Forward thinking

When Sarah Mueller added claims management to her role as Customer Care Manager at Forward Mutual Insurance in Ixonia, Wis., in 2020, she had a literal trial by fire. Three houses in two months burned to the ground under separate but unusual circumstances. The following year, a tornado hit the area.

Mueller learned a lot during those situations — and many others — and has benefited from those lessons, because since she became Forward’s president and CEO in 2022, things have only gotten more complicated.

Since then, Mueller said, “I’ve had to deal with challenges that no one’s ever seen before. I get a handle on things and then I get hit with another curve ball.”

A CHANGING LANDSCAPE

The major source of those challenges was the liquidation of Wisconsin Reinsurance Corporation (WRC), the reinsurer for 34 of Wisconsin’s 44 town mutual insurers.

As the result of its liquidation, all these mutuals had to find a new reinsurer and options are limited for small mutuals in the current insurance market.

Forward Mutual was in a more fortunate position than most as a domestic mutual. Town mutuals (called farm or county mutuals in other states) are limited in what types of business they can write and where they can write it, while domestic mutuals like Forward (also called state mutuals) have a broader reach.

“We became a domestic mutual in 2020 so we already knew a lot of things other companies have had to learn as they restructured,” Mueller said.

Besides her own experience, Mueller also had Lois Weidenhoeft, Forward’s former president and CEO (and Mueller’s aunt), who stayed on and has helped the company navigate the upheaval in Wisconsin. “It’s been so nice to have her experience to guide me,” Mueller said.

A merger

Leading up to WRC’s liquidation, Mueller reached out to area town mutuals to ask if they needed help, which led to a discussion with Bristol Town Insurance Company and eventually to a merger of the two companies. To make the merger go more smoothly, they created a company-owned insurance agency — yet more uncharted territory.

Mueller wanted to be sure they were making the right decisions, so she contacted Grinnell Mutual for advice. “Grinnell Mutual is always honest with us and willing to answer the hard questions. Often the perception is that Grinnell Mutual mandates certain actions, but they’re there to provide guidance. Whether you accept that guidance is up to you,” she said.

As if all that transition wasn’t enough, Forward had changes in its board this past year. “Our chairman of the board hit the age limit,” Mueller said, “so we have a new chairman and two new board directors who I had to onboard as well.”

Changes at home

Not all the changes Mueller has seen over the past five years have been business-related. Mueller and her husband Lance adopted their daughter Evelyn five years ago. Whatever free time Mueller has is spent doing things with her family. Her daughter is a social butterfly who likes to go shopping, have her nails done, and watch Disney movies.

Mueller’s 40th birthday present to herself was a tattoo of a heart with flowers representing her family members and commemorating Evelyn’s adoption. “There’s an adoption phrase: ‘Never forget you didn’t grow under my heart but in it,’” Mueller said. She calls the tattoo her “little piece of joy.”

What the future holds

Looking ahead, Mueller’s main concern for the industry stems from the direction customer service is heading. “Small agent shops are making hard decisions, turning to large corporate agencies that care more about the dollar than the customer. At Forward, I still want to provide the type of service we were founded on: neighbor helping neighbor.

3/2024