Page 12 - Frankenmuth Insurance 150 Years Anniversary Booklet

in a room of Carl Nuechterlein’s mortuary, for which he was paid $1 a month in rent. And

for the first ten years of business, the company insured vehicles only in Frankenmuth and
surrounding rural areas. City dwellers, vastly more likely to be involved in auto accidents,

were judged to be a riskier investment.

By 1930, the company had over 3,000 policyholders
and a surplus of more than $80,000, which prompted

directors to relax the restriction on “city folk.” Policies
were soon being written for drivers as far as 30 miles

away in Bay City and Flint.

Growth continued throughout the 1930s and ’40s.

The late 1940s were especially eventful:
FUN FACT:
A 1923 Dodge Brothers
car owned by John A. Geyer, 1945: The auto company issued its first non-
insured on the company’s first
auto policy, is on display in assessable policies, permitted by the Insurance
the corporate
offices. Commission after an examination of the company’s
financial health.

1948: The company was reincorporated, and its

charter was expanded to include coverage for comprehensive personal liability, family
liability and farm liability, which prompted a name change — the word “auto” was

dropped, marking the first use of Frankenmuth Mutual Insurance Company, the legal
name still in use today. Also in 1948, the company reached $1 million in assets.

1949: The company moved into its own home office building at 140 West Tuscola
Street — right next door to the Frankenmuth Mutual Fire Insurance Company.

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