The original book of minutes and applications dating from 1853 have been preserved by the Company and are on display at the home office in Johnstown, N.Y.

On August 9, 1853 the Company was officially designated as the Fulton and Montgomery Counties Farmers Mutual Fire Insurance Association (later to become the Fulmont Mutual Insurance Company) and was allowed to issue policies, then called certificates. The 105 member policyholders were each a co-owner of the Company. They reciprocally engaged, by payment into a common fund, to indemnify one another against loss by fire. In the beginning, fortitude and explicit trust was required of members for they had to bear a common financial responsibility for the success and stability of their joint venture. This practice was referred to as "Mutual Aid," but later became the definition of a "Mutual Insurance Company".

The payment of a certain amount of money was in the form of an assessment. Members were only assessed when necessary to cover losses and expenses. It is interesting to note that the first assessment was made in 1855 which meant that policyholders went two years with free insurance. The 1855 assessment was 40 cents for each $1,000 in coverage.

The Company did not assess its member policyholders each time there was a loss but waited for three or four small losses to accumulate. The loss of a member policyholder was handled in one of the following ways:

1. The materials for replacing or repairing the loss would be purchased at the local store, with the charge slip being personally guaranteed by one of the directors of the Company.
2. A director of the Company or another prominent businessman would advance the money on a note so the Company could pay the member for his loss.

There was a sense of community responsibility when a fire would occur. The community would get together and provide free labor for rebuilding the property which had been lost. This community "togetherness" helped to keep expenses down.

The assessment form of rating was continued successfully for many years and it meant free insurance in some years for the policyholders.

In recent years, the Company converted to an Advance Premium Mutual Company. Classified rating in lieu of a single rate is now being used, and the premium is billed once a year on the anniversary of the policy.

The Company was organized for the purpose of insuring against fire and lightning, those being the most common cause of loss to the early farmer. In later years, due to catastrophic losses in New York State by wind and tornado, a specialty company based in Albany, NY was set up to insure wind and tornado losses. The Fulton and Montgomery Counties Mutual was not allowed by state regulation to insure for wind or tornado due to its catastrophic nature, but was able to secure the coverage for its members through the specialty company.

Today the Company writes a variety of policies, such as the Homeowners, Mobilehomeowners, Farmowners, Inland Marine, Businessowners and Special Multi-Peril Policies. These policies cover personal, farm and business property. Our home office is located in Johnstown, New York.

Fulton and Montgomery Counties Farmers Mutual Fire Insurance Association is recorded as the oldest insurance company of its kind still in existence in New York State and is the fourth oldest of its kind in the United States.

Our company goal after years of service continues to be "to provide members with the best possible coverage at a moderate cost".

Company History:
Company History Main Page | The Secretaries 1853-1978 | The Majors | Board of Directors 1978 
Board of Directors 1998 | Board of Directors 2008 | Directors | Ancestor/History Search

For further information regarding our policies, send e-mail to
info@fulmontmutual.com, or write to us at:
Fulmont Mutual Insurance Company
P.O. Box 487, Johnstown, NY 12095-0487

Copyright Fulmont Mutual Insurance Company. All rights reserved.
This web site was developed by Empire Web Pages on June 07, 1997.
This page was most recently updated on June 06, 2018. ---