History & Vision

When Iowa Mutual Insurance Company opened for business more than a century ago, our first customers were the farmers who lived in and around our DeWitt, Iowa, office.

Today, Iowa Mutual and its wholly owned subsidiary, Iowa American Insurance Company, are still thriving in that same location. Our scope has expanded to include homeowners, local industries and commercial businesses throughout Iowa, Illinois and Nebraska.

What has remained constant throughout our history is a concept we call VISION PLUS ACTION. We’ve always felt it was important to not only have the vision necessary to determine the needs of our customers, but also the ability to put the right solutions into action.

Iowa Mutual and Iowa American have been able to grow and prosper over the years, in large part because we rely on the skills and resources of independent agents. We use our own claims adjusters and marketing representatives so contact with our agents is frequent and our communication open, honest and reliable.

As we’ve grown, we’ve managed to stay flexible enough so that we still have time to listen to our policyholders. And because all of our strategies are developed only after careful consideration, we have the stability necessary to be there when our customers need us most.

Company Timeline

 

George Morris Smith wasn't always just an insurance man. In the late 1890's, he taught school for two years before becoming a farmer. It was during his farming years that he envisioned a mutual fire insurance company that would cover not only farm property but town dwellings and mercantile properties. As the story goes, one day in Autumn 1898, G.M. was deep in thought as he drove his horses across his cornfield. Then suddenly he stopped and said, "I'm going to do it!"

Fortunately, his horses were not the last to hear of his plans. Before long he'd gathered a group of bankers, farmers, merchants, a newspaper editor and a plow manufacturer to take part in his dream. Together they managed to raise the $100,000 necessary under state law to secure an insurance company charter.

Then, on March 12, 1900, founding member S. J. Morris telegrammed G.M. from Des Moines with the good news. The Iowa Assessment Mutual Fire Insurance Association was now in business. Soon Morris became the company's first general agent, G. M. Smith was elected secretary and G. W. Wallace served as the first president.

Not long after, G.M., his wife Charlotte and his sister started writing policies on the Smith's kitchen table. Files were stored in Charlotte's sewing cabinet. Despite these humble beginnings, by the end of 1900 the company had risks in force of $274,972 with losses paid of $23.50.

By 1902, G.M. moved into the back of the DeWitt Savings Bank and hired his first office employee, John W. Howes. Back then, Howes would run errands. Years later he would help run the company as Vice President.

 

As the Iowa Assessment Mutual Fire Insurance Association approached the first half of its first decade, the company's founding president G. W. Wallace died and was replaced by T. W. Large.

The company's leadership wasn't all that was changing. The Association's success proved too great for the one-room office to handle. So in 1905, G.M. and company set up shop in a former furniture store.

G.M.'s family was growing too. He and Charlotte were now the proud parents of two sons, Harold and Carl.

The company also expanded the insurance it offered. Plate glass coverage was added in 1907 to complement the fire, windstorm hazard and tornado insurance already in place. Plus, the word "Fire" was dropped from the association's name. And by 1910, the association had $37,763 in assets and a surplus of $7,817 for its policyholders.

 

In 1914, the world was at war and the Association showed its support. Along with other employees, G.M.'s eldest son Harold served in the U.S. Army. He returned at the conclusion of World War I in 1918. In the years to come he would lead the company his father helped found.

During this period, the Association evolved into the largest mutual insurance company writing mercantile risks in Iowa. This growth prompted the board to construct its own building. Costing $20,000, the new two-story brick home office was completed in 1914.

But it wasn't the headquarters of the Iowa Assessment Mutual Insurance Association for very long. By 1920, "Assessment" was dropped and "Association" was changed to "Company" until it became the present-day Iowa Mutual Insurance Company.

As the company's name got smaller, the home office staff grew to nineteen. Plus, three field reps were now representing the Company, insuring a wide variety of risks: schools, churches, other dwellings and farm property. Soon, cars were added to the line.

 

The "Roaring Twenties" were a time of prosperity for both the country and Iowa Mutual Insurance Company. With $190,000 in surplus from the previous year, the Company designed and built a two-story brick structure to house its now thirty employees. Standing the test of time, it continues to anchor our home office more than three-quarters of a century later.

The new building would serve as more than just a place for us to handle claims and assist agents. For the town of DeWitt it was a community center, hosting the events and meetings of various area groups.

In 1926, Iowa Mutual grew again to meet the needs of policyholders. This time it formed a second company, the Iowa Mutual Casualty Association to handle liability losses.

When the premium income of the Insurance and Casualty companies were combined, it reached $870,000, returning more than $40,000 in annual dividends to policyholders. The amount at risk was $240,000,000-nearly a thousand times the amount in place during the company's first year of business.

To keep agents and employees aware of accomplishments like these, G. M. Smith started a new in-house publication called "Our Mutual Friend." In its December 1926 inaugural edition, he stated that he wanted the bulletin to be more than a soapbox for the company's achievements. G.M. wrote, "The real purpose of this bulletin may be summed up in one word 'Service'-better service to our agents and, through them, better service to the assured."

 

On Thursday, October 24, 1929, the New York Stock Exchange lost $4 billion. In two months, stock market values plummeted another $11 billion. As a result, many banks failed-including the one Iowa Mutual did business with.

Still, as the country headed toward economic depression, Iowa Mutual's two companies made many commitments to meet head-on all of the challenges they faced. This was due in part to the leadership of G. M. Smith, who was elected president in 1931.

Through G.M.'s leadership, the companies reduced expenses and lowered salaries at every level. As an Iowa Mutual promotional booklet from this time put it, "When the storm broke and uncertainty hovered around the country, the DeWitt companies trimmed their sails and sawed wood." Because of such cost-cutting measures, not a single employee was let go. Of equal importance, all of the company's independent agents remained loyal to the company and none resigned.

As the world economy improved in the early '30s, the Iowa Mutual companies began to move ahead as well. In 1932, we purchased an advanced printing press to generate all of the necessary paperwork that our growing force of general sales agents needed. In 1933, our independent agents numbered nearly a thousand and could be found in Iowa and now Illinois.

 

As soon as Iowa Mutual emerged from the challenges of the 1930's, it had to face World War II in the 1940s. Like all members of society, the Iowa Mutual companies struggled with shortages of gasoline, office equipment and most importantly-employees.

To compensate for the absence of employees enlisted in the war effort, our remaining agents and employees often worked long hours without overtime to make sure our policyholders received the type of service they'd grown to expect.

Once World War II came to a close, the Iowa Mutual companies were able to return to developing visionary programs for their policyholders. This was just one reason why the number of states in which the Iowa Mutual companies offered coverage grew to thirteen.

In order to handle the subsequent business, we were one of the first in our industry to purchase an IBM punch card system. This method dramatically reduced the time it took to perform accounting procedures because they no longer had to be done by hand. In addition, we updated our printing department to provide quicker turnaround and better quality work.

This was also a time of progress for our home office employees. In 1949, we made available a complete pension plan.

 

In March of 1950, Iowa Mutual reached its fifty-year milestone. The accomplishment was commemorated with a faithfully written 80-page book titled "Since 1900."

But the company had its eyes on the future too. In 1950, during the nation's post-World War II boom, an addition was made to the east side of the 1924 building to rejoin all of the casualty employees that had previously been located in a separate facility. At the same time, all casualty coverage was taken over by the insurance division and the name Iowa Mutual Casualty Company was dropped. Iowa Mutual Insurance Company was now a multiple line writing institution.

In 1954, George M. Smith, the man who was instrumental in both the company he helped found and the community in which he lived, passed away. His legacy and presidency were then assumed by eldest son Harold Smith.

Later that year, Iowa Mutual offered a new type of insurance policy called "unsatisfied judgement." Unique for its time, the plan insured policyholders against drivers who didn't carry insurance of their own. In 1955, the company continued to offer its customers more options by entering the fidelity and surety bond market and developing special cooperative farm and city ventures.

Also during this period, The 20 Year Club was formed as a tribute to the loyalty of its employees. Created in 1954, the club honors employees who have worked at least 20 years for Iowa Mutual. Today The 20 Year Club has over a hundred members and helps to illustrate the company's low turnover rate.

 

During the jet-age, Iowa Mutual took off with a number of its own innovative packaged plans including Commercial Cover-All, Personal Insurance Package and Farmpac. Introduced in 1959, Commercial Cover-All featured complete coverage in one policy. Later used as a model by other companies, Iowa Mutual was the first to offer this type of product. Our Personal Insurance Policy or "PIP" offered complete coverage for the company's personal lines accounts. In turn, Farmpac extended the same coverage to those with farm insurance.

As we developed new types of insurance, we also helped our agents and employees become better informed with all aspects of insurance. In 1962, Iowa Mutual started a program that still exists today where the company pays all enrollment fees and study expenses for employees studying to acquire the Chartered Property and Casualty Underwriter (CPCU) designation.

Iowa Mutual was also at the head of the class when it came to owning the latest in automation. In 1956, Iowa Mutual bought its first computer: The IBM 650. The computer took a year to arrive but when it did the 650 moved data processing light years ahead. We purchased our second IBM, the 1401, in 1962 which featured 4K of memory.

Technology was also used to bring outlying branches-stretching as far west as Idaho and as far east as North Carolina-closer to our home office. In 1966, Iowa Mutual was the first insurance company to install two Xerox Magnavox Telecopiers. Agents in our South Dakota branch could now transmit printed documents over a telephone line to our headquarters in DeWitt. Today we call these unique devices fax machines.

Overseeing much of this age of new possibilities was President Harold Smith. When he died in 1964, he was succeeded by brother Carl J. Smith.

 

While NASA was launching Apollo 11, the number of Iowa Mutual policies and the agents writing them was skyrocketing to its highest level yet.

Iowa Mutual's growth was due in part to a desire to meet the needs of a larger variety of customers. As a result, in 1973 we formed a new direct-bill, stock insurance company called Iowa American Insurance Company. It was created specifically for premier personal lines like auto and home. We also made direct billing available for premiums.

In keeping with the nation's drive for volunteer initiatives, Iowa Mutual took an active role in finding work for area residents. In 1967, we participated in Job Corps, the federal government's on-the-job training program for students.

As we ventured into these new frontiers, Carman Smith became president in 1970. He would serve the company for more than a quarter-century.

 

As the nation prepared for its bicentennial, Iowa Mutual was just finishing its 75th birthday celebration. It was a time to observe a long history of providing for our policyholders while reflecting on all that they had provided for us.

One result of this success was the construction of a new addition to our home office in 1975. Connected to the 1924 building by a skywalk, the addition was built to accommodate new executive and accounting offices as well as a rapidly expanding data processing center.

A year later we expanded our involvement in the financial field by forming a wholly owned leasing subsidiary called Information Management and Consulting, which was later renamed IMAC. The company leases everything from motor vehicles and aircraft to golf course maintenance equipment. IMAC is also a consulting company doing the required annual and quarterly statements for fourteen statewide mutual insurance companies in Iowa and Nebraska.

During this era we also made computer technology accessible to people other than our computer programmers. In 1977, we installed remote terminals for our underwriting employees, giving them a direct link to our mainframe computer. Five years later, we purchased our first Apple II desktop computers allowing us to enhance our financial analysis with electronic spreadsheets.

Advances at Iowa Mutual extended beyond construction and equipment. In 1976, we made employer-paid long-term disability available to all of our full-time employees.

 

The recession of the early 1980s affected more than the nation's heavy industries. It also had an impact on the way insurance companies did business. In order for Iowa Mutual to not only survive but prosper in weaker economic periods like these, the company made the decision in 1985 to keep its business concerns and philosophies closer to home. It was then that we re-focused our energies in the midwest by centralizing operations in our DeWitt headquarters.

Iowa American Insurance Company-which was created in 1973 as a direct-bill stock subsidiary-also changed. It had been formed due to regulations that stated an insurance company couldn't charge a lower rate for the more cost-effective business billed directly to the policyholder than it did business billed through the agent. In 1988, these regulations were removed. As a result, Iowa American retained its charter and licenses but the direct bill business was written into Iowa Mutual. Iowa American would return again in the 1990s.

Over the years, along with creating the best insurance policies, Iowa Mutual has developed the best the workplace policies. In 1983, we joined with an international consulting firm to design a fair and effective wage and salary policy. Salary ranges were assigned that were equitable when compared to other jobs within the company and when compared to similar jobs in the marketplace. Four years later, we were one of the first companies of any kind to initiate a smoke-free working environment.

 

The last decade of the 20th century has often been called The Information Age. Iowa Mutual participated in this movement both by pursuing the latest electronic innovations and by letting agents and policyholders know how we plan to serve them. This involved putting our mission, vision and value statements in writing for the first time. These words state who we are, where we're going and the values we will follow to get there.

Another defining moment occurred in 1997 when Carman Smith retired and was succeeded by James D. Owen, Jr. Although it signifies the end of a family tradition, it also demonstrates the company's interest in continuing to provide for the long-term future of Iowa Mutual.

This period was also a time of innovation for our policyholders. In the early '90s Iowa Mutual implemented electronic funds transfer for paying premiums. And for further simplicity, we introduced single accounts for policyholders, regardless of how many plans they held.

As computers began to play a larger role in how companies conducted business, Iowa Mutual was quick to identify the potential for problems at the start of the new millennium and put into place a contingency plan that insures smooth operation of our systems January 1, 2000 and beyond. That applies to our Web site that went on-line in 1999. Besides improving communications with our agents it also gives our customers product information right at their fingertips.

During the early 90s, Iowa American Insurance Company served as a reinsurance company for Iowa Mutual. In 1997, Iowa American was reactivated as a low- to moderate-risk commercial lines company. It now offers competitively-priced property and casualty protection to low-hazard commercial enterprises. Then, in 1999 we formed the Iowa Mutual Accounts Receivable Centre or IMARC to collect the direct bill premiums of both Iowa Mutual and Iowa American.

If G. M. Smith were alive today, he might not recognize the old company with new ideas that he helped found. But he'd definitely see how his Vision Plus Action paid off.

Our Vision

Each of Iowa Mutual's companies is guided by a singular vision. In short, to be a regionally focused, innovative, profitable, customer-oriented insurance enterprise. We also share the same principles and core values. To provide unparalleled service, quality products and protection to our policyholders and agents, while ensuring job security and job satisfaction for our employees.

We sum it all up in one word –– Service.

 

Security through growth and profitability
Excellence in the products we offer
Regard for our policyholders, agents and employees
Vision plus action
Integrity in all aspects of our business
Community involvement
Exceptional service