Guardian Life Insurance Company of America
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
This article does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (December 2006) |
 |
|
| Type | Mutual |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1860 |
| Headquarters | New York, New York, USA |
| Key people | Dennis J. Manning, President and CEO |
| Industry | Insurance: Life & Health |
| Revenue | ▲$7.396 Billion USD (2005) |
| Net income | ▲$375 Million USD (2005) |
| Employees | 5,000 (12/31/06) |
| Website | www.guardianlife.com |
The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America (GLICOA) is a Fortune 300 company founded in 1860 in New York, New York. It is the fourth largest mutual life insurance company in the United States.
Contents |
[edit] Current Business
Guardian has more than 5000 employees and more than 3,100 financial representatives and 86 agencies nationwide, working through 13 affiliate companies and subsidiaries. Guardian has nearly three million customers who hold the company's individual life and disability income insurance and investments products (such as variable annuities, mutual funds, stocks and bonds). It also has another five million customers covered by its employee benefits, including life, health and dental insurance; pension plans; and 401(k) products. For the fiscal year 2007, the company reported $7.4 billion in sales and $39.5 billion in assets.
[edit] History
Guardian founder Hugo Wesendonck, a German civil rights lawyer, participated in the 1848-49 revolution and helped draft a constitution for a united Germany. Accused of treason, he fled post-revolution Europe and landed in the U.S. With start-up funds from fellow German refugees, he opened Germania Life Insurance Company in 1860 on Wall Street in New York, to cover the growing number of German immigrants arriving on American shores. Two years later, he opened a branch in San Francisco, and later across the country, reaching territories such as Colorado, New Mexico and the Dakotas.
In 1868, Germania became the first U.S. insurance company to start an agency in Europe. By the early 1900s, almost half its business was outside North America, until the pressures of World War I forced it to stop its business in Europe.
In 1911 the company set up headquarters in New York City's Union Square. In 1917, the company changed its name to Guardian, in response to anti-German sentiment prevalent during World War I. In 1999 Guardian relocated to the Wall Street area (7 Hanover Square), after branching out into financial services.
[edit] Controversy
On October 14th, 2009 the Washington Times[1] reported the company cancelled all policies offering unlimited home nursing in effect in New York state when claims became too expensive.
Countdown with Keith Olbermann reported on 6 November 2009 that faced with adverse publicity, Guardian apologized and reversed their decision.
[edit] Miscellaneous
The Guardian has a relationship with Murry Bergtraum High School, a school in Lower Manhattan that focuses on business career; high school students there can intern for the company as clerical assistants.
[edit] External links
 |
This article on an insurance company is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
