Riverside Mutual

(Formerly Franklin Farmers Mutual Insurance Company)

Since 1877

Our promise is to provide high-quality insurance services with a personal touch, at an affordable price. Franklin Farmers Mutual Insurance Company has served our rural and small urban communities faithfully since 1877.

Town Mutuals were born out of necessity in the mid to late 1800s. During this period, farmers could not afford to purchase property insurance on their residences, personal property, and outbuildings due to the very high premiums charged. Stock insurance companies observed that when farm fires started, they were generally a total loss due to the time it took a fire department to arrive on the scene. For this reason, they were reluctant to insure farm property.

To form a company, 25 farmers were needed to insure each other’s losses. During this period multiple local insurance companies started up throughout Wisconsin. At one time there were over 300 companies called Town Mutuals which only insured for fire coverage. The idea of neighbors insuring neighbors was born. The policyholders were & are the owners of the company.

These community-founded companies were eventually organized and continue to this day to operate under the supervision of a Board of Directors elected by the company policyholders. Franklin Farmers Mutual Insurance Company is no exception. Our officers often know the policyholders personally as they spend their everyday lives among the policyholders. They are our friends and neighbors.