Updates
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Annual Meeting 2019April 01, 2019
Mutual insurance companies, like Barton Mutual, are owned by the policyholders. The unique business idea is credited to Benjamin Franklin. As a member of the mutual, a policyholder is entitled to a vote at policyholder meetings. Policyholders are informed of the meeting through policy documents; at Barton Mutual, the information is included on the policy jacket. If the policyholder is unable to attend the annual meeting, they are able to sign a proxy notice to give the President/CEO of Barton Mutual the authority to vote on their behalf. The proxy notice is mailed to policyholders annually with their new or renewal policy. It is printed on the back of the invoice.Barton Mutual holds its annual policyholder meeting on the fourth Thursday in March each year. This year ours fell on March 28. Company officers and board members gather at our home office. During the meeting, company officers update everyone on the previous year’s performance. New business is brought to the floor and any members present are allowed to vote. This year, the membership voted to amend the Articles of Incorporation as follows:
- Removal of references to assessments or assessable policies
- Change of title of President to President/CEO
- Change of title of Treasurer to Treasurer/CFO
Barton Mutual is currently governed by a board of seven members. On the docket for next year’s annual meeting is a resolution to amend the Articles of Incorporation to state that the number of directors can be a range of five to nine. All policyholders are receiving a notice of the proposed change with their new policy or policy renewal.
Many people do not realize that they can have a say in the workings of their insurance company, and it truly is “their” insurance company in this case. Our annual meeting in 2020 will be on March 26 at 11:00 AM at our home office in Liberal, Missouri. If you are a member policyholder of Barton Mutual, you are more than welcome to attend.