About our Home Insurance, Auto Insurance, Farm Insurance, Ranch Insurance, Homeowners Insurance, and Renters Insurance in Devils Lake, Minto, Hillsboro, Fargo, Jamestown, Grand Forks, Valley City, Thompson, West Fargo, ND, and Nearby Areas

A Message For Our Visitors

Walsh County Mutual opened for business only seven years after the first telephone line was constructed…and twenty-nine years before the first commercial airline flight took place. There were no computers, no cell phones…in fact, there were no cars when we first started! Before North Dakota became a state, we were meeting the needs of our customers. As a company, WCM has witnessed amazing changes throughout our history. Multiple rate books have given way to thin, lightweight laptops. Email replaced snail mail, electronic transfers replaced money orders and efficiency replaced frustration. What used to take hours or days can now be completed in seconds and minutes.

We live in an amazing world that has undergone amazing changes, and that’s a good thing…up to a point. Technology has also made it easy for companies to move, expand and even sell interests to outsiders. The days of dealing with friends and neighbors are, for the most part, gone…but not at Walsh County Mutual. We still believe in ‘growing where you’re planted’, and that’s exactly what we’ve done since 1885. We’re deeply rooted and established here and that’s never going to change. Personal service doesn’t come through an 800 number but through a conversation with someone who has the same area code as you do. It’s provided by real people. And while we embrace and employ all the wonderful technologies necessary to run North Dakota’s largest county mutual insurance company, we know being there when you need us is still the best way to serve you. That’s another thing that’ll never change at Walsh County Mutual.

Thank you for visiting our website!

Sincerely,
The Staff of Walsh County Mutual

Walsh County Mutual Timeline:

  • JUNE 27, 1885 – Walsh County Mutual Fire Insurance Company was incorporated in a small town that was part of the Dakota Territory.
  • NOVEMBER 2, 1889 – North Dakota and South Dakota were admitted to the Union as the 39th & 40th states.
  • DECEMBER 31, 1926 – WCM grows the balance of funds on hand to a hefty $15,544, an impressive feat in 1926.
  • 1956 – WCM arranges with Farmers Mutual Reinsurance Company of North Dakota for reinsurance, providing a much-needed safety net in the likely situation of disastrous hazards affecting a large amount of insureds.
  • 1962 – The Beatles released their first single…and Spider-Man made his comic book debut.
  • 1966 – Walsh County Mutual has five agents, selling fire and wind insurance at rates of $0.20 for every $100 of coverage and theft and vandalism insurance for only $0.05 for every $100 of coverage. This was also the year that the first episode of Star Trek aired on TV.
  • 1976 – Jim Schanilec becomes manager of WCM and a period of unprecedented growth takes place, resulting in 14 agents collecting more than $76,000 in premiums. ALSO: Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak created the Apple Computer Company.
  • 1986 – Walsh County Mutual Insurance Company began working with several agencies in Minto, Fordville, Lankin, Oslo, Devils Lake, and Adams. Together, these agencies accrued over $1.4 million of insurance coverages.
  • 2013 – WCM undergoes a complete facility rebuild, including a vast updating of equipment, software and ancillary technologies. Growth continues exponentially, placing us among the largest mutuals in North Dakota.

There’s No Substitute For Experience

Studying about risk management and actually putting it into practice are two totally different things. While learning the concepts of insurance protection and how it applies is the first step for any insurance provider, the real education begins when you actually start using what you know. Many say that the definition of wisdom is the application of knowledge.

Walsh County Mutual has been putting what we’ve learned to work for more than 130 years. There is a rich and distinguished knowledge base that has been passed down from generation to generation. After nearly a century and a half of serving our clients, there are few issues that we haven’t already dealt with. We’ve perfected processes that other companies are still learning and, like fine wine, we’re only getting better. When it comes to delivering smart insurance solutions, there’s no substitute for experience, and there’s no one like Wash County Mutual.

Meet The Staff

Ben Suda

Brad Schanilec

Cory Kouba

Don Barclay

John Miller

Louis Kadlec

Rhonda Anderson

Russell Schanilec

Sheila Slominski

Contact Walsh Mutual for all your Home, Farm & Ranch, and Personal Liability Insurance needs in North Dakota.
701-248-3231