Auto-Owners Insurance
Encyclopedia
Auto-Owners Insurance is a Fortune 500
Company, and has been every year since 2002. The company was founded in 1916 by Vernon Moulton in Mount Pleasant, Michigan
. Today, it is headquartered in Delta Township, Michigan and has over 65 full service and claims branches nationwide. Although the name suggests only auto insurance is provided, it actually provides many lines of insurance including property, liability, auto, garage, workers compensation, farm, and life. It has been rated by J.D. Power and Associates for having the "highest claims satisfaction" in auto insurance for 2008, 2009 and 2010. Subsidiary Companies include: Auto-Owners Life Insurance Company, Home-Owners Insurance Company, Owners-Insurance Company, Property-Owners Insurance Company, and Southern-Owners Insurance Company. Its infrastructure is primarily mainframe-based.
Auto-Owners history can be traced back from its present management to the early leadership of Vern V. Moulton who, in 1916, organized Auto-Owners Insurance Company in Mt. Pleasant, Michigan The infant Company had no capital and was housed in one room of a bank building.
Auto-Owners operated in Mt. Pleasant for a little less than a year. In 1917, V.V. Moulton literally picked up the Company, placed it under his arm and in his pocket ("The Auto-Owners Insurance Co. financial statement at the end of 1916 revealed assets of $174, a networth of $0, annual premium income of $2,060, and 10 losses paid totalling $186."), and moved Auto-Owners to Lansing, Michigan.
It wasn't long before the Depression began when Auto-Owners weathered the lowest point of that era - the bank holidays of February 1933. The Company demonstrated its corporate strength and financial stability by paying all claims promptly, daily, and in cash. The firm was then writing more than $2.5 million in insurance premiums.
Auto-Owners entered the general casualty insurance field in 1940, having previously written only automobile insurance. During the next five years, the Company found it necessary to acquire three more buildings in the vicinity of its main office to accommodate its continued growth. In 1951, it consolidated all of its offices into one home office, which was constructed in downtown Lansing.
The Company wrote business in Michigan exclusively from 1916 until 1935, when it began writing insurance in Indiana and Ohio. In the '40s, Auto-Owners extended operations to include Illinois and Minnesota and, during the '50s, Iowa, North and South Dakota, Florida, Missouri, Alabama, Tennessee, and North and South Carolina. The Company began operations in Wisconsin in 1969, Georgia in 1973, Nebraska in 1978, Arizona in 1982, Virginia in 1989, Kentucky in 1994, Kansas in 1996, Utah in 1997, Colorado in 1999, Arkansas in 2005 and Idaho in 2006.
In November 2009 Auto-Owners began writing insurance in Pennsylvania, its 26th state.
Today, Auto-Owners has full-service offices in Lansing, Michigan; Traverse City, Michigan; Montgomery, Alabama; Mesa, Arizona; Westminster, Colorado; Lakeland, Florida; Tallahassee, Florida; Duluth, Georgia; West Des Moines, Iowa; Marion, Indiana; Peoria, Illinois; Lexington, Kentucky; White Bear Lake, Minnesota; Columbia, Missouri; Charlotte, North Carolina; Fargo, North Dakota; Lima, Ohio; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Columbia, South Carolina; Brentwood, Tennessee; Draper, Utah; Forest, Virginia; and Appleton, Wisconsin; with claims offices in 75 cities.
The current Auto-Owners home office is located in a business and residential complex called Verndale, in Delta Township, west of Lansing. This building was constructed in 1975 and has been expanded three times, increasing its size to 404616 square feet (37,590.1 m²).
The Lansing corporate office services not only Auto-Owners Insurance Company, but its subsidiary companies: Auto-Owners Life Insurance Company, Home-Owners Insurance Company, Owners Insurance Company, Property-Owners Insurance Company, and Southern-Owners Insurance Company. The Lansing branch underwriting and Lansing branch claims offices are also housed in the same complex.
The Companies are represented by more than 6,200 independent agencies, selling personal and commercial property/casualty and life, health and annuity insurance in 26 states. Total associates number more than 3,500.
Auto-Owners property and casualty companies have the highest possible ratings from A.M. Best Company, A++ (Superior), and the Auto-Owners Life Insurance Company is rated A+ (Superior). The companies are also rated very highly in ratings assigned by other nationally recognized independent rating authorities. "Auto-Owners Insurance Group is one of only 10 groups of insurance companies to be rated A++ by A.M. Best, a nationally recognized rating agency for insurance companies."
Auto-Owners Life Insurance Company
Owners Insurance Company
Home-Owners Insurance Company
Property-Owners Insurance Company
Southern-Owners Insurance Company
Fortune 500
The Fortune 500 is an annual list compiled and published by Fortune magazine that ranks the top 500 U.S. closely held and public corporations as ranked by their gross revenue after adjustments made by Fortune to exclude the impact of excise taxes companies collect. The list includes publicly and...
Company, and has been every year since 2002. The company was founded in 1916 by Vernon Moulton in Mount Pleasant, Michigan
Mount Pleasant, Michigan
Mount Pleasant is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Isabella County. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 25,946. The 2008 census estimate places the population at 26,675....
. Today, it is headquartered in Delta Township, Michigan and has over 65 full service and claims branches nationwide. Although the name suggests only auto insurance is provided, it actually provides many lines of insurance including property, liability, auto, garage, workers compensation, farm, and life. It has been rated by J.D. Power and Associates for having the "highest claims satisfaction" in auto insurance for 2008, 2009 and 2010. Subsidiary Companies include: Auto-Owners Life Insurance Company, Home-Owners Insurance Company, Owners-Insurance Company, Property-Owners Insurance Company, and Southern-Owners Insurance Company. Its infrastructure is primarily mainframe-based.
History
Auto-Owners Insurance is the "16th largest Michigan-based company on the FORTUNE 500 list," according to PR Newswire. "With $5.017 billion in revenue for 2009, [the company remains] the second largest property-casualty mutual insurance company in the nation."Auto-Owners history can be traced back from its present management to the early leadership of Vern V. Moulton who, in 1916, organized Auto-Owners Insurance Company in Mt. Pleasant, Michigan The infant Company had no capital and was housed in one room of a bank building.
Auto-Owners operated in Mt. Pleasant for a little less than a year. In 1917, V.V. Moulton literally picked up the Company, placed it under his arm and in his pocket ("The Auto-Owners Insurance Co. financial statement at the end of 1916 revealed assets of $174, a networth of $0, annual premium income of $2,060, and 10 losses paid totalling $186."), and moved Auto-Owners to Lansing, Michigan.
It wasn't long before the Depression began when Auto-Owners weathered the lowest point of that era - the bank holidays of February 1933. The Company demonstrated its corporate strength and financial stability by paying all claims promptly, daily, and in cash. The firm was then writing more than $2.5 million in insurance premiums.
Auto-Owners entered the general casualty insurance field in 1940, having previously written only automobile insurance. During the next five years, the Company found it necessary to acquire three more buildings in the vicinity of its main office to accommodate its continued growth. In 1951, it consolidated all of its offices into one home office, which was constructed in downtown Lansing.
The Company wrote business in Michigan exclusively from 1916 until 1935, when it began writing insurance in Indiana and Ohio. In the '40s, Auto-Owners extended operations to include Illinois and Minnesota and, during the '50s, Iowa, North and South Dakota, Florida, Missouri, Alabama, Tennessee, and North and South Carolina. The Company began operations in Wisconsin in 1969, Georgia in 1973, Nebraska in 1978, Arizona in 1982, Virginia in 1989, Kentucky in 1994, Kansas in 1996, Utah in 1997, Colorado in 1999, Arkansas in 2005 and Idaho in 2006.
In November 2009 Auto-Owners began writing insurance in Pennsylvania, its 26th state.
Today, Auto-Owners has full-service offices in Lansing, Michigan; Traverse City, Michigan; Montgomery, Alabama; Mesa, Arizona; Westminster, Colorado; Lakeland, Florida; Tallahassee, Florida; Duluth, Georgia; West Des Moines, Iowa; Marion, Indiana; Peoria, Illinois; Lexington, Kentucky; White Bear Lake, Minnesota; Columbia, Missouri; Charlotte, North Carolina; Fargo, North Dakota; Lima, Ohio; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Columbia, South Carolina; Brentwood, Tennessee; Draper, Utah; Forest, Virginia; and Appleton, Wisconsin; with claims offices in 75 cities.
The current Auto-Owners home office is located in a business and residential complex called Verndale, in Delta Township, west of Lansing. This building was constructed in 1975 and has been expanded three times, increasing its size to 404616 square feet (37,590.1 m²).
The Lansing corporate office services not only Auto-Owners Insurance Company, but its subsidiary companies: Auto-Owners Life Insurance Company, Home-Owners Insurance Company, Owners Insurance Company, Property-Owners Insurance Company, and Southern-Owners Insurance Company. The Lansing branch underwriting and Lansing branch claims offices are also housed in the same complex.
The Companies are represented by more than 6,200 independent agencies, selling personal and commercial property/casualty and life, health and annuity insurance in 26 states. Total associates number more than 3,500.
Auto-Owners property and casualty companies have the highest possible ratings from A.M. Best Company, A++ (Superior), and the Auto-Owners Life Insurance Company is rated A+ (Superior). The companies are also rated very highly in ratings assigned by other nationally recognized independent rating authorities. "Auto-Owners Insurance Group is one of only 10 groups of insurance companies to be rated A++ by A.M. Best, a nationally recognized rating agency for insurance companies."
Companies
Auto-Owners Insurance CompanyAuto-Owners Life Insurance Company
Owners Insurance Company
Home-Owners Insurance Company
Property-Owners Insurance Company
Southern-Owners Insurance Company
CEOs
| CEO | Years Served |
|---|---|
| Jeffery F. Harrold | 2010–present |
| Ronald H. Simon | 2008–2010 |
| Roger L. Looyenga | 2004–2008 |
| Herman J. Arends | 1993–2004 |
| Richard E. Otto | 1991–1993 |
| H. Max Tanner | 1988–1991 |
| Owen H. Marmon | 1984–1988 |
| Ralph E. Moulton | 1964–1984 |
| William C. Searl | 1958–1964 |
| Vern V. Moulton* | 1916–1958 |
- Auto-Owners founder Vern Moulton was president and chairman of the board. He performed the functions of a CEO, but no one held a CEO title until 1958.