COTTINGHAM AND BUTLER, INC.

COTTINGHAM AND BUTLER, INC. Cottingham and Butler, Inc. is a commercial and casualty insurance brokerage and claim administration firm. The company's founder, Dixon Cottingham, was born April 16, 1840, in Gunnerside, Swaledale, Yorkshire, England, the son of Dixon Cottingham and Isabelle Metcalfe. At the age of nine, Dixon started working in the mines of Yorkshire, and at the age of thirteen came to America with his family settling in Big Patch, Wisconsin in May 1853. Dixon Cottingham married Barbara White, whom he had lived near as a child, and together they had twelve children, six boys and six girls. After serving in the Wisconsin Voluntary Infantry in the CIVIL WAR, Dixon moved with his family to Dubuque. It was here that he owned and operated a farm while starting his own insurance agency.

The D. Cottingham & Son Insurance Agency, owned and operated by Dixon Cottingham and his son, John D. COTTINGHAM was established in 1887. These founding fathers were the great grandfather and grandfather respectively of current CEO, John E. Butler. The agency's main focus when founded was to offer insurance to individuals in the community. (1)

Ellis Butler married John Cottingham's daughter, Barbara, in 1929 and went to work for his father-in-law's agency in 1931. John Cottingham's daughter, Margaret Welch, was also working with the agency and provided critical assistance to the struggling business in the early years of the Great Depression. It was the influence of Ellis Butler during his years at Cottingham & Butler, Inc. that eventually moved the company in the direction of focusing on the larger commercial business insurance accounts. Ellis' wife, Barbara Cottingham Butler, though never an employee at the agency played a strong supporting role in the development of the business.

Ellis and Barbara's three sons eventually followed their father into the family business. John and Peter entered the company in the late 1950s with the youngest son, Tim, joining the company in 1971. John followed the direction of the commercial insurance division and became CEO of Cottingham & Butler, Inc. Peter Butler served as the president of Butler Services Company, a separate entity of Cottingham & Butler, Inc. Butler Services functioned as poultry insurance managing underwriters for Fireman's Fund for many years until Peter retired. Tim Butler worked with John and served as Vice President of Cottingham & Butler, Inc. until his retirement in 1997.

Cottingham & Butler, Inc. continued its focus on commercial business through the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s. With John Butler's leadership and the strong support of his wife, Alice, the 1980s brought a new dimension to the company with the founding of Self Insured Services Company (SISCO) in 1980, an affiliate of Cottingham & Butler, Inc. SISCO, a third party claim administration company, managed employee benefit plans as well as workers' compensation claims for companies throughout the United States. In 1997, SISCO was the 17th largest third party claims administrator in the country as noted in Society of Professional Benefit Administrators.

The 1990s saw John Butler's continued commitment as further growth opportunities were created with the establishment of HEALTHCORP, Safety Management Services Company, and Community Based Health Plans. In 1992 Safety Management Services Company was founded to provide loss control and other safety services to clients in a number of different industries. This staff of trained safety professionals worked to keep companies up-to-date with OSHA compliance regulations and offered loss control seminars. HEALTHCORP, established in 1993, provided managed care to employee benefit groups being serviced and to the company's self-insured workers' compensation clients. A staff of medical professionals, including a doctor and registered nurses, were the basis of this affiliate group. In 1997, Cottingham & Butler, Inc. noted the start of another affiliate, Community Based Health Plans. This division served self-insured benefit clients as a link to regional and national health care programs and alliances. In addition, they developed preferred provider organizations in partnership with the providers in many other communities. (1)

The picture of Cottingham & Butler, Inc. is an ever changing portrait of family heritage, company growth, and long-term success. Since its establishment in 1887, Cottingham & Butler, Inc. became one of the nation's foremost commercial property and casualty insurance brokerage firms. In 1997 Cottingham & Butler, Inc. along with its affiliate companies employed more than four hundred people. John Butler was joined in the business by his two children, Susan Butler and Andrew Butler. (2)

In January 2015 Cottingham and Butler, the 37th largest insurance broker in the United States with 625 employees nationwide, announced plans to add ninety new positions in Dubuque over the next three years. The company planned to lease an additional floor at 1000 Main to accommodate the expanded workforce. The additions, dependent upon the approval of local job-training funds and state incentives, would result in the companies workforce increasing to about 550. (3)

News of further expansion came in April 2016. Company officials announced that an additional ninety local jobs would be added in the next three years with expansion into the Roshek Building. The job additions would result in the workforce reaching approximately 640 employees. (4)

In October 2017, officials of the company announced the company would hire twenty employees to its Dubuque operation over the next three years. This was tied to a $2.3 million renovation of the second floor in the headquarters at 800 Main St. The company had 875 employees nationwide in a half dozen cities including Chicago, Illinois; Madison, Wisconsin; and San Diego, California with 650 in Dubuque. (5)

In 2019, Cottingham and Butler was the 25th largest insurance broker in the United States with 1,000 employees--700 of which were in Dubuque. The company had on average, over the preceding 30 years, 12% annual growth. With growth came the need for additional space. In 2019 the firm occupied office space in the O'Connor & Thomas building at 1000 Main St, Town Clock Building at 825 Main St., and the company headquarters at 800 Main. With no intention of vacating these premises, the firm announced a partnership with HEARTLAND FINANCIAL USA, INC. on November 29, 2019 to purchase the landmark DUBUQUE BUILDING for an estimated $12 million. (6)

See: DUBUQUE BUILDING

The 1934 Dubuque City Directory listed the address as 708 Federal Bank Building.

The 1937 Dubuque Consurvey Directory listed the company address, Cottingham & Butler Insurance Service, Inc., as 1105 Federal Bank Building.

The 1951 Dubuque City Directory listed 302 Stampfer Building.

The 1959 Dubuque City Directory listed 312 Stampfer Building.

The 1962 through 2019 Dubuque City Directory listed 300 Stampfer Building (800 Main).

---

Source:

1. John E. Butler

2. Montgomery, Jeff. "Insurance Group to Add 90 Jobs," Telegraph Herald, January 30, 2015, p. 1

3. "Cottingham & Butler to Expand," Tri-State Week in Review, Telegraph Herald, April 17, 2016, p. 23A

4. "Chronology," Telegraph Herald, January 1, 2017, p. 71

5. Montgomery, Jeff. "Cottingham & Butler to Expand," Telegraph Herald, October 19, 2017, p. 1

6. Montgomery, Jeff, "Companies to Buy Roshek Building," Telegraph Herald, November 29, 2019, p. 2A