Michigan’s Saginaw Bay Underwriters Celebrates 150 Years

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The world has changed a lot since Saginaw Bay Underwriters was founded in 1863, and the insurance industry has changed along with it.

“We started out insuring horses, and now we’re insuring computer data,” Jeff Sams, senior vice president, told The Saginaw News.

When Saginaw Bay Underwriters was founded 150 years ago, Abraham Lincoln was president, the Yankees and Rebels were fighting the Civil War, the Industrial Revolution was just underway and the lumber industry was thriving in Saginaw.

In the beginning, Saginaw Bay Underwriters had only a few employees. Insuring regional sawmills was its focus. Today, the agency employs about 65 people across four offices in the Great Lakes Bay Region – in Saginaw, Saginaw Township, Bay City and Midland.

“We trace our roots back to 1863. (We) really formed back then because the lumber industry was going gangbusters in Saginaw, and that’s how we got our start … insuring through the lumber industry,” said Peter Ewend, president and chief executive officer. “Then, obviously, through the years, things changed.”

Today the agency writes personal lines, or insurance for homes, automobiles and recreational vehicles, commercial lines, or business insurance, and group and life, such as health insurance and employee benefits.

“We have grown and expanded into those areas so we could really offer a complete solution to our customers,” Ewend said, noting that a lot of growth is the result of merging with other businesses.

Saginaw Bay Underwriters is celebrating its 150th anniversary this year.

Over the last 150 years, Saginaw Bay Underwriters has changed along with the insurance industry as a whole.

“Obviously, starting in 1863 were the horse and buggy days, moving forward into autos, we sort of moved along with the times,” Ewend said.

More recent changes include the emergence of cyber liability coverage, or coverage for computer systems, he noted.

Health insurance has changed a lot, too.

For instance, in 1969, an employer could insure an employee for $242 a year, Sams said. In 2012, the average cost for coverage was $8,960 per year, per employee.

“We’ve really grown, evolved over time, just like the Saginaw community has, or the Great Lakes Bay community has,” said Jim Roberts, chief operating and chief financial officer.

Saginaw Bay Underwriters serves 12,000 customers with a premium volume in excess of $100 million, is in the top 5 percent of all independent agencies in the United States, in terms of written premium, and is one of the largest independent agencies in Michigan, according to the company.

In honor of the company’s 150th anniversary, officials this year implemented a program called SBU Cares. Saginaw Bay Underwriters is giving $150 per week for the rest of the year to nonprofit organizations and projects in the Great Lakes Bay Region.

Recipients so far have included the YMCA of Saginaw, Covenant Kids, the Walk for Hope project, and the United Way of Bay County for school backpacks.

“All of us live and work in this area, so we’re an active part of the community,” Roberts said.