Sponsored by Wawanesa Insurance
This year, the Wawanesa Mutual Insurance Company celebrates its 125th anniversary. Our history is rooted in the town of Wawanesa, Manitoba, where 20 farmers came together on September 25, 1896 to create an insurance option for their equipment and share the risk posed to their livelihood.
It began on a prairie farm
In the late 1800s, wooden threshing machines were essential to farm operations across the Canadian prairies. An early form of today’s combines, these machines made life easier and more prosperous for farm families. And yet, wooden threshers were risky. Their straw-fired boilers shot off sparks, and were prone to catching fire. The large insurers of the day wanted premiums many farmers couldn’t afford. Wawanesa Insurance began to help farmers get insurance for their wooden threshers, with the first policy written in 1896.
Wawanesa enabled these farmers to take care of each other when no one else would; and 125 years later, this commitment to taking care of each other still holds true.
The essence of who we are
As a mutual insurer, we are dedicated to contributing to the wellbeing of our communities. To mark our anniversary, we provided $700,000 to local community organizations in the areas we live and work. Wawanesa employees were given the opportunity to determine how the donation would be distributed among organizations in communities where we operate to help support community resilience.
As part of this initiative, each Wawanesa employee was given a $125 e-gift card to support a charity of their choice. Employees across the organization enthusiastically used this opportunity to pay it forward to causes they find personally meaningful.
This commitment to being there for one another has always been, and will always remain, at the heart of who we are at Wawanesa.
All in on brokers
As we reflect on this milestone anniversary, we also celebrate our relationships with our broker partners. The value that independent insurance brokers bring to Canadian families and businesses has never been greater. Over the past year and a half, we have seen our broker partners go above and beyond to help people through the pandemic, providing excellent advice, advocacy, and service.
Because of our brokers, generations of resilient employees have helped build the modern Wawanesa we know today: a mutual with nearly 6,000 employees and over two million policyholders across Canada and in the U.S.
We are proud to be 100% broker distributed in Canada, and are excited to continue our broker distribution journey in Quebec.
Wawanesa today
We continue to evolve as risks evolve. In fact, Wawanesa was the first insurer in Canada to offer cyber coverage on personal lines, stepping up to help protect people from this new risk. This is just one example of how, from day one to today, we serve the changing needs of our communities and bring an essential piece of security to the lives of the people and businesses who entrust us.
We look forward to another 125 years of building on a legacy that began in that small prairie town.
wawanesa.com/history
