Get to Know Farmers Union Debbie Baumgarn Agency, Webster

Debbie Baumgarn loves her work as a Farmers Union Insurance Agent because of the people she serves.

“I enjoy working with people and developing relationships. It is important to me to build that trust with my customers, so they are comfortable with me helping them manage their risk,” Baumgarn said. “Because I focus on building relationships, the people I work with are not only my customers, but I consider them my friends as well.”

And Baumgarn enjoys helping her friends when they need their insurance coverage. “It is rewarding to see the impact insurance has when bad things happen. And if there is ever a problem, I rarely send them to an 800 number – I try and resolve the problem and come up a with a solution.”

For as much as she enjoys her work, Baumgarn said becoming an insurance agent was never in her career plans. “I didn’t know what I wanted to do. I always thought I would become a teacher, but I went to school for business and didn’t really have a plan for what to do after college.”

Then, a friend’s mom, who was a State Farm Insurance agent, offered her a job. With no other plans, the Watertown native took her up on the opportunity.

After she married her husband, Matthew, his dad, Larry, offered her a job working alongside him in his Farmers Union Insurance Agency in Webster.

“It is almost like this career fell into my lap,” she said. “It was not planned, but it is a positive and enjoyable career.”

Reflecting on the 14 years she worked alongside her father-in-law, Baumgarn said “bittersweet” is the best way to describe how she feels about becoming the second generation to lead the agency. Larry passed away suddenly and unexpectantly in 2023.

“He was looking to retire, so it was always the plan that I would eventually take over, but things didn’t happen the way we planned.”

When Larry passed, Baumgarn said the Farmers Union Insurance family supported her and the rest of the family Larry left behind.

“My Farmers Union Insurance family reached out, they showed up to the funeral and were very kind,” Baumgarn said. “They gave me the time and flexibility I needed to grieve and process before getting back to work, like family would do.”