Real Owners. Real Neighbors. Real Insurance.
We're not a franchise, a call center, or a territory assignment. We're Randy Rueth and Dan Bertelson — the people who own this agency, answer this phone number, and live in this community.
Who We Are and Why We Started Here
Insuring Badgerland is a second-generation independent insurance agency located at 5320 Monona Drive in Monona, Wisconsin. Randy and Dan bring more than 30 combined years of professional service experience to every client relationship — and both of them are as likely to be coaching a youth team on a Tuesday evening as they are to be at their desks on a Wednesday morning.
The agency name isn't a marketing exercise. It's a genuine reflection of where we're from. The UW Badgers identity runs through this community — in the red gear you see at every neighborhood block party, in the conversations at The Union, in the way people here root for the same things. We named this agency after that identity because it's ours too.
This is not a business that relocated here. It grew here.
What "Independent" Actually Means for You
Most people have a general sense that independent agencies are different from captive carriers — but the practical difference is worth spelling out.
When you work with a captive agent, that agent represents one company. Their job is to fit you into that company's products. When you work with us, our job is the opposite: we represent you, and we shop your coverage across multiple carriers to find the right fit for your situation.
We don't work for a carrier. We work for you. That's what independent means.
One of the carriers we're proud to represent is Erie Insurance — an A+ rated regional carrier that most local independent agencies don't have access to. Erie consistently competes on price and coverage quality for both personal and commercial lines, and having them in our portfolio gives our clients options that aren't available everywhere in the Madison area.
Rooted in Monona. Known Across the Madison Area.
Randy and Dan have spent years building relationships in Monona and the surrounding communities — not through advertising, but through showing up. That includes coaching local youth sports, serving on community boards, and maintaining an active presence in the neighborhoods where our clients live and work.
One of the clearest signals of that trust is the referral network we've built with Monona-area real estate professionals. Local agents refer their buyers and sellers to us because they know we understand the local property landscape — what homes here are worth, what coverage gaps show up at closing, and how to move quickly when a transaction has a deadline. That's a relationship built over years of doing the work right.
If you're buying your first home in Fitchburg, running a contracting business in McFarland, or renting an apartment near downtown Madison, you're working with people who know those markets from the inside.
You're a Client — Not a Policy Number
Large carriers have their advantages. Straightforward client relationships are not usually among them.
When you call Insuring Badgerland, you reach a named person. When something happens — a fender bender on the Beltline, a burst pipe on a January night, a workers' comp question from a new hire — you're not navigating a queue. You're calling someone who knows your policy, knows your situation, and can actually help.
That's the version of insurance service we set out to build. It's also the version our clients tell us they couldn't find anywhere else.
