Goodville Mutual auto insurance

Overview

Goodville Mutual Casualty Company is a policyholder-owned mutual insurer based in New Holland, in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Mennonite business leaders founded it in 1926 to sell automobile insurance, and its mission still commits it to conduct business by biblical principles while serving the wider community. The Goodville Mutual Group ranked #93 among U.S. private passenger auto insurers by 2025 direct premiums written, with $156.9 million and a 0.04% market share, according to NAIC market share data.

Goodville sells auto, home, farm, small business, church and umbrella coverage only through independent agents. It says it has licensed agents in eight states; its agent-locator map lists Pennsylvania, Delaware, Virginia, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Kansas, Oklahoma and South Dakota. Besides the New Holland headquarters it runs a Great Lakes branch office in Napoleon, Ohio. Its website cites annual revenues above $182 million and assets above $405 million. David Gautsche is president and chief executive.

History

A small group of Mennonite men founded Goodville Mutual in 1926 in the village of Goodville, Pennsylvania, to write automobile liability insurance for a growing number of car owners in Lancaster County. The founders built it on the Anabaptist idea of mutual aid, bearing one another's burdens, but agreed from the start that it would serve the wider community.

Key milestones on the company's timeline:

• 1948: new office building in Goodville.
• 1952: began expanding into other states and other lines of insurance.
• 1973: moved to a new headquarters in New Holland.
• 1988: merged with Earl Mutual to add farm and mobile home coverage.
• 1996: merged with three Mennonite-related mutual fire insurance companies in Pennsylvania.
• 2001 and 2008: assumed books of business from a Pennsylvania self-insured group and from a Kansas mutual.
• 2013: affiliated with German Mutual Insurance Company of Napoleon, Ohio.
• 2019: affiliated with Reamstown Mutual Insurance Company of Reamstown, Pennsylvania.
• 2023: took De Smet Farm Mutual Insurance Company of South Dakota under Goodville management through a loss portfolio transfer and a 100% quota share reinsurance agreement effective January 1, 2023.

AM Best's rated group also includes Lancaster Mutual Insurance Company, also domiciled in New Holland. Goodville says it follows a socially responsible investment strategy and has been named to the Ward's 50 list of top-performing property and casualty insurers every year from 2010 through 2026.

Auto insurance coverage

The standard Goodville personal auto policy includes bodily injury and property damage liability, medical payments, personal injury coverage, uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage, and comprehensive and collision for your own car. Optional coverages include towing and labor, transportation expenses, loan/lease coverage, repair or replacement coverage and trip interruption.

For an extra charge, the Personal Auto Plus package broadens the policy with accident forgiveness, increased transportation expenses, towing and labor, a parked-car collision deductible, a collision deductible feature (not available in Virginia) and trip interruption. Two features come free with every policy:

• Collision deductible waiver: Goodville pays up to $250 of your collision deductible if you collide with another vehicle it insures.
• Companion policy deductible waiver: if one event damages property covered by both your Goodville auto and Goodville homeowners policies, only one deductible applies.

Discounts and programs

Goodville lists these auto discounts: a safe driver discount for drivers with no accident in the last four or five years; rating tiers that recognize a clean driving record; an account discount for insuring your vehicles together with a home or farm you own; multi-car; a good student discount for a B average or better; a resident student discount for unmarried students more than 100 miles from home without a car; driver training; a driver improvement discount for mature drivers who complete a state-approved defensive driving course; and credits for anti-theft devices, airbags or passive seat belts, and four-wheel anti-lock brakes. Goodville does not advertise a telematics program. It says it aims to keep rates stable rather than making sharp swings.

Claims

Goodville asks you to report every loss promptly, even if you believe you are not at fault, and not to discuss the accident with anyone other than the police or a Goodville representative. You can start a claim online by looking up your policy, through your agent, or by calling the emergency claims line at 877-445-5780, which also handles all glass claims. The company advertises 24/7 claim service and payment options, offers ID cards online and has a mobile app for policyholders.

Ratings and reputation

On October 12, 2023, AM Best affirmed Goodville Mutual Casualty Company's financial strength rating of A (Excellent) and issuer credit rating of "a+" with stable outlooks, and assigned the same ratings to De Smet Farm Mutual. AM Best assessed the group's balance sheet as strongest and its operating performance as strong, while noting that 2023 brought headwinds, particularly in the auto segment and from weather, which management was addressing with corrective actions. Goodville's website shows the rating as A VIII (Excellent), with VIII denoting its financial size category; see the guide to AM Best ratings. Goodville is not among the insurers ranked in J.D. Power's 2026 U.S. Auto Insurance Study for the Mid-Atlantic, North Central or Central regions that cover its states.

Who it suits

Goodville suits drivers in its operating states who want a small, conservatively run mutual and a local agent, and households that can combine auto with a Goodville home or farm policy for the account discount and the single-deductible benefit. Its church insurance line reflects its Mennonite origins, but anyone in its territory can buy a policy. Drivers who want to buy online, use a telematics discount or get a national brand's app and claims network should look elsewhere.

• Strengths: A (Excellent) AM Best rating with a balance sheet AM Best assesses as strongest; a 100-year record; free collision deductible waiver when two Goodville customers collide; strong discount list for students and safe drivers.
• Weaknesses: Sold only through independent agents; footprint limited to eight states; no telematics program; AM Best flagged 2023 auto results as a pressure point.

How to contact Goodville Mutual