Wolverine Mutual Hits the Century Mark

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Their main goal was to provide financial protection for Michigan’s increasing number of “horseless carriages” turning up on the streets and paths of mid-America. Now, 100 years later, Wolverine Mutual Insurance Company of Dowagiac is celebrating the incredible milestone of achieving the century mark on their anniversary calendar.

The highly successful little company that first set up shop in Michigan’s Great Southwest in 1917 now boasts more than 40,000 policyholders and has enjoyed decades as a multi-million dollar insurer of not just those horseless carriages, but a whole lot more.

Wolverine Mutual President Jim Laing and his crew were joined Monday evening by the team from the Greater Dowagiac Chamber of Commerce in marking the 100-year milestone with an After Hours Open House at the company’s headquarters located at One Wolverine Way.

That was just the beginning of the celebrations, however, inasmuch as the regional property and casualty insurer will play host to its independent agency sales force in June and mark the occasion with other events slated throughout the year.

Laing tells us that it was his grandfather, E. Bruce Laing who founded the company to help drivers protect their investments in the earliest of new automobiles hitting the roads. Ever since writing that first automobile policy in 1917, Wolverine Mutual Insurance has called Dowagiac home and has been managed by a steady stream of Laing family members.

Laing says, “For a century, our family has put policyholders first.” He notes that his grandfather once said, “We don’t want to be the biggest company in Michigan, but we do aim to be the best.” He adds, “Our employees and independent agents strive every day to achieve this goal. Because of their commitment to service, we’re able to retain 90-percent of our policyholders and earn excellent ratings from our 260 independent agencies and the industry.”

Over the course of its 100-year history, Wolverine Mutual has managed to survive many events that other businesses did not. Laing admits, “There were some tough times, but our fiscal conservatism helped us weather several national economic downturns and devastating storms in our service area.” He notes, “Today, we’re a strong, profitable company. We are twice the size we were just six years ago,” and, “That’s a credit to our employees who genuinely care about our policyholders.”

In addition to automobile insurance, the multi-million dollar corporation provides its more than 40,000 policyholders with homeowner, rental dwelling, motorcycle, watercraft, recreational vehicle and personal umbrella coverage.

The photo above depicts a portion of the vast timeline depicting milestones along the way for Wolverine Mutual as displayed at the corporate offices in Dowagiac for the Open House on Monday evening. The photo is courtesy of the Greater Dowagiac Chamber of Commerce.

To learn more about Wolverine Mutual Insurance Company and its personal lines products and independent agency locations, click the link below.

http://www.WolverineMutual.com