and services, has ceased offering commercial liability products for parks and dealers.

John W. Hayden, president, chairman and CEO, reaffirmed the company’s commitment to its core manufactured housing and other specialty insurance line products. “While we have continued to diversify our specialty product line-up to better serve our producers and policyholders, manufactured housing remains central to our long-term strategy and continues to be our largest product line, providing more than 50 percent of written premiums,” Hayden stated. “Other specialty areas, such as motorsports, added in October 2000, are helping to make us an even more indispensable partner for our customers.”

The Midland Company announced earlier this week that American Modern would cease offering the unprofitable commercial park and dealer liability coverages, which represented approximately 3.4 percent of American Modern’s total gross premiums in the first half of 2001.

According to Hayden, “Through year-end 2000, American Modern direct and assumed written premium had grown at a 14.6 percent compound annual growth rate over the past 10 years, compared with the industry growth rate of 4.0 percent. We expect to enter 2002 even better positioned to continue achieving our financial objectives. Management also believes the combined ratio for the full year 2001 will be slightly below 100 percent, which would be the 13th year out of 15 that the company achieved a combined ratio below 100 percent.”

American Modern Insurance Group accounts for more than 94 percent of Midland’s consolidated revenues. American Modern specializes in writing physical damage insurance and related coverages on manufactured housing, and has expanded to other areas of insurance, including homeowners, lower valued homes, dwelling fire, mortgage fire, warranty, collateral protection, watercraft, specialty automobile, credit life, recreational vehicle, motorcycle, snowmobile, long-haul truck, commercial and excess and surplus lines. Midland’s transportation subsidiaries, M/G Transport Group, charter barges and brokers freight for the movement of commodities on the inland waterways. Midland is headquartered in Cincinnati.

Topics Commercial Lines Excess Surplus Business Insurance Manufacturing