News: Taylor Co. - Little Black Mutual Ins. (History - 2018)

Transcriber: Robert Lipprandt
bob@wiclarkcountyhistory.org 

----Source: The Star News (Medford, WI) 10/04/2018

An important function of cooperatives is the concept of shared risk. This is the heart of mutual insurance companies such as Little Black Mutual Insurance, which was founded in 1889.

At the time, residents of the towns of Little black, Deer Creek, Pine Creek, Browning, Medford, Grove and Molitor and owners of more than $25,000 worth of property which they agree to insure, gathered to form a Mutual Fire Insurance Corporation. The company was formed under the provisions of the statures of the state of Wisconsin, and the name was to be the Little Black Famers Mutual Fire Insurance Company. The company began business on July 26, 1889. A total of 249 policies were written in 1889.

The first expansion of territory occurred at the annual meeting held on January 3, 1914, to include the city of Medford and neighboring townships.

In 1939, the official name of the Company had been revised to Little Black Mutual Insurance Company.

The territory of the company was again expanded at the annual meeting on January 19, 1952, to include all of Taylor County, Price County, Clark County and Marathon County.

On March 28, 1953, approval was given to expand the company operation into windstorm coverage at a special meeting of the policyholders by a vote of 489 to 77.

The board of directors of the Little black Mutual Insurance Company the and board of directors of the Hull Town Mutual Insurance Company met on October 30, 1975, to consider a proposal of merger, which was approved by both boards. The membership of both companies voted to approve the merger at a special meeting on December 18, 1975. Wood County was added to the territory of Little Black Mutual Insurance Company.

The board of directors of the Little Black Mutual Insurance Company and the board of directors of the Rusk County Mutual Insurance Company met at a joint meeting on March 19, 1984, to consider a resolution of merger. The resolution was approved by both boards. A special meeting of the membership of both companies was set to be held on May 10, 1984. The merger was approved at the meeting. The counties of Rusk, Chippewa and Sawyer were added to the territory of Little Black Mutual Insurance Company.

In March, 1995, Portage County and Lincoln County were added to the writing territory for Little Black Mutual insurance Company.

Effective January 1, 1998, the company converted from a town mutual insurance company to a domestic limited assessable mutual insurance company. At that time, the counties of Ashland, Barron, Dunn, Eau Claire and Washburn were added to the Little Black Mutual Insurance Company writing territory.

The final expansion of territory occurred on January 1, 2002, to include the counties of Adams and Jackson.

On September 6, 2007, Little Black Mutual moved from its location in Stetsonville to 141 S. Wisconsin Avenue, Medford.