Most insurance companies want you to think of them as a neighbor. For residents of the Mitten, Michigan Farm Bureau is one.
This week, Tom Arbaugh of Michigan Farm Bureau gave Border 2 Border members a look under the hood of an organization most of us recognize by name but probably mis-perceived in scope. What emerged was a portrait of a Michigan-rooted institution that has spent over a century reinvesting in the state it serves, and a great reminder for all of us of the importance of giving back and being involved.
It started, as many good Michigan stories do, with farmers. Founded in 1919, Michigan Farm Bureau began as an agricultural trade group advocating for the interests of its members. By 1949, members decided they needed to insure their autos — but that it would be nice to have an insurer who understood their lives and their land. What followed was a track record of genuine firsts: the first company in Michigan to specialize in rural life insurance, the first Farmowners policy in the country, and later, a Lake Estate policy built specifically to protect Michigan’s beloved lakefront properties. These weren’t opportunistic product launches. They were responses to real needs of their clients and neighbors that no one else was addressing.
That orientation — toward Michigan, toward the underserved gaps, toward community — runs through everything Farm Bureau does today.
Tom described how agents don’t just sell policies, but they show up, literally. He was recently out picking heads of lettuce on a Michigan farm as part of a service project through the bureau. In addition to in-person service, Farm Bureau funds science labs in schools, sponsors MHSAA Scholar-Athlete scholarships, supports organizations fighting cancer and hunger in the state, and runs an essay contest that asks students to write about their personal heroes from the great State of Michigan. Their Agents for Change program offers grants of up to $2,500 — three times per year — to help build and stock school pantry closets for students facing food insecurity.
With 65 county Farm Bureaus, over 3,000 volunteer hours logged since 2022, and nearly half a million pounds of food distributed, the throughline of it all is this: when you’re genuinely rooted in a place, reinvestment isn’t a strategy. It’s a reflex.
It was a lesson worth absorbing for all of us in the room. Community presence compounds. Businesses that show up consistently in their neighbors’ lives — not just when it’s convenient — are the ones people remember and refer.
If you’re in the market for life insurance or property and casualty coverage in Michigan and care about your community’s well-being, then Tom Arbaugh is exactly the agent you should speak with. Reach out and find out what Michigan Farm Bureau can do for you.
And if you’re not yet a member of Border 2 Border Business Connections, presentations like Tom’s make a compelling case to show up every week. Come visit a meeting — we’d love to have you in the room!
