West Bend Insurance auto insurance

Overview

West Bend Insurance is a Wisconsin property and casualty insurer that sells business, home and auto coverage exclusively through independent agents. Its auto business ranked #62 among U.S. private passenger auto insurers by 2025 direct premiums written according to NAIC market share data, with $330.6 million, or 0.09% of the national market.

The company is a mutual, owned by its policyholders rather than shareholders, and says it protects more than 220,000 families and businesses across 14 states with more than 1,600 employees. Personal insurance, including auto, is sold in six states: Arizona, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin. West Bend also writes business insurance, including workers' compensation, and offers surety bonds nationwide.

Products are issued by West Bend Insurance Company, West Bend Premier Insurance Company and West Bend Select Insurance Company, together known as West Bend Insurance Group. The company's web address, thesilverlining.com, reflects its "Silver Lining" brand and its slogan, "The Worst Brings Out Our Best."

History

West Bend traces its origin to a fire that destroyed an entire commercial block in West Bend, Wisconsin, in 1894. Local business owners responded by forming a mutual insurance company; its constitution was adopted on April 13, 1894, and the first policy was sold two weeks later.

For most of its history the company operated as West Bend Mutual Insurance Company, the name it still used in 2023 announcements; it now does business as West Bend Insurance Company and continues to describe itself as a mutual owned by its policyholders. Kevin Steiner led the company as CEO from 2009 until March 2024, when Rob Jacques, a 24-year company veteran who had been president since 2022, became president and CEO. A leadership realignment in July 2025 put personal and commercial underwriting under one chief underwriting officer.

Recent recognition includes the 2025 Award in Innovation from the National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies, for a tool that automates small-business submissions, and repeated placement on the Ward's 50 list of financially strong property and casualty insurers.

Auto insurance coverage

West Bend's auto policy includes liability, comprehensive, collision, medical expenses (covering you and passengers regardless of fault) and uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage. Optional coverages described by the company include:

• Auto Loan/Lease (gap): pays the difference between your loan or lease balance and the car's value if it is totaled; see how gap insurance works.
• Transportation Expense: rental reimbursement while your car is repaired. A West Bend underwriter has written that the coverage usually carries a $30-a-day, $900 limit and that buying higher limits is a good idea.
• Car Damage Replacement: changes the settlement from actual cash value to replacement cost for specific covered claims during a set period.
• TravelNet roadside assistance: an optional 24-hour service in the U.S. and Canada through a network of more than 26,000 providers, covering towing, flat tires, fuel delivery, jump-starts and lockouts, plus up to $250 for lodging, meals and transportation when a breakdown more than 100 miles from home forces an overnight stay.

West Bend's personal policy is built around a combined format: one policy, one premium and one deductible covering the home, vehicles, ATVs and valuables. If your house and car are damaged in the same fire or tornado, you pay a single deductible. Classic cars can also be insured.

Discounts and programs

The signature feature is the Claim Free Award, which returns a portion of your earned annual premium in cash for each year your policy has no claims. West Bend also lists discounts or better pricing for safe and accident-free drivers, multi-car families, good students, resident students, vehicles with advanced driver-assistance systems and members of professional groups. It promotes teen-driver safety resources and offers discounts for completing safety programs.

West Bend does not list a telematics or usage-based program, and it does not quote auto insurance online; you work through an agent.

Claims

Claims can be reported 24 hours a day through DirectConnect, West Bend's claim line, at 877-922-5246 or by email to [email protected], through the policyholder website or app, or through your agent. The same number handles TravelNet roadside calls and windshield claims; for glass, West Bend works directly with repair technicians or with your chosen glass shop.

Under the Silver Lining Repair Program, you can take your car to a West Bend-certified shop that handles the assessment and repairs without waiting for a West Bend inspector, a form of direct repair program. The company also offers a photo estimate tool that uses AI to assess vehicle damage from pictures. West Bend advertises a 94% overall claims satisfaction rate on its website.

Ratings and reputation

West Bend's website gives its AM Best financial strength rating as A (Excellent). In October 2025 AM Best's "Standing the Test of Time" list recognized West Bend for holding a rating of A or higher every year since 1971.

West Bend is not among the insurers ranked in the North Central, Central or Southwest regions of J.D. Power's 2026 U.S. Auto Insurance Study (June 2026), the regions that cover all six of its personal-lines states.

Who it suits

West Bend suits households in its six states who want an independent agent to handle everything and like the idea of one policy, one bill and one deductible for home and vehicles. The Claim Free Award rewards claim-free years in cash rather than only through future rates. Drivers who prefer to buy online, want a telematics discount or live outside its footprint will need another carrier.

• Strengths: Policyholder-owned mutual with A-range ratings for more than five decades; Claim Free Award cash-back; combined home-and-auto policy with one deductible; optional gap, replacement-cost and TravelNet coverage.
• Weaknesses: Personal auto in only six states; no online quotes or direct purchase; no telematics program; not ranked in J.D. Power's 2026 auto study.

How to contact West Bend Insurance