FAQ

How Do I Report a Claim?

When the need to make a claim occurs, please contact your agent and explain the nature of your claim. Your agent will then produce a loss notice and submit it to Dryden Mutual. Once the loss notice is received by Dryden Mutual, a claim representative will be assigned and will contact you.

Documenting your damage is important, so if you can, take photos and/or videos of the damages.  Also, do what is reasonably necessary to mitgate your loss and protect your property from further damages. 

Emergency Claims

 It is important that claims be reported to your agent whenever possible. If your agent is unavailable and your claim is a true emergency, please phone Dryden Mutual at one of the following numbers:

During office hours: 800-782-0154
Nights & weekends only: 607-428-0176 or 800-556-5802.

* Please indicate the nature of the emergency, your name, phone number, address, and policy number. Our 24-hour service will secure the information related to your claim and relay it to the Dryden Mutual staff on call. A claim representative will contact you as quickly as possible.

If you have replacement cost coverage on your policy, a letter will be forwarded to you outlining our procedures for recovering your replacement cost holdback.  Upon completion of the repairs, please contact your claim representative.  We do recommend that you keep all receipts, bills, contracts and copies of payments (credit card receipts or cancelled checks, as cash payments will not be accepted). 

All payees must endorse a claims check (exactly as written on the front of the check). This includes loss payees, additional insured, mortgagees or businesses.  For proper endorsement of a mortgagee, we suggest you call your finance company and verify their procedures in endorsing a claim check. 

If you are the insured or agent on the policy you can request a loss run.  Please email claims@drydenmutual.com or send a fax to 607-257-0624 to request loss runs.  

The following information is needed:

• Agency name
• Insured name
• Policy number(s)
• Name and phone number of person making request
• Email, fax number or mailing address where you want information sent.   

If you have any questions, please call the claims department at 800-782-0154. 

To fill out our Loss Run form click here

It is important  that claims should be reported directly to your agent whenever possible. If your agent is unavailable and your claim is a true emergency, please use one of the following numbers:

• During office hours: 800-782-0154
• Nights & weekends only: 607-428-0176 or 800-556-5802. Please indicate the nature of the emergency, your name, phone number, address, and policy number. Our 24-hour service will take the information on the claim and relay it to the claim representative on call. A claim representative will contact you as quickly as possible.  

If you have a mortgagee or loss payee listed on your policy, they have a financial interest in the property that you are insursing and, therefore, must listed on the claim check.  

No, you must contact your agent to change your billing or mailing address.

No, you must contact the Billing Department to switch your payment plan (if applicable).

No, you must contact your agent to make any coverage changes. You can locate your agent information on the top right of your invoice or on the right side of your customer portal account.

Yes! At the bottom of the login screen, you can select ‘Pay Bill’ to make a one-time payment.

No, you must contact your agent to report a claim.

Yes! You have the ability within your Customer Portal Account profile to “Go Paperless” by selecting the “Paperless” option and providing the email address associated with each of your policies. When future policy documents are generated, you will receive an email notification advising that a document is available for viewing within the Policy Detail section of your Customer Portal Account. (Note: Documents for Policy Amendments, and policies that are auditable, expired or cancelled will continue to be sent in paper form).

Not currently, but it is a future enhancement.

Under your Customer Portal Account profile, there is a section to the right where you can update your password by entering your current password and then provide and verify your new password.

You cannot edit a credit card or bank account, but you can delete the card or bank account and then re-add the card or bank account.

Under your Customer Portal Account profile, you can click on the ‘Edit Phones’ or ‘Edit Email Address’ links where you will be prompted to edit your information and select save.

No, you do not need to create a separate account for each of your policies. You can request to have your policies added to your account by going to the ‘Home’ screen. At the bottom, you will see the the image below. 

Just click on the link and it will prompt you to add the policy number that you wish to have added to this account. A request will be sent to the Billing Department for review. This may take up to two business days for processing.

You can view your policy, but you will not be able to make a payment until your policy shows active. You must contact your agent to get reinstatement approval and if approved, payment must be made with your agent or by calling our Billing Department.

No, you must contact your agent to get reinstatement approval. If approved, the policy must be reinstated and considered an active account before you can create an account.

You most likely are entering the policy number incorrectly. Make sure the dash and the policy term are excluded while entering the policy number.

You are most likely not using the correct User Id. The selection of ‘Forgot User Id’ should be retrieved before selecting ‘Forgot Password’. If there is a phone number or email attached to the Customer Profile section, there should not be a problem retrieving the User Id. Once the correct User Id has been retrieved, select ‘Forgot Password’ and a new password will be sent via email or text.

You most likely are not entering the policy number correctly. Make sure to exclude the dash and the policy term.

OR your policy could be cancelled. You cannot create an account if the policy is cancelled. It must be an active account.

You can only see recent payments for the active policy term. Expired policy terms are not viewable except auditable terms.

Is the card expired? You should try deleting the credit card account and then re-add the credit card.

OR

Is the policy cancelled? You cannot make a payment if the policy is cancelled, including the day of cancellation.

Dryden Mutual is licensed to write policies only on properties and commercial operations based in New York State.  Out-of-state residents may purchase Dryden Mutual insurance policies only if the property they wish to insure is actually located in New York.

No. This is not a coverage available with Dryden Mutual. 

Yes.  Dryden Mutual purchases special excess coverage on virtually all insurance policies we write.  This excess coverage is purchased from Swiss Re Corporation, the largest worldwide financial reinsurance organization that specializes in the distribuition of insurance risk literally around the globe.  Swiss Re is currently rated "A+" (Superior), FSC XV ($2 Billion +) by A.M. Best.

No. Dryden Mutual is organized as a NYS co-operative fire insurance company.  This means the company does not issue stock and is not a publicly traded company.  Like other co-op organizations in the business world, Dryden Mutual does not exist to make profits for stockholders but instead exists for the benefit of our policyholder owners.   Profits made by the company are re-invested to build up our capital base.  Our capital base, technically referred to as policyholder surplus, is required to provide a cushion of security to ensure our ability to pay legitimate claims on a timely basis.  As our capital base expands, it also serves and supports even more customers.  We do not pay dividends directly but use profits to keep rates as steady as possible. 

Unfortunately, no. We are not licensed to be an umbrella carrier at this time. 

Contact the insurance agency listed on your policy.   The agency staff will be able to provide you any documentation that you will need.

Find an agent using the Agent Finder tab on our home page.   One of our many independent insurance agents in your area will be able to provide you a quote.

Please contact the independent agent listed on your policy.  The agent is the one who will discuss your changes with you and submit the change(s) to Dryden Mutual.

Dryden Mutual  uses independent insurance agents as the sole distribution system for our products, which are sold at over 400 agency locations across New York State. You must go through one of our assigned agents to write a policy.  Coverage is offered only for NY State properties and business operations.  To find an agent near you, please see the agent locator button on the main page of our website.

Dryden Mutual currently holds the A.M. Best Secure Rating "A" (Excellent).  Banks and other vendors often need to know Dryden Mutual's A.M. Best Financial Size Category (FSC) rating.  Our current FSC rating is VIII, which equals policyholder surplus between $100 Million and $250 Million.

This is a complex question, and the requirements are different for each line of business. If you are an insured please contact your agency. If you are an agent please contact an underwriter. 

An endorsement is any change to your policy.  Examples could be changing your current coverage amounts or adding new coverage to your existing policy.  Any changes that need to be made to your policy, need to be processed through the agency listed on your policy declarations page.

The charge for an additional insured in commercial lines depends on the liability limit premium on your policy. Agents: please see the additional insured flat charge scale in the commercial documents section of the website to be able to give this information to your insureds.  

We do charge separately for each entity that needs to be named: for example, if an insured is a subcontractor for a project and all the other entities involved in the project want to be added as additional insured on our insured's policy, we will charge individually for the architect, project manager, general contractor etc.

For personal lines, the maximum limit of liability is $1,000,000 per occurence. 

Commercial Lines was just approved by the NYS Department of Finanicial Services to start utilizing $2,000,000/$3,000,000 and $2,000,000/$5,000,000 limits on Commercial Fire and Special Multi-Peril lines of busines. We will continue to offer this on our Contractor Craft 12 line as well. The only line of business this is not available for at this time is the BOP policy. 

Please Note, we do not have a $4,000,000 aggregate limit on any line of business.  

With Dryden Mutual, our builder's risk programs for both personal & commercial lines is for buildings that are being built from the ground up. Policies for buildings under renovation are not considered a builder's risk policy. 

Dryden Mutual is a subscriber to the Underwriters Rating Bureau (URB) and the American Association of Insurance Services (AAIS) for rates and forms.  Our rates and forms are on file and justified by filings with the New York State Insurance Department. 

Insurance is an important safety net for your family, your home, and your business. Independent insurance agents offers consumers a choice of many insurance plans and programs to best fit their needs.  They can find the best combination of price, coverage, and service from more than just one company.  They can provide guidance through the application process and the claims process for a prompt and fair resolution to your claim.  They are specially selected and appointed by Dryden Mutual to represent our company in your area.   To find an agent in or near your community, please click on the Find An Agent tab on the Home page.

Our system automatically keeps the pay plan that you had the previous year. For example: If you paid your policy on a 4 payment plan last policy term, you will be set up on a 4 pay at this renewal and going forward every term. However, if you wish to have that pay plan changed, you can contact our billing department at 1-800-694-8271 or billing@drydenmutual.com to have your payment plan switched.

There are several options available for making a payment on your policy.

You can call the billing department directly at 800-694-8271 during business hours (8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m., M-F) and make a payment using any major credit card or an ACH transfer from a checking or savings account.

You can mail your payment to our office.  Dryden Mutual Ins. Co., PO Box 635, Dryden, NY 13053.  (Please allow 5 days mailing time.)

You can click on the "My Policy/Pay My Bill" tab on the homescreen to see if your policy is eligible for online payments.

You can visit your local agent and make a payment at their office.  Please check with your agent to verify that they accept payments.

Please contact our billing department at 800-694-8271 for payment plan assistance.  

The grace period is typically 4 to 5 days after the payment due date.  After that time, a notice of cancellation will be generated, and this gives you an additional 17 days to make your payment.  Please note that once a policy is pending cancellation, we cannot make any payment arrangements, and the entire cancellation amount is due by the cancellation date.  Once a policy is pending cancellation, we will add a $10 late fee.

Available payment plans are based on the amount of your annual premium.  If you are interested in changing your payment plan (based on your annual premium), please call our billing department at 800-694-8271, and a billing representative will be able to assist you.

Annual Payment Plan = Any Premium Amount (Full Payment)

2 Payment Plan = Premium $100.00 and up (50% First Installment)

4 Payment Plan = Premium $250.00 and up (25% First Installment)

 9 Payment Plan = Premium $1,000.00 and up

(25% First Installment -New Business)

(15% First Installment - Renewals)

If your policy has lapsed, you must contact your local agent for consideration of reinstatement approval. 

In order to cancel your Dryden Mutual policy, you will need to contact your local agent and sign a cancellation request with that office.  The staff there will forward your request to our office, and the billing department will then process your request.  If you are due a refund, you can expect a check to be mailed to you within 10 to 14 business days after your cancellation request is processed.

You can email your Statement of No Losses to billing@drydenmutual.com or you can fax it directly to the billing department at 607-844-8171.

Dryden Mutual's audit process includes auditing your expiring policy AND updating your current renewal policy.  One bill will be for the audit on the expiring term and the other will be for the endorsement on the renewal term.  If you have any questions regarding these bills, please contact the audit department at 800-724-0560 or audits@drydenmutual.com.

No, we do not charge for those employees who do clerical work.

Please provide the name of the subcontractor, how much was paid to the subcontractor, and a description of the job.

If the subcontractor has his/her own general liability insurance, please forward a certificate of insurance.

Please be aware that if the subcontractor does not have his/her own coverage, we will have to make an additional premium charge under your policy.

Dryden Mutual has a flat charge for all active owners/officers involved in the operation. We use a minimum/maximum of $20,000 per owner as a payroll base as indicated in our manual rates.

Example: Owner #1 earns $5,000, we use $20,000. Owner #2 earns $50,000, we use  $20,000.

If you have no employees, check the box on the form indicating no employees .

For your receipts, please report what you have been paid for the jobs you have completed.

Yes, please submit the completed audit with an explanation or call our office for assistance at 800-724-0560.

Dryden Mutual applies a flat charge for all active owners/officers involved in the operation. We use a minimum/maximum of $20,000 per owner as a payroll base as indicated in our manual rates.

Example: Owner 1 earns $50,000, we use  $20,000. Owner 2 earns $5,000, we use $20,000

In the employee payroll section state your gross payroll, including overtime and bonuses, paid to any employees directly or paid to a temp agency. Please include employees' names and job descriptions along with gross wages.

Please do not indicate the number of employees you have, we are looking for the gross amount paid.

We need your gross income/sales amount earned for the business before you make deductions for taxes or materials. Please note, this does not mean we need physical copies of receipts of purchases made for the business or tax documents.  

For restaurant businesses; please do not include amounts paid to disc jockeys and other entertainers. 

For taverns/billiards; if a cover is charged at the door, please include that amount,

Lottery sales do not need to be included in the gross receipts. 

Amounts paid to subcontractors should be included in your gross receipts as this is included in the total cost of a job.

If your policy covers "completed operations," your materials become part of the completed operation.

Your premium for the liability portion of your policy is based on payroll and/or receipts. We use this information to calculate your liability premium.

Example: A contractor working part-time with no employees with earning of $30,000 per year does not have the same exposure as a contractor with four employees and eanings of $500,000 per year. The larger contractor has more exposure to risk.

Many of the temporary agencies do carry their own insurance coverage for workers compensation and general liability, but there may be expsosures or conditions when the temporary agency's general liability coverage is not going to respond to an incident. Therefore, we must charge for that exposure.