History

In the late 1870's communication and means of travel were not what they are today. The farmers in this area had all of their net worth, as well as their livelihood, invested in their buildings, machinery, and cattle. If there was a fire or other natural disaster, they could stand to lose everything. There was no way of quickly calling the fire department or police. There was not a 911 number or even telephone service to rural areas.

On June 25th, 1873, twenty-eight residents of the townships of Vinland, Oshkosh, Clayton, and Winneconne met at Clemansville (now the intersection of Brooks Road and County Road T in the Town of Vinland, Winnebago County) to discuss the formation of a cooperative when the members pledged to insure their neighbors belongings to this group on a prorata share. This was the beginning of our company.

In 1999, our company, Vinland Town Mutual Insurance Company and Winchester Mutual Insurance Company merged and our name was changed and formed Homestead Mutual Insurance Company. Those two local and very financially secure companies had a desire to join forces and pool their resources to be better able to provide a quality insurance product and also to be able to provide the quality of service that their policyholders and grown to expect and deserve.

In 2000, Nekimi Mutual Insurance Company joined Homestead Mutual and was able to provide additional resources and additional policies to further spread the insurance risk. Soon after that merger was effective, the company was forced to endure the worst loss year of their 130 years in business A devastating hail storm, which began in Marquette County, rolled eastward right through the middle of our territory and on to Lake Michigan. In its path was the worst number and severity of claims our company has experienced. The following year, wind storms caused another serious amount of claims. While these years put a strain on the company, the company survived. With the help of its reinsurer, Wisconsin Reinsurance Corporation, Homestead Mutual met its obligations and was able to pay all the losses of its policyholders.

In 2006, Homestead Mutual merged again with another small, local insurance company located in Mt. Calvary, WI. With this addition to the company, our surplus fund was enhanced and the spread of our risk was enhanced and the coverage area was expanded.