Brotherhood Mutual Insurance Company

1917 – present

Founded: 1917, in Fort Wayne, by Albert Neuenschwander and his pastor, Aaron Souder, as a way for local churches to cover damage from fire and natural disasters. The founders were evangelical Mennonites, and the company grew out of the Anabaptist practice of bearing one another's losses. At its founding it served eight churches in Indiana, Ohio and Illinois. The company was incorporated in 1935.

What it did: Property and casualty insurance written only for churches and related ministries — property, liability, commercial auto and workers' compensation for congregations, Christian schools, camps and colleges, sold through independent agents. It later added services for the same customers: MinistryWorks, a payroll and payroll-tax service launched in 2012 and described by the company as the largest of its kind for Christian ministries, and mission-travel insurance and assistance.

Course: The home office has always been Fort Wayne; the company built its campus at 6400 Brotherhood Way, on the city's northwest side, and expanded it in step with the book of business. In 2009 it invested more than $5.2 million in a 26,000-square-foot customer service center, with about 260 associates at the headquarters and business in 38 states. In 2012 it announced a $15 million, 54,395-square-foot expansion, employing 266 Hoosiers in Fort Wayne and 315 nationwide. In 2019 it announced an 88,000-square-foot addition and up to 100 new jobs: by then it served more than 60,000 ministries in 47 states and the District of Columbia, held more than $700 million in admitted assets, and employed more than 485 people. It stands as the second-largest provider of property and casualty insurance to Christian churches in the United States. Its ratings record carries B++ (Good) from AM Best and an A− insurance financial strength rating from Kroll Bond Rating Agency (2021). Mark Robison is chairman, president and chief executive. In 2007 the company declined to renew coverage for the West Adrian United Church of Christ in Michigan, citing higher risk in the church's endorsement of gay marriage and ordination of gay ministers — a decision reported nationally in Christianity Today in January 2008.

Present state: Operating, a mutual company owned by its policyholders, still writing only the church and ministry book from its Fort Wayne headquarters at 6400 Brotherhood Way.

Sources:

1. Indiana Economic Development Corporation release, October 2009 (via Trade & Industry Development) — the 1917 founding by Albert Neuenschwander and his pastor Aaron Souder, the fire-and-disaster purpose, the $5.2 million customer service center, the ~260 headquarters associates, 38 states.
2. W. H. Smith, Mennonites in Illinois (2001), as cited for the founding — the evangelical Mennonite founders.
3. Brotherhood Mutual Insurance Company expansion releases, 2012 (via Area Development) and 2019 (via Coverager) — the 2012 and 2019 expansions, the eight founding churches, the 60,000 ministries, 47 states, $700 million admitted assets, 485 employees, the MinistryWorks service.
4. Kroll Bond Rating Agency, rating release, 2 August 2021 — founded 1917, incorporated 1935, the A− rating and BBB surplus-note rating, the churches-only book.
5. Rob Moll, "Brotherhood Mutual Denies Insurance to Pro-Gay Church," Christianity Today, 8 January 2008 — the West Adrian decision.