In the 1870's communication and means of travel were not what they are today. The farmers in this area had much 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.  These farmers needed a way to protect their assets and livelihood.

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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, where the members of this group pledged to insure each other’s belongings on a pro-rata share. This “risk sharing” was the beginning of our company and is the central concept of the insurance mechanism.

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In 1999, our company, Vinland Town Mutual Insurance Company, merged with Winchester Mutual Insurance Company, and together we became Homestead Mutual Insurance Company. Those two local and very financially secure companies had a desire to join forces to produce better insurance products at the high level of service that their policyholders had grown to expect and deserve.

 

In 2000, Nekimi Mutual Insurance Company joined Homestead Mutual bringing resources and additional policies to further spread the insurance risk. Soon after that merger was effective, the company endured the worst loss year of our 130 years in business. A devastating hailstorm, which began in Marquette County, rolled eastward right through the middle of our territory and on to Lake Michigan. In its path was the largest number claims our company has experienced from a single event. The following year, windstorms caused widespread damage in our territory. While these years put a strain on the company, the company took care of its policyholders and 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 increased, and once again, the spread of our risk and coverage area was expanded.

 

January 1st, 2015, Homestead Mutual affiliated with Mutual of Wausau Insurance Corporation. Pursuant to the agreement, Homestead and Wausau entered into an inter-company Risk Pooling Agreement.  The goals of this arrangement were to enhance the spread of risk for both companies and also to leverage economies of scale and resource sharing, all while maintaining our respective local heritage. The affiliation was approved by the boards of directors of both companies.  At a special meeting on December 19, 2014, the policyholders of Homestead Mutual overwhelmingly approved the plan of affiliation with Mutual of Wausau and Homestead’s conversion to a non-assessable domestic insurance company.