Rural Mutual Insurance Company has moved from Badger Street to Fulton Street.
The business is now located at 219 W. Fulton St., in the former Kwik Trip building.
“The opportunity came up to make a bid with the city to secure the space,” said Chuck McDaniel, owner of C & D Professional Services.
After Kwik Trip built a new convenience store across the street, the company donated the property the old store was on to the city of Waupaca.
Last November, the Common Council voted to accept the gift of the former Kwik Trip property.
City staff put together a Request for Proposal document, and a proposal from C & D Professional Insurance Services was one of two proposals the city received.
In March, the council approved a lease of $1,350 per month with C & D Professional Insurance Services. The term is for five years, with an option for a second, five-year term.
McDaniel has been with Rural Mutual Insurance since April of 1990.
“I am an independent contractor. I own my business, but my main contract is with Rural Insurance,” he said. “But, we also have Farm Bureau Life & Investments.”
Those are his two main contracts.
“Rural Mutual Insurance, owned by the Wisconsin Farm Bureau, is domiciled in the state of Wisconsin, which means it only sells products in the state,” he said. “Its tagline is ‘Premiums paid here, stay here.'”
The company began in the 1930s as a way to offer affordable insurance to rural communities, McDaniel said.
“Rural is recognized nationally as one of the top 50 property and casualty companies in the country, which is a pretty elite list considering it only sells in the state,” he said.
When McDaniel began working in Waupaca in 1991, the office was at 111 E. Fulton St.
About a year and a half ago, the office moved from there to 109 E. Badger St., where it share space with Coldwell Banker.
“We added another sales agent and another assistant and needed more space. That was the reason we moved from Fulton to Badger,” he said. “We also have an office in Wautoma and wanted to bring all the support staff to one location.”
The move onto West Fulton Street allowed them to do so.
The approximately 2,600 square feet of space includes a lobby and reception area, six offices and a conference room.
McDaniel said the conference room was designed so it could be split into offices in the future, if needed.
“We had done a build out at Coldwell, too, so we had experience,” he said of converting the former convenience store into office space.
They opened at their new location on May 30, with a total of six people working out of the office.
In addition to McDaniel, they are Dave Loken, Tim Spray, Randi Sommerfeld, Tori Pirk and Sara Kirwan.
The office is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday or by appointment and offers everything from commercial, farm and personal insurance to life insurance and investment options. They may be reached at 715-258-8830 in Waupaca and at 920-787-2100 in Wautoma.
McDaniel said the new location fits their needs, including additional parking and visibility.
“There’s been nothing but positive feedback from our customers and clients coming in,” he said. “The city has been wonderful to work with. It was an easy move. We couldn’t have asked for it to go any smoother.”