History of Kent & Essex Mutual Insurance Company

Kent & Essex Farmers Mutual Fire Insurance Company was formed June 19, 1888 by a group of farmers looking for affordable fire and lightening insurance. The limit of coverage was two-thirds of the value of the building and by 1911 the maximum value was $3000. The company began with a fixed payment of 40 cents per 100 dollars of coverage assessed for a three year term and in 1891 increased the premium by 14 cents. The company operated under a Premium Note Plan, whereby every insured signed a note equaling 3% of the amount of insurance required. Policies were written for a three year term and this practice continued until 1982. This enabled the company to build reserves for future claims and if losses amounted to more than the reserved funds the policyholders were assessed the difference. This did happen once in 1933.

On September 9, 1982, Kent & Essex Farmers Mutual Fire Insurance changed their name to Kent & Essex Mutual Insurance Company. This is still the official name and even today 36% of the business we hold is farm.

In 1975 the premium note system was eliminated due to the formation of the Fire Mutuals Guarantee Fund. It was a fund formed by 52 mutual companies to protect policyholders against participating companies going out of business.
In the early years the agents of the company were also the directors with a manger, claims adjuster and auditor elected annually. The directors decided on which applications to accept and which claims to pay and held their monthly meeting in the Gibson Hall in Wheatley. They later moved the monthly meetings to the managing directors home in Merlin.

In 1957 Windstorm coverage was added and in 1970 theft and liability protection was offered. Although the Board of Directors first looked into offering auto coverage in 1928, it was not sold until 1992.

Kent & Essex Farmers Mutual Fire Insurance Company continued to operate in this fashion until around 1945. The company moved to Chatham and rented its first actual office space on the market square until 1956. At that time a new office was constructed at 149 St. Clair St. where operations continued until the premises became too small and in 1991 Kent & Essex Mutual Insurance Company bought the property at 250 St Clair Street. In July 2008 the business will celebrate our 120th anniversary by moving into the newly constructed offices at 10 Creek Rd in Chatham. This new facility will house the company well into the future. It has been designed with sensitivity to the environment and in such a way that expansion is possible if needed.

In the three year term from 1938-1940 Kent & Essex Farmer’s Mutual Insurance Company showed 108 farm policies in force and they had canceled 8 during that time. Today Kent & Essex Mutual Insurance Company has over 12,260 policy holders and insures homes, autos, farms and business.

We are still truly a mutual insurance company with our board of directors elected from our policyholders and profits are returned to the policyholders in the form of a refund. We have refunded approximately $10 million to our policyholders over the last 19 years.