COMPANY·HISTORIES
NAIC 524113

Direct Life Insurance Carrier

How the companies in this industry began, and the forces that shaped them.

72companies1727–2000founding years72still active0no longer operating
§ 01

The industry over time

Companies foundedEconomyTechnologyEnvironmentHistory
FoundedThe Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc
1727
FoundedAssurances Générales de France
1818
FoundedPrudential plc
1848
FoundedSkandia Insurance Company, Ltd.
1855
FoundedLloyds TSB Group plc
1865
FoundedThe Yasuda Mutual Life Insurance Company
1880
FoundedNippon Life Insurance Company
1889
FoundedGrupo Financiero Banorte, S.A. de C.V.
1899
1903
TechnologyThe Wright brothers achieve powered flight.
FoundedDebeka Krankenversicherungsverein auf Gegenseitigkeit
1905
FoundedPan-American Life Insurance Company
1911
1914
EconomyWorld War I begins; global trade reorders.
FoundedTeachers Insurance and Annuity Association-College Retirement Equities Fund
1918
FoundedMitsui Mutual Life Insurance Company
1927
1929
EconomyThe stock market crashes; the Great Depression spreads worldwide.
FoundedHUK-Coburg
1933
1939
EconomyWorld War II begins; wartime production surges.
1945
EconomyThe war ends; a long global expansion begins.
1947
TechnologyThe transistor is invented.
1958
TechnologyThe integrated circuit is demonstrated.
FoundedMalayan Banking Berhad
1960
1962
EnvironmentSilent Spring launches the modern environmental movement.
FoundedLeucadia National Corporation
1968
1971
EconomyThe dollar leaves the gold standard; currencies float.
1973
EconomyThe OPEC oil embargo triggers a global shock.
1975
TechnologyThe personal-computer era begins.
FoundedConseco, Inc.
1979
EconomyA second oil crisis drives inflation higher worldwide.
1981
TechnologyThe IBM PC launches and sets a standard.
1984
TechnologyApple ships the Macintosh; the GUI era begins.
FoundedAlderwoods Group, Inc.
1987
EconomyBlack Monday: markets fall sharply around the world.
1989
HistoryThe Berlin Wall falls; global markets open up.
1991
TechnologyThe World Wide Web is released to the public.
1993
TechnologyThe Mosaic browser brings the web to everyone.
1995
TechnologyWindows 95 launches; the internet goes mainstream.
FoundedChina Life Insurance Company Limited
1996
1997
EconomyThe Asian financial crisis rattles global markets.
EnvironmentThe Kyoto Protocol sets the first climate targets.
2000
EconomyThe dot-com bubble bursts.
2004
TechnologySocial media and Web 2.0 take hold.
2007
TechnologyThe iPhone launches the smartphone era.
2008
EconomyThe global financial crisis freezes credit worldwide.
2010
TechnologyCloud computing goes mainstream for business.
2015
EnvironmentThe Paris Agreement sets global climate targets.
2020
EconomyThe COVID-19 pandemic upends the global economy.
2022
EconomyInflation spikes; central banks raise rates sharply.
2023
TechnologyGenerative AI reaches mainstream business use.
§ 02

The companies

Haci Omer Sabanci Holdings A.S. →
Active · Turkey
Haci Omer Sabanci Holdings A.S.
Old Mutual PLC →
Active · United Kingdom
Old Mutual PLC has shrugged off nearly 150 years as an almost exclusively South African financial services business,…
The Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc →
Active · founded 1727 · United Kingdom
The Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc ranks as the leading Scotland-based banking group and the number three bank in the…
FleetBoston Financial Corporation →
Active · founded 1791
FleetBoston Financial Corporation is the eighth largest bank in the United States and the largest in New England, with…
Citigroup Inc. →
Active · founded 1812
The largest financial services company in the world, with assets in excess of $1 trillion, Citigroup Inc.
Assurances Générales de France →
Active · founded 1818 · France
Assurances Générales de France, or AGF, is one of France's oldest and largest insurance companies, offering a full…
Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited →
Active · founded 1835 · Australia
Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited (ANZ) is the second largest of the "Big Four" banks in Australia,…
AXA Colonia Konzern AG →
Active · founded 1839 · Germany
AXA Colonia Konzern AG is Germany's fourth largest primary insurer based in Cologne.
New York Life Insurance Company →
Active · founded 1841
New York Life Insurance Company is one of the largest insurance companies in the United States and the world.
Prudential plc →
Active · founded 1848 · United Kingdom
Prudential plc (known as "the Pru") has a long-standing history as a dominant force in financial services in the United…
Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company →
Active · founded 1851
Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company (MassMutual) has changed slowly over a long period of time, and by doing so…
Banknorth Group, Inc. →
Active · founded 1852
One of the 30 largest commercial banking companies in the United States, Banknorth Group, Inc.
Victoria Group →
Active · founded 1853 · Germany
Düsseldorf-based Victoria Group, formerly known as Victoria Holding AG is one of Germany's leading groups of direct…
Skandia Insurance Company, Ltd. →
Active · founded 1855 · Sweden
Since its founding in 1855, Sweden's Skandia Insurance Company, Ltd.
Credit Suisse Group →
Active · founded 1856 · Switzerland
Credit Suisse Group, which began as a commercial bank in 1856, at a time when Switzerland was first embracing the…
Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company →
Active · founded 1857
Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company (NML)--the ninth largest U.S.
Bâloise-Holding →
Active · founded 1863 · Switzerland
Bâloise-Holding is positioning itself as a leading European integrated financial services provider.
Lloyds TSB Group plc →
Active · founded 1865 · United Kingdom
Lloyds TSB Group plc is one of the Big Four British clearing banks in the United Kingdom.
Metropolitan Life Insurance Company →
Active · founded 1866
Metropolitan Life Insurance Company (MetLife) has a long history of leadership in the financial services market.
Comerica Incorporated →
Active · founded 1871
Comerica Incorporated is a multi-state financial services company based in Detroit.
The Prudential Insurance Company of America →
Active · founded 1873
The Prudential Insurance Company of America is one of the largest diversified financial institutions in the world and,…
The Yasuda Mutual Life Insurance Company →
Active · founded 1880 · Japan
Despite severe economic conditions in Japan that have crippled the insurance industry, the Yasuda Mutual Life Insurance…
The Chubb Corporation →
Active · founded 1882
s: 52321 Security and Commodity Exchanges; 524113 Direct Life Insurance Carriers; 52413 Reinsurance Carriers; 524114…
Modern Woodmen of America →
Active · founded 1884
Modern Woodmen of America (MWA) is a leading fraternal life insurance society in the United States, with more than…
UnumProvident Corporation →
Active · founded 1887
UnumProvident Corporation is a holding company for a group of companies that collectively are the leading disability…
Nippon Life Insurance Company →
Active · founded 1889 · Japan
Nippon Life Insurance Company operates as the largest life insurance provider in Japan and one of the world's largest…
Allianz AG →
Active · founded 1890 · Germany
Once known primarily as a German insurance company, Allianz AG has grown to become one of the world's leading financial…
Banco de Chile →
Active · founded 1893 · Chile
Banco de Chile is the second largest private bank in Chile and the largest that remains under Chilean ownership.
Alleanza Assicurazioni S.p.A. →
Active · founded 1898 · Italy
Alleanza Assicurazioni S.p.A.
Grupo Financiero Banorte, S.A. de C.V. →
Active · founded 1899 · Mexico
Grupo Financiero Banorte, S.A.
Dr. August Oetker KG →
Active · founded 1902 · Germany
Dr.
HDI (Haftpflichtverband der Deutschen Industrie Versicherung auf Gegenseitigkeit V.a.G.) →
Active · founded 1903 · Germany
HDI (Haftpflichtverband der Deutschen Industrie Versicherung auf Gegenseitigkeit V.a.G.) is Germany's third largest…
Gerling-Konzern Versicherungs-Beteiligungs-Aktiengesellschaft →
Active · founded 1904 · Germany
Gerling-Konzern Versicherungs-Beteiligungs-Aktiengesellschaft (GKB) is the holding company for the family-owned Gerling…
Debeka Krankenversicherungsverein auf Gegenseitigkeit →
Active · founded 1905 · Germany
Debeka Krankenversicherungsverein auf Gegenseitigkeit, based in Koblenz, sees itself as Germany's number one private…
StanCorp Financial Group, Inc. →
Active · founded 1906
StanCorp Financial Group, Inc.
Jefferson-Pilot Corporation →
Active · founded 1907
Jefferson-Pilot Corporation is a major U.S.
Sumitomo Life Insurance Company →
Active · founded 1907 · Japan
In order to boost its financial market, Japan began laying the groundwork for deregulation in its finance and insurance…
Pan-American Life Insurance Company →
Active · founded 1911
Founded in 1911, Pan-American Life Insurance Company (PALIC) is a venerable mutual insurance company headquartered in…
UBS AG →
Active · founded 1912 · Switzerland
UBS AG was formed from the 1998 megamerger of Swiss Bank Corporation and Union Bank of Switzerland.
Sanlam Ltd. →
Active · founded 1918 · South Africa
Sanlam Ltd.
Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association-College Retirement Equities Fund →
Active · founded 1918
TIAA-CREF, or the Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association-College Retirement Equities Fund, was ranked as the…
State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company →
Active · founded 1922
State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company, the cornerstone in the State Farm Insurance Companies group, has been…
USAA →
Active · founded 1922
USAA is a diversified insurance and financial services company patronized primarily by U.S.
Old Republic International Corporation →
Active · founded 1923
Old Republic International Corporation, one of the 50 largest publicly held insurance organizations in the United…
Mitsui Mutual Life Insurance Company →
Active · founded 1927 · Japan
Among the top life insurers in the world, Mitsui Mutual Life Insurance Company for years also has ranked sixth among…
Transamerica-An AEGON Company →
Active · founded 1928
Transamerica--An AEGON Company, purchased by AEGON N.V.
Transamerica-An AEGON Company →
Active · founded 1928
Transamerica--An AEGON Company, purchased by AEGON N.V.
Torchmark Corporation →
Active · founded 1929
Torchmark Corporation is an insurance and diversified financial services holding company.
HUK-Coburg →
Active · founded 1933 · Germany
HUK-Coburg (whose full name is HUK-Coburg Haftpflicht-Unterst�tzungs-Kasse kraftfahrender Beamter Deutschlands AG) in…
CUNA Mutual Group →
Active · founded 1935
Based in Madison, Wisconsin, CUNA Mutual Group provides financial services to credit unions.
The Midland Company →
Active · founded 1938
The Midland Company generates the vast majority of its revenue through specialty insurance, targeting loss types that…
Alfa Corporation →
Active · founded 1946
The disclosure certainly did no serious harm to Alfa's reputation.
Malayan Banking Berhad →
Active · founded 1960 · Malaysia
Malayan Banking Berhad is the holding company overseeing Malaysia's largest bank, Maybank and a range of financial…
American International Group, Inc. →
Active · founded 1967
American International Group, Inc.
CNA Financial Corporation →
Active · founded 1967
As the unified holding company for a diverse group of insurance entities that date back to the second half of the 19th…
Guardian Financial Services →
Active · founded 1968 · United Kingdom
Once one of the largest composite insurers in the United Kingdom, Guardian Financial Services, known previously as…
Leucadia National Corporation →
Active · founded 1968
A holding company, Leucadia National Corporation owns businesses ranging from insurance to telecommunications.
Loews Corporation →
Active · founded 1969
Loews Corporation is a holding company with diversified interests in insurance, tobacco, offshore drilling, hotels, and…
AFLAC Incorporated →
Active · founded 1973
Established in April 1973 as the holding company for a specialized insurance subsidiary, AFLAC Incorporated now insures…
Virgin Group →
Active · founded 1973 · United Kingdom
Virgin Group is a diversified grouping of more than 200 privately held companies.
Conseco, Inc. →
Active · founded 1979
Conseco, Inc.
CIGNA Corporation →
Active · founded 1981
CIGNA Corporation is an insurance and financial services organization focusing on employee benefits, with its…
Aetna Inc. →
Active · founded 1982
Specializing in managed healthcare, Aetna Inc.
Mediolanum S.p.A. →
Active · founded 1982 · Italy
Holding company Mediolanum S.p.A.
Alderwoods Group, Inc. →
Active · founded 1987 · Canada
Alderwoods Group, Inc., is North America's second largest operator of funeral homes and cemeteries.
Svenska Handelsbanken AB →
Active · founded 1987 · Sweden
In its infancy, Svenska Handelsbanken AB was a small bank, with operations confined to the city of Stockholm.
Danske Bank Aktieselskab →
Active · founded 1990 · Denmark
Danske Bank Aktieselskab is the largest banking group in Denmark and among the three largest in Scandinavia.
St. James's Place Capital, plc →
Active · founded 1991 · United Kingdom
St.
China Life Insurance Company Limited →
Active · founded 1996 · China
China Life Insurance Company Limited is the largest life insurer in the People's Republic of China.
Irish Life & Permanent Plc →
Active · founded 1998 · Ireland
That announcement provided Irish Permanent's Douglas with the opening to propose a new merger between his company and…
Aviva PLC →
Active · founded 2000 · United Kingdom
The product of multiple mergers, Aviva PLC is the United Kingdom's largest insurance and financial services group and…
Grupo Financiero Galicia S.A. →
Active · founded 2000 · Argentina
Grupo Financiero Galicia S.A.
Build It Today

Starting a direct life insurance carrier company now

Each week we rebuild one of these stories for today's tools and capital.