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Perhaps there’s no greater measure of time than the comparison of costs. This is certainly true when we look at\u00a0the early days of our founding mutuals\u2014Ixonia Mutual Fire Insurance Company<\/span><\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Watertown Mutual Fire Insurance Company<\/a>. Let’s see\u00a0<\/span>how they handled their very first claim.<\/em><\/p>\n By HOWARD WIEDENHOEFT<\/p>\n The first claim was filed with Ixonia Mutual. In June 1877, Christian Haft, of Ixonia, reported that his\u00a0\u201ctwo lambs and an old sheep were killed by lightning.” In response to this, Ixonia Mutual President Fred Huebner appointed three mutual members, F.V.Piper, James McCall and H.E. Humphrey, to form an adjusting committee for the claim.<\/p>\n According to loss adjusting procedures stated in Wisconsin Chapter 103<\/a>\u00a0(Section 6), upon a claim\u00a0the mutual’s president must appoint a committee of three and no more than five members to appraise the loss and report back to its\u00a0board of directors. Any member of the mutual could serve on\u00a0the adjusting committee. In this case, Ixonia Mutual’s secretary and two non-board members served. Perhaps the appointees were members who lived\u00a0close to the loss, considering travel issues at that time.<\/p>\n Wisconsin Chapter 103 also stated mutuals\u00a0should pay $2 per day and five cents per mile to\u00a0each committee member in compensation for their service. Interestingly, Ixonia Mutual made\u00a0no record that committee members were paid.<\/p>\n After appraising Haft’s loss, the\u00a0adjusting committee reported to the board of directors and advised a payment, which was approved.\u00a0On June 22, 1877, a week after the lightning occurence, Haft was paid $5 for his loss of one\u00a0ewe and two lambs.<\/p>\n Nowadays, Forward Mutual utilizes\u00a0the professional adjusting services of Mike Semrow,\u00a0of\u00a0Grinnell Re.<\/a>\u00a0Most notably, Forward Mutual pays for the care and expertise provided its policyholders!<\/p>\n By the Minutes: Introduction<\/a><\/p>\n 1872 Watertown Mutual Founded<\/a><\/p>\n 1875 Ixonia Mutual Founded<\/a><\/p>\n Comparing the Capitalizing of Two Early Mutuals<\/a><\/p>\n A Mutual\u2019s First Claim<\/a><\/p>\n Supporting Dairy in the Late 1800s<\/a><\/p>\n 1879 Early Challenges for a Young Mutual<\/a><\/p>\n Ixonia Mutual\u2019s First $1000 Loss<\/a><\/p>\n 1885 A Year of Neighbor Helping Neighbor<\/a><\/p>\n Changes of Bylaws<\/a><\/p>\n Our Dairy Heritage<\/a><\/p>\n Insuring Automobiles<\/a><\/p>\n Taxes, War and the English Language<\/a><\/p>\n Supporting the Community\u2019s Fire Protection<\/a><\/p>\n Board Directors and Their Meetings<\/a><\/p>\n Standardization of Wisconsin Mutuals<\/a><\/p>\n Of Electricity, Radio and Foxes<\/a><\/p>\n Our Annual Meetings Over the Years<\/a><\/p>\n Tumultuous 1930-1940s<\/a><\/p>\n How a Major Disaster Affected Extended Coverage and Reinsurance<\/a><\/p>\n Surviving the Big Dogs in the 1960s<\/a><\/p>\n Introducing Agents to the Mutuals<\/a><\/p>\n Accounting Over the Years<\/a><\/p>\n Centennial Anniversaries<\/a><\/p>\n Mutual Offices<\/a><\/p>\n Mutual Managers and Staff<\/a><\/p>\n Establishing Confidence in Financial Strength<\/a><\/p>\n Entering the Era of Computers<\/a><\/p>\n The 1990s, Advancement and Angst<\/a><\/p>\n The Start of the 21st Century<\/a><\/p>\n Concord and Watertown Merge<\/a><\/p>\n Ixonia Mutual and Watertown Mutual Merge and a New Company is Formed<\/a><\/p>\n
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