Prairie Pine Mutual Insurance Company
Prairie Pine Mutual was formed in 1985 when Parkers Prairie Effington Mutual merged with Bluffton Mutual. These two companies had existed as neighboring companies for many years. Leo Goeden, who was the manager of the Bluffton Mutual, wanted to discontinue his duties and have the home office of the company removed from his home. Parkers Prairie Effington had a main street office and was interested in growing. The two struck up a relationship and decided that in the best interest of the policyholders they would merge. This created a larger company and allowed them to maintain a main street presence and hire a manager to run the company.
When these two companies were formed back in the late 1800's there were no insurance companies willing to insure farms and homes in rural Minnesota. Local farmers banded together to form these companies to provide themselves with an outlet for coverage. Throughout the course of the last 100+ years many companies have come into the market place to write farms and rural homes and shortly after have left. If it weren't for the presence of the township mutual in Minnesota much of the farm insurance market place would find it very difficult to secure coverage.