Western & Southern Financial Group

Western & Southern Financial Group, also commonly referred to as Western & Southern, is a Cincinnati, Ohio-based diversified family of financial services companies with assets owned, managed and under care in excess of $52 billion as of March, 2011. It is one of the eight highest-rated life insurance groups in the world based on Standard & Poor's rating.

With heritage dating back to 1888, Western & Southern is a Fortune 500 company ranking at 482 as of 2012. Through its member companies, Western & Southern offers a variety of financial services such as life insurance, annuities, mutual funds and investment management. Western & Southern's member companies include The Western & Southern Life Insurance Co, Western-Southern Life Assurance Co, Columbus Life Insurance Co, Lafayette Life Insurance Co, IFS Financial Services, Fort Washington Investment Advisors, Eagle Realty Group, Integrity Life Insurance Co, and National Integrity Life Insurance Co.

Western & Southern's annual report is available at "Western Southern Annual Report". Western & Southern Financial Group. Retrieved 2011-05-20.

Western & Southern hosts the Western & Southern Open tennis tournament. This tennis event has contributed more than $5.5 million to charities in the Greater Cincinnati community.

Western & Southern played a key role in the development of the Great American Tower at Queen City Square project in downtown Cincinnati, Ohio.

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Westfield Insurance

Westfield Insurance, the primary subsidiary of Westfield Group, is a multi-line provider of business property & liability insurance, personal lines insurance (including auto, homeowner's and specialty), agribusiness insurance, and surety bonds. Based in Westfield Center, Ohio, Westfield employs over 2,400 nationwide including 1,700 in their home office. Despite its rural location, it is the largest employer in rapidly-growing Medina County.

Westfield began as Ohio Farmers Insurance Company in 1848, when a group of farmers joined forces to insure their properties. In 2010, the company collected $1.4 billion in premiums. At the helm are Bob Joyce, Executive Chair of Westfield Group, Jim Clay, CEO of Westfield Group, and Ed Largent, President of Westfield Insurance.

Westfield's products are distributed through a network of more than 1,200 independent insurance agents, and now the company has grown to become one of the top 50 property-casualty insurers in the U.S. It is also one of the nation's top-ten providers of farm insurance.

In addition to providing insurance and financial services, Westfield owns the Westfield Group Country Club, a 36-hole championship golf course which hosted the Junior PGA Championship until 2007. Also on company grounds are the Blair Center (a convention center), Westfield Bank, and Westfield Inn, a newly-renovated private hotel. The Home Office, Country Club, Blair Center, Bank, and Inn are all situated in the heart of the small Village of Westfield Center. The Colonial & New England architecture of the company buildings lends a distinct appearance to the town square.

Westfield Insurance also sponsors seven televised High School Scholastic Competitions including the Brain Game, Academic Challenge, Hometown High-Q, In the Know, Quizbusters and BrainBusters.

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White Mountains Insurance Group

White Mountains Insurance Group (NYSE: WTM) is a holding company with business interests in property and casualty insurance, and reinsurance. The group owns reinsurer Sirius and a 75% stake in specialty insurance carrier OneBeacon. It is based in Hanover, New Hampshire.

It is owned by Jack Byrne who in 1985 was invited to run the troubled Fireman's Fund, then a subsidiary of American Express. Fireman's had incurred $356 million in pretax losses in 1983 and 1984. Byrne greatly improved Fireman's financial performance and initiated a public offering of some of Fireman's shares in 1985. The company was sold to Allianz AG in 1991. Byrne, meanwhile, retained the Fireman's holding company, which he later renamed White Mountains.

White Mountains Insurance Group, Ltd. (White Mountains or the Company) is a financial services holding company with primary business interests in property and casualty insurance and reinsurance. The Company's corporate headquarters and its registered office are located in Hamilton, Bermuda and its principal executive office is located in Hanover, New Hampshire.

The Company conducts its principal businesses through:

• Sirius Group - global reinsurance.
• OneBeacon - specialty insurance. OneBeacon's common shares are listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "OB". White Mountains holds a 75% interest in OneBeacon as of 12/31/11.
• White Mountains Advisors - investment management with $34 billion of assets under management as of 12/31/11.

White Mountains' common shares are listed on the New York Stock Exchange and the Bermuda Stock Exchange under the symbol "WTM". Market capitalization as of December 31, 2011 was approximately $3.4 billion.

As of December 31, 2011, White Mountains reported total assets of $14.1 billion, adjusted shareholders equity of $4.1 billion, and Adjusted Book Value per Share of $542.

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WellPoint

WellPoint, Inc. is the largest managed health care, for-profit company in the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. It was formed when WellPoint Health Networks, Inc. merged into Anthem, Inc., with the surviving Anthem adopting the name, WellPoint, Inc. and began trading its common stock under the WLP symbol on December 1, 2004. In 2009, WellPoint sold its NextRx subsidiaries to Express Scripts for $4.675 billion.

WellPoint is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association and serves its members as the Blue Cross licensee for California; the Blue Cross and Blue Shield licensee for Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Missouri (excluding 30 counties in the Kansas City area), Nevada, New Hampshire, New York (as Blue Cross Blue Shield in 10 New York City metropolitan counties and as Blue Cross, Blue Shield or Blue Cross Blue Shield in selected upstate counties only), Ohio, Virginia (excluding the Northern Virginia suburbs of Washington, D.C.), Wisconsin; and through UniCare. In addition to Blue Cross, the company also operates under the Anthem name.

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Blue Cross Blue Shield Association (BCBSA)

The Blue Cross Blue Shield Association (BCBSA) is a federation of 38 separate health insurance organizations and companies in the United States. Combined, they directly or indirectly provide health insurance to over 99 million Americans. The history of Blue Cross dates back to 1929, while the history of Blue Shield dates to 1939. The Blue Cross Association dates back to 1960, while its Blue Shield counterpart was actually created in 1948. The two organizations merged in 1982, forming the current association.

History

Blue Cross and Blue Shield developed separately, with Blue Cross plans providing coverage for hospital services, while Blue Shield covered physicians' services.

Blue Cross is a name used by an association of health insurance plans throughout the United States. Its predecessor was developed by Justin Ford Kimball in 1929, while he was vice-president of Baylor University's health care facilities in Dallas, Texas. The first plan guaranteed teachers 21 days of hospital care for $6 a year, and was later extended to other employee groups in Dallas, and then nationally. The American Hospital Association (AHA) adopted the Blue Cross symbol in 1939 as the emblem for plans meeting certain standards. In 1960 the AHA commission was superseded by the Blue Cross Association. Affiliation with the AHA was severed in 1972.

The Blue Shield concept was developed at the beginning of the 20th century by employers in lumber and mining camps of the Pacific Northwest to provide medical care by paying monthly fees to medical service bureaus composed of groups of physicians. The first official Blue Shield Plan was founded in California in 1939. In 1948 the symbol was informally adopted by nine plans called the Associated Medical Care Plan, and was later renamed the National Association of Blue Shield Plans.

In 1982 Blue Shield merged with The Blue Cross Association to form the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association.

Prior to the Tax Reform Act of 1986, organizations administering Blue Cross Blue Shield were tax exempt under 501(c) as social welfare plans. However, the Tax Reform Act of 1986 revoked that exemption because the plans sold commercial-type insurance. They became 501(m) organizations, subject to federal taxation but entitled to "special tax benefits" under IRC 833. In 1994, the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association changed to allow its licensees to be for-profit corporations. Some plans[specify] are still considered not-for-profit at the state level.

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Assurant

Assurant, Inc. is a holding company with businesses that provide a diverse set of specialty, niche-market insurance products in the property, casualty, life and health insurance sectors. The company’s four operating segments are Assurant Employee Benefits, Assurant Health, Assurant Solutions and Assurant Specialty Property.

The company, formerly known as Fortis, Inc., was spun off from Dutch and Belgian financial-services company Fortis Insurance N.V. in 2004. The company’s initial public offering on Feb. 5, 2004 at $1.76 billion was the fourth largest that year. In connection with the public offering, the company changed its name to Assurant, Inc.

Headquartered in New York City, Assurant is 285 on the Fortune 500 list of the largest publicly traded companies in the United States. It also is included in the Ward’s 50, which recognizes the top property-casualty insurance companies domiciled in the United States.

History

Assurant recently celebrated its 120th anniversary, tracing its roots back to founding of the La Crosse Mutual Aid Association, which was established to sell disability insurance in Wisconsin in the early 1890s. La Crosse Mutual Aid Association would later become the Time Insurance Company. In 1978, N.V. AMEV of the Netherlands acquired the Time Insurance Company (now Assurant Health) via its U.S. holding company AMEV Holdings, Inc. During the next 12 years, AMEV Holdings, Inc. would expand through acquisition, buying American Security Insurance (credit-related insurance); United Family (funeral insurance); Western Insurance Company (mutual funds); and Superior Insurance (auto insurance). In 1990, N.V. AMEV of the Netherlands acquired VSB Groep NV bank to become the Netherlands first financial conglomerate combining an insurer and a bank, creating Fortis. AMEV Holdings, Inc. was rebranded Fortis, Inc. in 1991. The business was subsequently renamed as Assurant and spun off from the parent company. 

Products and Services

In March 2010, Assurant Solutions and IBM unveiled a Real-Time Analytics Matching Platform (RAMP) to improve call center performance. RAMP is an application that works by analyzing historical data about the individual caller and the skill set of customer service representatives to optimize the routing of the call. As calls come in they are assigned to a customer service representative based on their expertise and past performance, improving customer response and retention rates.

In May 2012, Assurant launched solar project insurance for developers of mid-size (100 kW to 3 MW) solar projects.

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Amerigroup

Amerigroup (NYSE: AGP) is an American managed care company, with two main goals: to meet the needs of Amerigroup members while keeping costs low. Amerigroup has more than 2.7 million members, and currently operates in 13 states nationwide including Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Maryland, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York State, Ohio, Tennessee, Washington, Texas, and Virginia and expects operations to its 14th state, Kansas, as a result of a previously awarded state contract. It is a Fortune 500 company.

History
Amerigroup began as AMERICAID Community Care in 1994 and was initially aimed at the health care problems of children, mothers and pregnant women enrolled in Medicaid. Amerigroup became a publicly traded corporation in the fall of 2001. Today, Amerigroup serves more than 2.7 million members including Supplemental Security Income recipients, seniors and people with disabilities, many with complex physical and psychological illnesses. In 2006, Amerigroup entered the Medicare Advantage program, serving low-income people who are eligible for both Medicare and Medicaid through special needs plans. In 2007, Amerigroup began the operation of traditional Medicare Advantage plans. Currently, Amerigroup offers health care services through three government programs that target different segments of the country’s low-income population: Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) and Medicare

Health Care Products :

•  Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP)
•  Seniors and People with Disabilities (S/PD)
•  Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)
•  Family Care
•  Medicare Advantage

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Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company

Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company & Affiliated Companies is a group of large U.S. insurance and financial services companies based in Columbus, Ohio. The company also operates regional headquarters in Des Moines, Iowa, San Antonio, Texas, Gainesville, Florida, and Lynchburg, Virginia.

Nationwide Financial Services, a component of the group, was partially floated on the New York Stock Exchange prior to being repurchased by Nationwide Mutual in 2009. It had owned the majority of NFS common stock since it had gone public in 1997.

The Companies

Nationwide is one of the largest insurance and financial services companies in the world, focusing on domestic property and casualty insurance, life insurance and retirement savings, asset management, and strategic investments.

History
Beginnings as Farm Bureau Mutual

On December 17, 1925, the Ohio Farm Bureau Federation incorporated the Farm Bureau Mutual Automobile Insurance Company in Columbus, Ohio. At that time, Ohio law required 100 people to pledge to become policyholders. The first agents managed to recruit ten times that number, and on April 12, 1926, Farm Bureau Mutual started business with 1,000 policyholders.

The first product of the new company, as its name implied, was automobile insurance. The company wrote policies only to Ohio farmers. In 1928, Farm Bureau Mutual began offering policies to West Virginia farmers, followed by Maryland, Delaware, Vermont, and North Carolina. Farm Bureau Mutual began underwriting residents of small towns in 1931, and residents in larger cities in 1934.

Expansion
Also in 1934, Farm Bureau Mutual began offering fire insurance. This product grew the following year with the purchase of a struggling fire insurance company. With growth came a need for expansion of office space. In 1936, the company moved to the famous 246 Building at 246 N. High Street in Columbus. By 1943, Farm Bureau Mutual operated in 12 states and the District of Columbia. Even with the tripling of space in the 246 Building (which was finally dedicated on the 25th anniversary of the company), Farm Bureau Mutual still had insufficient office space, and began opening regional offices in 1951.

In 1955, Farm Bureau Mutual changed its name to Nationwide Insurance, a name by which it's commonly known today. In the 10 years that followed, Nationwide expanded into Oregon, making the company truly "nationwide". It also expanded into 19 other states, bringing the total by 1965 to 32 states and the District of Columbia.

Nationwide outgrew the 246 Building by the 1970s and work began on a new skyscraper headquarters for the company. In 1978, One Nationwide Plaza was completed at the southwest corner of N. High Street and Nationwide Blvd. on the northern edge of downtown Columbus, Ohio. Since 1978, Nationwide has added the following to its presence in Downtown Columbus: Plaza Two (on the northeast corner of High Street and Chestnut), Plaza Three (just west of High Street and Chestnut), Plaza Four (Front Street), and 275 Marconi (behind Plazas One and Three on Marconi Blvd) which together with Plaza One form the primary downtown complex. In addition to downtown Columbus, Nationwide also has a significant presence in the suburbs of Dublin and Grove City.

Nationwide currently has about 36,000 employees, and is ranked #100 in the most recent Fortune 500.

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New York Life Insurance Company

The New York Life Insurance Company (NYLIC) is one of the largest mutual life-insurance companies in the United States, and one of the largest life insurers in the world, with about $287 billion in total assets under management, and more than $15 billion in surplus and AVR.

The company ranks #71 on the 2011 Fortune 100 list, making it the highest privately held insurance company on that list. In 2007, NYLIC achieved the best possible ratings by the four independent rating companies (Standard & Poor's, AM Best, Moody's and Fitch). In June 2009, the same four rating companies reaffirmed New York Life's "superior" financial strength, which became a selling point in national TV ad campaigns that same year. 

The company is now one of only three life insurers to hold the highest ratings currently awarded to any life insurer by all four rating agencies (Moody's: Aaa, A.M. Best: A++. Standards & Poor's: AA+, Fitch: AAA. All of these are for financial strength. Other New York Life affiliates provide an array of securities products and services, as well as institutional and retail mutual funds.

History

The company was founded in 1845 as the Nautilus (Capt. Nemo) Insurance Company in New York City, with assets of just $17,000. It was renamed the New York Life Insurance Company in 1849. Its first headquarters were at 112-114 Broadway; the first president was James DePeyster Ogden. The current New York Life headquarters was designed by noted architect Cass Gilbert and completed in 1928. The New York Life building, at 51 Madison Avenue, was constructed during the presidency of Darwin P. Kingsley. He expanded the company’s operations and developed new types of insurance. As with other early insurance companies in the U.S., in its early years the company insured the lives of slaves for their owners. In response to bills passed in California in 2001 and in Illinois in 2003, the company reported that Nautilus sold 485 slaveholder life insurance policies during a two-year period in the 1840s; they added that their trustees voted to end the sale of such policies 15 years before the Emancipation Proclamation.

The company became known for innovative business practices. In 1860, well before state laws required it, New York Life developed the non-forfeiture option, the predecessor to the guaranteed cash values of modern policies, under which a policy remains in force even if a premium payment is missed. It was also the first American life insurance company to pay a cash dividend to policyholders, and the first U.S. company to issue policies to women at the same rates as men. Susan B. Anthony was one of their first female policy holders, and her father worked for NYLIC. In 1896, New York Life became the first company to insure people with disabilities and the first to issue a policy with a disability benefit that presumes total disability to be permanent after a predetermined period.

In the late 1990s New York Life was one of several large mutual life insurers to back a bill that would allow demutualization into a structure known as a mutual holding company (MHC). CEO Sy Sternberg himself argued strongly in favor of the bill, which was ultimately defeated. The NYLIC board of directors subsequently reversed course, with the company strongly and publicly embracing their mutual nature in a series of advertisements.

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American Association of Retired Persons (AARP)

AARP, formerly the American Association of Retired Persons, is a United States-based non-governmental organization and interest group, founded in 1958 by Ethel Percy Andrus, PhD, a retired educator from California, and based in Washington, D.C. According to its mission statement, it is "a nonprofit, nonpartisan membership organization for people age 50 and over ... dedicated to enhancing quality of life for all as we age," which "provides a wide range of unique benefits, special products, and services for our members."

History

Dr. Ethel Percy Andrus founded AARP in 1958. AARP evolved from the National Retired Teachers Association (NRTA), which Andrus had established in 1947 to promote her philosophy of productive aging, and in response to the need of health insurance for retired teachers. After ten years, Andrus opened the organization to all Americans over 50, creating AARP. Today, NRTA is a division within AARP. Dr. Andrus founded AARP while living in Ojai, California, where she had established an innovative new retirement home named Grey Gables. Ojai served as national headquarters for AARP from 1958 until the mid-1960s. Honors to Dr. Andrus include National Teacher of the Year in 1954, induction into the Women's Hall of Fame and, more recently, a medallion placed on the Points of Light Institute's "Extra Mile Pathway" in downtown Washington, D.C. According to Andy Rooney, AARP was established by Leonard Davis, founder of the Colonial Penn Group insurance companies, after he met Ethel Percy Andrus.

According to critics, until the 1980s AARP was controlled by Mr. Davis, who promoted its image as a non-profit advocate of retirees in order to sell insurance to members. After a lengthy competitive bidding process, AARP shifted the insurance contracts made available to members to Prudential in 1980. In the 1990s, the United States Senate investigated AARP's non-profit status, with Republican Senator Alan Simpson, then chairman of the United States Senate Finance Subcommittee on Social Security, Pensions, and Family Policy, questioning the organization's tax-exempt status in congressional hearings. According to Charles Blahous, the investigations did not reveal sufficient evidence to change the organization's status, though in an interview years later by the Des Moines Register, Senator Simpson remained "troubled by AARP's practices", calling AARP "the biggest marketing operation in America and money-maker" and an organization whose practices are "the greatest abuse of American generosity I witnessed in my time in the U.S. Senate."

The organization was originally named the American Association of Retired Persons, but in 1999 it officially changed its name to "AARP" (pronounced one letter at a time, "ay ay ar pee") to reflect that its focus was no longer American retirees. AARP no longer requires that members be retired, but be at least age 50; it does not extend full membership privileges to applicants who are retired but not yet 50.

Health care

AARP has been active in health care policy debates since c. 1960 and its recent engagement is a reflection of this long-standing involvement.

AARP's public stances influenced the United States Congress' passage of the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act, which authorized the creation of Medicare Part D, in 2003, and also influenced the Congress by resisting radical changes to Social Security in 2005. AARP also addressed health care issues in their campaign targeting the 2008 elections with Divided We Fail.

Health insurance

Approximately seven million people have AARP branded health insurance, including drug coverage and Medigap, as of April 2007 and AARP earns more income from selling insurance to members than it does from membership dues. In 2008, AARP plans to begin offering several new health insurance products: an HMO for Medicare recipients, in partnership with UnitedHealth Group; and a PPO and "a high-deductible insurance policy that could be used with a health savings account" to people aged 50–64, in partnership with Aetna. AARP will likely become the largest source of health insurance for Medicare recipients, and AARP estimates the new products will increase its health insurance customers to 14 million by 2014.

AARP is not an insurer and does not pay insurance claims. Instead, AARP allows its name to be used by insurance companies in the sale of insurance products, for which it is paid a commission like an insurance agent.

Senator Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa), senior Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, said in 2008 that the "limited benefit" insurance plans offered by AARP through UnitedHealth provided inadequate coverage and were marketed deceptively. One plan offered $5,000 for surgery that may cost two or three times that amount.

AARP does a "thriving business" in marketing branded Medigap policies. As of October 2009, Medical care reform contained a proposal to trim an associated program Medicare Advantage, which was expected to increase demand for Medigap policies. However, as cited above, AARP also brands a Medicare Advantage plan (MedicareComplete), and would also be subject to cuts under health care reform.

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American Automobile Association

AAA (American Automobile Association), formerly known as the American Automobile Association, is a federation of 51 independently operated motor clubs throughout North America. AAA is a not-for-profit member service organization with more than 51 million members. AAA provides services to its members such as travel, automotive, insurance, financial, and discounts. Its national headquarters are in Heathrow, Florida.

Members belong to one of 69 individual clubs (see List of AAA regional clubs), and the clubs in turn own AAA. The member clubs have arranged a reciprocal service system so that members of any participating club are able to receive member services from any other affiliate club. Member dues finance all club services as well as the operations of the national organization.

The vast majority of AAA clubs have "AAA" as part of their name, although the two largest AAA clubs by membership do not: the Automobile Club of Southern California and Auto Club South.

From the standpoint of the consumer, AAA clubs primarily provide emergency road services to members. These services, which include everything from lockouts, winching, tire changes, automotive first aid, and towing, are handled by private local towing companies contracted by a state AAA club. Many AAA clubs have an automotive fleet division serving large metro areas, while private towing companies cover the surplus call volume by area. Recently, certain clubs have implemented an "on the go" diagnostic/installation automotive battery program, which offers members an additional service to an ever more demanding commute. This is part of AAA's vision for the future of automotive services, termed "On the go".

Clubs also distribute road maps (including customized map guides for specific journeys, branded as "TripTik") and travel publications (TourBooks), and rate restaurants and hotels according to a "diamond" scale (one to five). The best hotels and restaurants according to AAA's criteria receive the Five Diamond Award. Many offices sell automobile liability insurance, provide travel agency, auto-registration and notary services. Maps, TourBooks, and travel agent services are generally free to members. AAA also offers member discounts through its "Show Your Card & Save" program.

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Prudential Financial, Inc

For more than 135 years, Prudential Financial, Inc., has helped individual and institutional customers grow and protect their wealth. Today, we are one of the world's largest financial services institutions with operations in the United States, Asia, Europe, and Latin America. We also have one of the most recognized and trusted brand symbols: The Rock , an icon of strength, stability, expertise, and innovation.

Insurance Overview

Whatever your budget and your needs, a life insurance policy from Prudential can help protect those who matter most to you.

Products

Life Insurance
Life insurance helps protect your family or provide a benefit for others.

Annuities
Planning for retirement? An annuity can provide retirement income you can't outlive.

Auto, Home, RV, Watercraft, and Personal Liability Insurance
Help protect your family and your assets from the unexpecte

Life insurance, disability insurance, and annuities are issued by The Prudential Insurance Company of America, Newark, NJ, and its affiliates. Each is a Prudential Financial company that is solely responsible for its own financial condition and contractual obligations. Our policies and contracts contain exclusions, limitations, reduction and terms for keeping them in force. A licensed financial professional can provide you with cost and complete details. The availability of other products varies by carrier and state. All guarantees are based on the claims-paying ability of the issuing company.

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ING Group

The ING Group (Dutch: ING Groep) is a global financial institution offering retail banking, direct banking, commercial banking, investment banking, asset management, and insurance services. ING is an abbreviation for Internationale Nederlanden Groep (English: International Netherlands Group).

The Orange Lion on ING's logo is a play on the Group's Dutch origins under the House of Orange-Nassau. ING is the Dutch member of the Inter-Alpha Group of Banks, a cooperative consortium of 11 prominent European banks.

According to Fortune magazine, in 2010 ING was the largest banking/financial services & insurance conglomerate in the world by revenue with gross receipts exceeding €54 billion (US$77 billion) per annum. The Group is also the world's 12th largest corporation by revenue according to the Global Fortune 500.  As of 2009, ING served over 85 million individual and institutional clients in more than 45 countries, with a worldwide workforce exceeding 100,000.

Insurance
In 1845 the fire insurance company the Assurantie Maatschappij tegen Brandschade de Nederlanden van 1845 (Fire insurance company of the Netherlands established 1845) was founded and grew to be the first insurance company with branches outside the Netherlands, of which it had 139 the world over by 1900. Two decades later in 1863 the life insurance company Nationale Levensverzekerings Bank (National Life Insurance Bank) was founded in Rotterdam. These two insurance companies would merge to form the combined insurance company the Nationale-Nederlanden in 1963. The combined insurance company would expand significantly during the 1970s and 1980s

Website : ing.com

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AXA Equitable Life Insurance Company

AXA Equitable Life Insurance Company, formerly The Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States, also known as The Equitable, was founded by Henry Baldwin Hyde in 1859. In 1991, AXA, a French insurance company, acquired majority control of The Equitable. In 2004 it officially changed its name to AXA Equitable Life Insurance Company.

History
Equitable Life Insurance opened its headquarters at the Equitable Life Building in 1875 near Wall Street. It had an excellent location with three entrances on Broadway (Manhattan), Pine Street, and Cedar Street. The edifice had six elevators and incomparable facilities for lawyers, who were located almost entirely in the building's upper stories. Aside from Hyde, who was president of Equitable, the firm's officers included James Waddell Alexander (Vice President), George W. Phillips (Actuary) who was Vice President of the Actuarial Society of America, and Samuel Borrowe (Secretary). Borrowe's family was a prominent New York family connected to the Hallett and Alsop families.

James Waddell Alexander, the son of James Waddel Alexander, was the company president at the time of the Hyde costume ball scandal in 1905, in which James Hazen Hyde, the son of the founder and a vice president of the company, was falsely accused through a media smear campaign initiated by Alexander and board directors E. H. Harriman, Henry Clay Frick, J.P. Morgan of charging a fabulous $200,000 costume ball to the company. The repercussions rocked Wall Street, and resulted in an investigation of the entire insurance industry by the State of New York.

After the company's headquarters building burned down in 1912, Equitable moved to the Equitable Building at 120 Broadway in Manhattan.

unique code : F2AHR9MF52G3

Website : http://www.axa-equitable.com

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American International Group (AIG)

American International Group, Inc., or AIG, is an American multinational insurance corporation. Its corporate headquarters is reported as 180 Maiden Lane in New York City (was formerly in the American International Building in New York City). The British headquarters office is on Fenchurch Street in London, continental Europe operations are based in La Défense, Paris, and its Asian headquarters office is in Hong Kong. According to the 2011 Forbes Global 2000 list, AIG was the 29th-largest public company in the world. It was listed on the Dow Jones Industrial Average from April 8, 2004 to September 22, 2008.

AIG suffered from a liquidity crisis when its credit ratings were downgraded below "AA" levels in September 2008. The United States Federal Reserve Bank on September 16, 2008 created an $85 billion credit facility to enable the company to meet increased collateral obligations consequent to the credit rating downgrade, in exchange for the issuance of a stock warrant to the Federal Reserve Bank for 79.9% of the equity of AIG. The Federal Reserve Bank and the United States Treasury by May 2009 had increased the potential financial support to AIG, with the support of an investment of as much as $70 billion, a $60 billion credit line and $52.5 billion to buy mortgage-based assets owned or guaranteed by AIG, increasing the total amount available to as much as $182.5 billion. AIG subsequently sold a number of its subsidiaries and other assets to pay down loans received, and continues to seek buyers of its assets.

History

AIG history dates back to 1919, when Cornelius Vander Starr established an insurance agency in Shanghai, China. Starr was the first Westerner in Shanghai to sell insurance to the Chinese, which he continued to do until AIG left China in early 1949—as Mao Zedong led the advance of the Communist People's Liberation Army on Shanghai. Starr then moved the company headquarters to its current home in New York City. The company went on to expand, often through subsidiaries, into other markets, including other parts of Asia, Latin America, Europe, and the Middle East.

In 1962, Starr gave management of the company's lagging U.S. holdings to Maurice R. "Hank" Greenberg, who shifted its focus from personal insurance to high-margin corporate coverage. Greenberg focused on selling insurance through independent brokers rather than agents to eliminate agent salaries. Using brokers, AIG could price insurance according to its potential return even if it suffered decreased sales of certain products for great lengths of time with very little extra expense. In 1968, Starr named Greenberg his successor. The company went public in 1969.

Beginning in 2005, AIG became embroiled in a series of fraud investigations conducted by the Securities and Exchange Commission, U.S. Justice Department, and New York State Attorney General's Office. Greenberg was ousted amid an accounting scandal in February 2005; he is still fighting civil charges being pursued by New York state. The New York Attorney General's investigation led to a $1.6 billion fine for AIG and criminal charges for some of its executives. Greenberg was succeeded as CEO by Martin J. Sullivan, who had begun his career at AIG as a clerk in its London office in 1970.

AIG purchased the remaining 39% that it did not own of online auto insurance specialist 21st Century Insurance in 2007 for $749 million.With the failure of the parent company and the continuing recession in late 2008, AIG rebranded its insurance unit to 21st Century Insurance. 

On June 15, 2008, after disclosure of financial losses and subsequent to a falling stock price, Sullivan resigned and was replaced by Robert B. Willumstad, Chairman of the AIG Board of Directors since 2006. Willumstad was forced by the US government to step down and was replaced by Edward M. Liddy on September 17, 2008. AIG's board of directors named Robert Benmosche CEO on August 3, 2009 to replace Mr. Liddy, who earlier in the year announced his retirement.

For more information click on the website : AIG.com

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American National Insurance Company

American National Insurance Company (ANICO) is a major American insurance corporation based in Galveston, Texas. The company and its subsidiaries operate in all 50 U.S. states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and American Samoa.

Company description

American National was founded in 1905 by Galveston businessman William Lewis Moody, Jr. Today the company offers a wide array of insurance products and services including life insurance, annuities, health insurance, property and casualty insurance, credit insurance, and pension plan services. Through its subsidiary, ANREM, the company founded and developed the large-scale housing development, South Shore Harbour, in League City, Texas.

Although a publicly traded company, the majority of the stock continues to be controlled by the Moody family through the Moody Foundation and Libby Shearn Moody Trust, which are administered by the trust department of the family owned Moody National Bank.

Financial ratings

American National is subject to insurance regulation and examination by all 50 states as well as federal entities like the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Federal Trade Commission. In addition, its records are audited by KPMG as well as the major financial rating agencies. The ratings reflect the company’s capitalization, operating performance and liquidity. American National was listed in Forbes Magazine in its "100 Most Trustworthy Companies" list for 2009.

• A. M. Best Company: A (Excellent)
• Standard and Poor's: AA- (Very Strong)

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American Income Life Insurance Company

American Income Life Insurance Company (formerly NASDAQ: AINC), based in Waco, Texas, provides supplemental life insurance to labor unions, credit unions, and associations. American Income Life (AIL) was founded in 1951. The company's executive offices have been located in Waco, Texas, since 1959. American Income Life is licensed in 49 states, the District of Columbia, Canada, and is registered to carry on business in New Zealand. AIL also has two wholly owned subsidiaries: National Income Life Insurance Company, licensed in the state of New York, and Union Heritage Life Assurance Company Limited, licensed in the Republic of Ireland.

AIL has more than two million policyholders (as of June 2010). With its New York subsidiary, National Income Life Insurance Company (NILICO), the company has combined assets of more than $2.2 billion, with more than $35.2 billion of life insurance in force (as of December 2010). American Income Life is a wholly owned subsidiary of Torchmark Corporation (NYSE: TMK), based in McKinney, Texas.

History

The company's history began in 1951 under the name American Income. American Income was chartered as a mutual assessment association in Indiana with $25,000 of borrowed capital. It was reinsured through American Standard as a new mutual reserve company in March 1951. American Income Insurance Company was officially founded in May 1951 by the company's president, Harold Goodman, and executive vice president, Bernard Rapoport (Goodman's nephew).

The company's home offices were located in Indianapolis, Indiana. American Income originally sold low-cost hospital insurance plans. During its first year, the company took in about $95,000 worth of premium income. The company reached $1 million worth of insurance premiums in 1953. By 1954, the company was receiving 6,000 insurance policy applications per month.

In September 1954, with $200,000 in capital and $100,000 of surplus, Goodman and Rapoport formed a new company called American Income Life Insurance Company (AIL). American Income Life reinsured the policies of American Income and was transformed from a mutual reserve company to a stock company. American Standard, the company's original insurer, was merged with American Income Life, and the company acquired about $400,000 worth of premiums.

Between 1954 and 1955, AIL's assets had doubled, its net reserve had tripled, its capital and surplus more than doubled, and it had about $15 million of insurance in force. In 1956, Rapoport desired to take the Indiana-based company national. He obtained a license in Ohio and opened a central office in Columbus. By the close of 1956, American Income Life was operating in thirteen states with 300 sales personnel in the field operating out of 96 general agencies. In March 1958, the company's home offices were moved from Indianapolis, Indiana, to Waco, Texas.

In 1961, AIL began providing supplemental insurance to members of labor unions and serving union policyholders in ways unfamiliar to the industry. For example, AIL waived payment of premiums by union members during an authorized strike action, a benefit still enforced in 2011. AIL also developed a college scholarship program for children of union members, and the company contributed to the strike funds of unions engaged in lawful strikes. The company was positioned as the only 100% union insurance company, and termed the phrase, “Be Union-Buy Union." In 1963, AIL's income was about $6 or $7 million. By 1973, income reached $31.5 million.

In June 1966, the Office and Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU) organized the Home Office staff, making AIL the only insurance company with all union employees. In October 1973, the company was granted an official designation as a Union Label company by the AFL-CIO. AIL was one of only two insurance companies in the entire United States with the official Union Label.

In 1994, American Income Life was sold to Torchmark Corporation for $563 million.

The total Lay-Off Waiver of Premium paid in 2010 was $1.3 million. This Lay-off Waiver of Premium provides for a waiver of premiums while the insured is on a qualified lay-off and is actively seeking work. 

American Income Life also paid a total of $124.4 million in life and health claims for 2010.

American Income Life Insurance Co. is suing Google Inc. and the unnamed owners of two websites for featuring unflattering web pages in the top page of search results for American Income Life Insurance

Products : Supplemental health and life insurance
Website http://www.ailife.com

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American Family Insurance

American Family Insurance (aka AmFam) is a private mutual company that focuses on property, casualty and auto insurance, but also offers commercial insurance, life, health, and homeowners coverage, as well as investment and retirement-planning products. A Fortune 500 company, its revenues for 2008 were over $6.7 billion.

History

American Family Insurance's history began on October 3, 1927, when insurance salesman Herman Wittwer opened the doors of Farmers Mutual Insurance Company in Madison, Wisconsin (not to be confused with the Farmers Insurance Group). At the time, the company's only product was auto insurance and its target market was farmers. Wittwer believed farmers presented lower risks than city drivers because they drove less often and not at all in the winter.

Over the years, Farmers Mutual expanded its market and product line to meet the changing needs of its customers. In 1963, Farmers Mutual changed its name to American Family Mutual Insurance Company to reflect its broader customer base

Subsidiaries

Companies of the American Family Insurance Group include:

American Family Mutual Insurance Company (AFMIC)

American Standard Insurance Company (ASIC)

American Family Life Insurance Company (AFLIC)

American Family Brokerage, Inc. (AFB)

American Family Insurance Company of Ohio (AFICO; Ohio subsidiary, companion to American Family Mutual Insurance Company)

American Standard Insurance Company of Ohio (ASICO; Ohio subsidiary; companion to American Standard Insurance Company of Wisconsin)

American Family Securities, LLC (AFS)

Amfam.com Inc.(AMFAM)

Products

American Family insurance products include: term, universal, and whole life insurance; personal and business auto insurance, personal umbrella insurance, home insurance; motorcycle, boat, motor home, snowmobile and car insurance; business liability key policy, and business policy package insurance; farm and ranch liability insurance; travel, trip cancellation, and global medical insurance

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