He spoke with the Tazewell County Farm Bureau president, and those discussions helped to crystallize Mecherle's idea of starting "an honest insurance company."

Eventually, Mecherle's idea began taking shape and he opened his first office late in 1921 in the Illinois House in downtown Bloomington.

In January 1922, he developed a prospectus and presented it to the Illinois State Association of Mutual Insurance Companies meeting in Streator.

Mecherle attempted to adopt programs that gave financial strength to his growing company while providing unique benefits to policyholders beyond what was offered at the time.

For example, he adopted a strict no-drinking and driving provision to reduce accidents, and he also instituted the first installment payment program for premiums.