Letter from President and CEO Andrew G. Burkart

When I began working and reflecting on the agency’s history, I realized that I didn’t know much about--nor had I worked with--many of the influencers of Burkart-Heisdorf Insurance, even though as an “insurance kid” I had been around for half of the agency’s history.

Today it is not uncommon for a family to have four or even five generations present, but this would have been very rare in the not-so-distant past.  My father never met his grandfather, Alexius, and I don’t remember much being said about him when I was growing up.

When Alexius Burkart made the decision to immigrate from Buehlertal, Germany to Sheboygan, Wisconsin with his four sons and four daughters in 1884, it can be certain that the insurance world never crossed his mind. 

Burkart family tradition has it that after Alexius’ service in the French Foreign Legion—which had taken him to Mexico with Maximilian and to Algiers during the French Colonial Wars in Africa—he had seen enough of the military and did not want his sons drafted into the German Army, which would have been compulsory in the era of Bismarck.  That part of his plan did not exactly work out, however, as two sons would serve in the American Army during the Spanish American War, and three grandsons served in the Army, Navy, and Army Air Force during World War II.

While the national service of family generations was not in Alexius’ foresight, it is doubtful that he also envisioned or even imagined the impact his family would have on the Wisconsin insurance landscape.  Two of his sons, Alex and Hubert Burkart, started agencies that are still in existence today.  In addition, four grandsons entered the insurance industry; two became CPCUs (Chartered Property & Casualty Underwriters), and one became a CLU (Chartered Life Underwriter), all enjoying long and successful careers in the industry.

As Alexius’ family began growing their roots in America, the agency also started laying down the base of its foundation.  The Burkart-Heisdorf story mirrors the development of the Property/Casualty and Life Insurance industries.  It is a story of hard-working and caring entrepreneurs such as Hubert Burkart, Adolph Heisdorf, and Robert McCabe, who sold insurance in addition to having other occupations.

The agency’s story also parallels that of so many other young men of the Greatest Generation who used the newly-enacted GI Bill to obtain a college degree following service in World War II—a dream that would have been difficult to achieve a generation before. Following his graduation from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Andrew R. Burkart began his insurance career as a Field Adjustor for Milwaukee Mutual, and in 1955 he purchased the Burkart Agency from his father, Hubert Burkart.  The agency grew slowly and merged with another family agency with similar roots in 1971—the Heisdorf Insurance Agency and Jerry Heisdorf.

At the same time, the insurance industry began a new era of increasing professional status.  Both Andrew R. Burkart and Jerry Heisdorf were on the forefront of this industry change; Andrew was ultimately elected President of the Independent Insurance Agents of Wisconsin, and Jerry was elected President of the Professional Insurance Agents of Wisconsin.  The agency also began a tradition of education, with Andrew being awarded his Chartered Property and Casualty Underwriter designation in 1970.

Along with this growth of knowledge came the steady development of the agency, both organically and from strategic acquisitions, which included the McCabe Insurance Agency, with Mark McCabe (son of Robert McCabe) joining the agency in 1982; Mount Horeb Insurance in 1994; the Bahr (or Bill Doyle) Agency in Green Lake in 2005; and the Hilltop Agency in Cross Plains in 2006.  As the agency grows, the tradition of client care and the legacy of Hubert Burkart, Adolph Heisdorf, and Robert McCabe remain its bedrock.