Sep. 05, 2010

 
History

2007 marks 125 years of OMIA leadership and service.   View the video here.

Oxford Mutual's 125th Anniversary Celebration

June 6 was a banner day for Oxford Mutual. The head office in Thamesford was buzzing with activity as the company celebrated 125 years of community service. The warm sunny weather reflected the feelings of all those who attended, as we were joined by many friends and associates, both past and present, politicians and other dignitaries.

The highlight of the day was the cheque presentations to the 26 recipients of the Oxford Mutual 125th Anniversary Community Grants. In all, in excess of $16,000 was given out to groups in our local communities all of whom contribute significantly to the betterment, or sustain the heritage, of the community.

The directors, management, staff, agents and brokers all join in saying "Thank you" to all our policyholders and service providers for enabling the company to achieve this milestone.

A photo gallery of the day will be displayed at the Annual Meeting on March 19, 2004 and a copy of the recently commissioned history of the company, "Rooted in the Community" found below:

 

2003 History Books -Rooted in the Community- as prepared for the 125th Anniversary in 2003

Oxford Mutual Insurance was formed as a result of an amalgamation of two farm mutual insurers in 1973. The roots of these two companies date back to 1878 and are based in the rural Ontario communities of Oxford, Middlesex, Elgin and Perth Counties.

Originally, policies were written on the "premium note" plan and any shortfalls in operating activities during the year were assessed to the individual policyholder/owners. It was indeed a "mutual" insurer.

Over the years, the needs of the policyholder/owners changed substantially. Broader and different coverage was requested. Oxford Mutual has continued to meet those needs with the assistance of the mutually owned Farm Mutual Reinsurance Plan Inc., and our mutual insurance trade association, Ontario Mutual Insurance Association. Because of the unique nature of the Fire Mutual Guarantee Fund, each Farm Mutual in Ontario, including Oxford Mutual, is backed by the reserves of all 45 of the Farm Mutuals in the province. This is one of the most financially secure insurance systems in the world.

Oxford Mutual itself has assets of over $22M (including $12M of investments), annual premium revenue of about $9M, and surplus of  over $9M. Since 1984, four premium refunds, totalling almost $1,000,000 have been approved by the directors and returned directly to the policyholders.

Today, approximately 90% of our policyholders live within a 40 kilometre radius of the head office in Thamesford, Ontario. Products and services are distributed and serviced through a network of Exclusive Agents and Registered Brokers. All of these distriubtions representatives are committed to providing personal service for each of the more than 4500 policyholders.

Also see... Historical Events