HelpThe story of LML
Life on the Prairie
In 1935, as the nation struggled through the Great Depression, two brothers in Fargo, N.D., were looking for a way to make a difference in their community, so they founded the Lincoln Mutual Health and Accident Insurance Association. In doing so, the brothers did more than just offer health insurance coverage with affordable premiums of just one or two dollars a month. They also offered peace of mind and hope to a community in crisis.
In 1948, Lincoln Mutual became known as the Lincoln Mutual Life and Casualty Insurance Company. Around that same time, the late Scott Koltes, former president and son of one of the founders, went to work for his father as an agent.
Koltes learned early on the importance of the work he was doing when he went to deliver a claims check to a policyholder who had lost his wife. "The man had a tear in his eye as he endorsed it with an 'X' in front of two witnesses. The check was for $1,000. That doesn't sound like much today, but it sure meant a lot to him," Koltes said.
From that moment, Koltes, like his father and uncle before him, came to understand that, though he did not have the power to make the harsh realities of life disappear, he could do something to help ease people's pain and start the healing process. As he put it, "The benefit check isn't going to bring your loved ones back or make you well, but it certainly helps heal wounds."
Koltes never forgot that lesson, and neither did his company. Throughout its history, Lincoln Mutual has had one primary goal: to give its policyholders the financial resources and security they need to make it through difficult times in their lives.
In 1989, Lincoln Mutual affiliated itself with Noridian Mutual Insurance Company to offer group life and group health benefits to policyholders. Today, Lincoln Mutual is licensed in 15 midwest and western states, has assets in excess of $32 million and has more than $2.1 billion of life insurance in force.
Even with this tremendous growth, Lincoln Mutual hasn't changed a lot since 1935. It still treats people with respect and compassion, and it still holds to the ideals set forth by its founders.