National General Insurance

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National General Insurance
Company typeSubsidiary
IndustryInsurance and finance
Founded1920
HeadquartersWinston-Salem, North Carolina, United States
ProductsVehicle insurance, Home insurance
Number of employees
8,000
ParentNational General Holdings Corp.
Websitewww.nationalgeneral.com
National General Holdings Corp.
NasdaqNGHC
Russell 2000 Component

National General Insurance, formerly the GMAC Insurance Group is a Winston-Salem, North Carolina-based property and casualty insurance company. The company was founded in 1920. The company is the only insurance company in the United States to come from within the automotive industry.

The holding company for National General Insurance Personal Lines is National General Holdings Corp. As of August 2016, the company was owned by Barry Karfunkel and his family. Barry Karfunkel became the president of the company when Michael Karfunkel died. [1]

History

One of the two companies that became National General Insurance was life insurance company Integon, founded in Winston-Salem, North Carolina in 1920.[2] The second company was Motors Insurance Company, founded in 1925 by General Motors. It was seen as a way to offer damage coverage to GM vehicles sold by dealers and financed by GMAC (now Ally Financial).[3]

In 1969, Integon Corp. started a holding company and began insuring high-risk drivers.[citation needed] Integon underwent a number of changes in ownership and business emphases and struggled during the mid-1990s.[citation needed] In June 1997, GMAC announced they were acquiring Integon in a deal valued at $550M.[4] When the deal finally closed in October 1997, it was for $778M.[5] In 2000, Integon became GMAC Insurance Personal Lines.[citation needed]

In 2006, General Motors sold 51% of GMAC (now Ally Financial) to an affiliate of Cerberus Capital Management; at the time 1,179 worked in Winston-Salem.[6]

In 2009, American Capital Acquisition Corp., a unit of American Capital Partners LLC of Hauppauge, N.Y. bought GMAC's U.S. consumer property-casualty insurance business GMAC Insurance Holdings, Inc.[5]

On July 1, 2013, GMAC Insurance changed its name to National General Insurance.[7] The Winston-Salem operation moved from downtown to Madison Park in June 2014.[8]

References

  1. ^ "National General says CEO Michael Karfunkel dies". Reuters. 2016. Retrieved 2017-09-26. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  2. ^ "Integon to broaden its market". bizjournals.com. 1999-06-28. Retrieved 2016-08-13.
  3. ^ "Generations of GM History: Motors Insurance Corp". gmheritagecenter.com. Retrieved 2016-08-13.
  4. ^ "GMAC buys auto insurer". cnn.com. 1997-06-23. Retrieved 2016-08-13.
  5. ^ a b "GMAC Sold: AmTrust says it intends to keep majority of jobs in Winston-Salem". journalnow.com. 2009-10-20. Retrieved 2016-08-13.
  6. ^ Craver, Richard (December 1, 2006). "GMAC Sale Won't Affect Local Jobs". Winston-Salem Journal. p. D1.
  7. ^ Insurance Journal [1] Insurance Journal, June 20, 2013
  8. ^ Felder, Lynn (December 14, 2014). "Giving Back". Winston-Salem Journal. p. A1.