Minimum Deductible Change effective January 1, 2023

We have been advised that the minimum Windstorm and Hail Deductible for all property policies will have a mandatory increase to $1,500 effective January 1, 2023. All RENEWALS processed AFTER January 1, 2023 will have the minimum $1,500 wind/hail deductible. (Our current minimum is $1,000, which was changed back in 2013.)

Currently we have $1500, $2500, and $5000 deductibles available and we have not determined how this deductible will be handled. In 2013 we did a deductible shift. We are considering adding more deductibles and doing another shift.

Hello Everyone!
2021 was the third full year since Western Illinois Mutual Insurance Company was formed and it was also the third year that we have experienced positive growth. Net income has been at least $481,000 in all three years, with 2019 net income being $708,401.

Net income in 2021 was $499,224 and we had an Underwriting profit of $275,167. Selected Financial Data for the last 3 years can be found HERE!

Contingency bonus checks have now been delivered to everyone that will receive them and those checks totaled nearly $125,000! One thing that stuck out to me is that the agents that are receiving contingency bonus checks did over 70% of the 828 quotes that were done in our system and wrote nearly 75% of the 300+ new policies. Overall, 36% of the quotes that were done ended up being issued as a new policy and was paid 18% commission during that first year. As time allows, I will be emailing out results to everyone that did not receive a bonus check this year.

Is your agency quoting business with us? We offer an auto/home discount if you have the auto policy in-house, we offer discounts for good insurance scores, and we offer claim free discounts on new policies. We are looking to write good farm and home business! If you have not quoted us recently, give us a try. You can’t write the business if you don’t quote it. If you’re not sure how to get started, give us a call, we’re glad to help. Have an underwriting question on what class to put something in? Check with Heather at 217-509-7704 or email her at heather@wimic.us

As I was delivering Bonus Checks I had a question about our Rater related to Social Security Numbers. While there IS (soon to be clarified) an Underwriting Message for “No Hits” on Insurance Score that asks you to “Verify SSN” this does not mean that SSN is required, as it is NOT. . I just wanted to clarify this. SSN will give more chance of getting an accurate insurance score, but again, is not required.

Thanks again for your business!

Effective August 2, 2021, Western Illinois Mutual Insurance Company will be launching a new online billing and payment solution, offering more ways to view and pay your property insurance bill, plus the addition of 24/7 phone payments and pay by text. Customers can receive and view bills electronically, make a payment with credit/debit card or e-check, and choose to go paperless. A quick, one-time payment can be made without registering or you can create an account to enjoy more features like setting up automatic payments, saving payment information for later use and viewing history.

  • Easy-to-use online portal to access your payment and make payments
  • Registration is not required
  • Go Paperless – get your bills via email
  • Save time with automatic payment options:
    • AutoPay – automatically pay the invoice amount on the due date
    • Recurring Scheduled Payments – set up a schedule to pay a fixed amount or the invoice balance on a specific day of the month
  • Receive email reminders when your bill is ready, when a scheduled payment is pending and a confirmation after making a payment
  • Pay by Phone – check your account balance or make a payment 24/7 by calling 855-786-5284
  • Pay by Text – get text notifications about your bill and have the option to pay through text message with your default payment method (sign up when making an online payment or within your account)
Effective July 1, 2020 Grinnell made a significant change to the Farm-Guard program that you might have missed. $2,000,000 limit of liability is now available for all basic coverages and optional liability endorsements.
Agents currently have binding authority up to $2 million under a Personal Umbrella or Farm Umbrella policy. Under the Direct Farm-Guard program, agents will also have binding authority up to $2 million.
NOTE: The $2 million limit will not be available on a policy where the named insured has one or more employees not covered by a workers’ compensation policy.
Per Guideline 105, Binding Authority. A workers’ compensation policy is required in order to bind the $2,000,000 occurrence liability limit if the named insured has one or more employees.
As part of your binding authority, it will be up to agents to ask about employees and to confirm that there is a Workers’ Comp policy in place if there are employees. None of us want problems at claim time, which is when all of this would have to be confirmed.

Hello Friends,

Our national association is asking for help to try to get this bad bill vetoed by Governor Pritzker. He has already vetoed a previous bill that would have added 9% interest. This bill does the same thing, but drops interest to 6%. This bill removes any desire for expediency from a lawsuit…the longer you stall, the more interest you get paid!

 

PLEASE take 2 minutes to read the following information and click on the link, fill out your personal address and hit send, it’s that quick!  YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE.  Please help us.

Illinois: Contact Governor Asking for Veto of Prejudgment Interest Legislation

To: All NAMIC Members Doing Business in Illinois

Deadline: Friday, April 9, 5 p.m. CDT

Action: Contact Illinois Governor to Ask Him to Veto Prejudgment Interest Legislation

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker is considering SB 72, which would require a defendant to pay prejudgment interest in a lawsuit or arbitration claim arising out of personal injury. Interest is charged despite delays that might have nothing to do with the defendant, which encourages delays to drive-up potential recovery.

While NAMIC successfully lobbied for the veto of the more-harmful HB 3360, we are working to oppose SB 72, which only lowers the rate from 9 percent to 6 percent – still a far cry from being acceptable while we’re trying to help restore our economy during the pandemic.

 

Tell Gov. Pritzker to Veto SB 72

 

In addition to sending an email through the above link, you may call the Governor’s Office at 217-782-0244. The NAMIC membership was vital in securing the HB 3360 veto, and we must now hold the line against SB 72.

 

  • Report all claims promptly. We prefer this be done on our WEBSITE. (We will also accept Acord loss forms generated through your agency management system. Please email to claims@wimic.us)
  • Do not discuss with the policyholder the amount of the loss, or make any commitments as to coverage of their claim.
  • Advise the insured that they are required, under the terms of the policy, that they should protect the property from any further damage.
  • Advise the insured that permanent repair or replacement of any damage should not be made until they are contacted by an authorized Mutual adjuster.
  • Notify the policyholder if a deductible will apply to their loss.

 

INVITATION TO BID SALVAGE MACHINERY

 

 Bid closing date: Monday, March 29, 2021 12 noon – Bids will be opened at this time.

 

Item to Bid: Caterpillar bulldozer

 

Cause of Loss: Fire – thought to have started in the turbo area

 

Location of item: Approximate location in Pike county, IL. 2 miles East of Perry, IL JD dealer and then 1 mile South in a field. We BELIEVE this to be close, but don’t hold us to it. We didn’t drop a pin while there.

https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Perry,+IL/39.7677455,-90.7164825/@39.7815907,-90.7376449,3436m/data=!3m2!1e3!4b1!4m9!4m8!1m5!1m1!1s0x87de307a6b6c24d3:0xcc68c2c731a6ebd4!2m2!1d-90.7454062!2d39.7831031!1m0!3e0

 

Year: 1987         Make: Caterpillar      Model: D6H

This was a farmer owned dozer most of it’s life. Our insured had only put 100 hours on it and believes it to have had only approximately 5300 hours.

 

Attachments: None. As shown in pictures. Pictures are HERE.

 

Additional information: This dozer is in a field and after the fire they got a lot of rain. Winning bidder will need to coordinate with our insured to arrange for pickup. Contact information will be provided at the conclusion of the bidding. Value pre-fire $50,000.

                                                           

  Bid Amount:  PLEASE BID HERE!

  

 Direct questions to Tony Koehler, Manager 217-357-3962 or Bruce Pollock, Claims Adjuster, at 217-357-3963.

 WE RESERVE THE RIGHT TO ACCEPT OR REJECT ANY BIDS. Insured may bid on his equipment, but high bid wins. Only bidders will receive final bid information.

Farm Extra Expense coverage (form RC 84)  provides coverage for extra (increased) expenses incurred during the period of restoration, following a covered loss, to resume or continue normal farming operations. This coverage is OPTIONAL and must be added to your current policy. This coverage would pay “extra expenses” (such as rent) in the event of a covered loss.
     How does this coverage work? You decide how much coverage you want and tell your agent to add the coverage to your policy.
     Can I add this coverage at any time? Yes, this coverage can be added to a policy at any time. (If the loss occurs before the coverage, the coverage will not apply!)

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