Insurance and Factors that Affect Our Premiums

L: Rural Mutual Insurance District Manager Jason Bender; R: Jason Bender, Optimist President Bob Hundhausen, Optimist Member Carter Cushman

Our weekly speaker was scheduled in advance of the hail storm that hit the Platteville area one week earlier. However the timing led to several general questions regarding the recent storm where Jason reported they had over 900 claims from that one storm. Rural Mutual Insurance was formed in 1934 by farmers as no one wanted to insure them. They have since expanded and currently underwrite auto, home, life and commercial policies. Farm Bureau manages Rural Insurance's Board of Directors. Rural Insurance is a regional company so they don't factor into their premiums what happens nationwide as many larger companies do. Jason stated that they don't have a huge presence in Wisconsin but he manages twenty-one agents across the state line from Mississippi to Lake Michigan.

Jason discussed insurance coverages and premiums, which we've all experienced having increased 20-60% over the last few years. Many insurance companies are in turmoil and many small companies have consolidated. Weather events, geopolitical issues, material costs (oil, steel, etc), crime, and lawsuits are all causes of premium increases. Jason believes the market is starting to transition and that there may be some premium relief coming, hopefully as soon as 2026. He indicated that 2025 looks to be the end of the "hard market" and we will then transition to a "soft market."