Empire Life
Encyclopedia
The Empire Life Insurance Company (Empire Life or Empire Vie) is a Canadian life insurance and financial services
Financial services
Financial services refer to services provided by the finance industry. The finance industry encompasses a broad range of organizations that deal with the management of money. Among these organizations are credit unions, banks, credit card companies, insurance companies, consumer finance companies,...

 company with its headquarters in Kingston
Kingston, Ontario
Kingston, Ontario is a Canadian city located in Eastern Ontario where the St. Lawrence River flows out of Lake Ontario. Originally a First Nations settlement called "Katarowki," , growing European exploration in the 17th Century made it an important trading post...

, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....

, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

. It was incorporated in 1923 and is a subsidiary
Subsidiary
A subsidiary company, subsidiary, or daughter company is a company that is completely or partly owned and wholly controlled by another company that owns more than half of the subsidiary's stock. The subsidiary can be a company, corporation, or limited liability company. In some cases it is a...

 of E-L Financial Corporation Limited of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Company provides individual life
Life insurance
Life insurance is a contract between an insurance policy holder and an insurer, where the insurer promises to pay a designated beneficiary a sum of money upon the death of the insured person. Depending on the contract, other events such as terminal illness or critical illness may also trigger...

, health and investment products as well as group
Group Insurance
Group insurance is an insurance that covers a group of people, usually who are the members of societies, employees of a common employer, or professionals in a common group....

 life and health products through independent distribution partners including financial advisors, management general agents, national account firms and employee benefit producers.

History and ownership

Founded in 1923 by Milton Palmer Langstaff, The Empire Life Insurance Company has grown to become one of the top 10 life insurance companies in Canada.

In 1929, Empire Life merged with The Commonwealth Life and Accident Insurance Company. This merger was followed by the acquisition of The Canadian Order of Odd Fellows insurance portfolio in 1934, and a subsequent merger with the Mutual Relief Life Insurance Company in 1936. Following the acquisition
Takeover
In business, a takeover is the purchase of one company by another . In the UK, the term refers to the acquisition of a public company whose shares are listed on a stock exchange, in contrast to the acquisition of a private company.- Friendly takeovers :Before a bidder makes an offer for another...

 of the Mutual Relief Life Insurance Company, the Company's head office moved from Toronto, Ontario to Kingston, Ontario.

In 1968, E-L Financial Corporation Limited ( ) acquired 94% of the outstanding shares of Empire Life. In 1987, E-L Financial acquired The Montreal Life Insurance Company, as well as the life insurance operations of The Dominion of Canada General Insurance Company, and adopted the marketing name of Empire Financial Group.

As part of this acquisition, Empire Life became a subsidiary of the holding company, E-L Financial Services Limited which owns 98.3% of the company. The remaining 1.7% of Empire Life common shares are widely held by various individual shareholders. E-L Financial Services Limited is 81% owned by E-L Financial Corporation Limited and 19% owned by Guardian Assurance plc.

In 1992, Empire Life acquired a block of group insurance business from the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company
Metropolitan Life Insurance Company
MetLife, Inc. is the holding corporation for the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, or MetLife, for short, and its affiliates. MetLife is among the largest global providers of insurance, annuities, and employee benefit programs, with 90 million customers in over 60 countries...

, and in 1993 acquired the non-participating individual insurance policies of The Citadel Life Assurance Company. In 1995, Empire Life agreed to administer and assume a block of deferred annuity
Annuity (finance theory)
The term annuity is used in finance theory to refer to any terminating stream of fixed payments over a specified period of time. This usage is most commonly seen in discussions of finance, usually in connection with the valuation of the stream of payments, taking into account time value of money...

 and Registered Retirement Income Fund
Registered Retirement Income Fund
A Registered Retirement Income Fund or RRIF is a tax-deferred retirement plan under Canadian tax law. Individuals use an RRIF to generate income from the savings accumulated under their Registered Retirement Savings Plan...

 (RRIF) policies of Confederation Life Insurance Company. In 1997, Empire Life assumed a block of deferred annuity policies from Allstate Life Insurance Company of Canada
Allstate
The Allstate Corporation is the second-largest personal lines insurer in the United States and the largest that is publicly held. The company also has personal lines insurance operations in Canada. Allstate was founded in 1931 as part of Sears, Roebuck and Co., and was spun off in 1993...

. In 2000, Empire Life assumed a block of annuity and RRIF policies from Coopérants, Mutual Life Insurance Society.

On December 31, 1997, Empire Life acquired all the shares of Colonia Life Insurance Company and subsequently changed the name of the company to Concordia Life Insurance Company a year later. On January 1, 2002, Empire Life and Concordia amalgamated as one company under the name of The Empire Life Insurance Company (or L'Empire, Compagnie d'Assurance-Vie). From 1987 to 2005, Empire Life used the marketing name of Empire Financial Group but re-branded as Empire Life in 2006.

Products

Individual Insurance

Universal life insurance
Universal life insurance
Universal life insurance is a type of permanent life insurance based on a cash value. That is, the policy is established with the insurer where premium payments above the cost of insurance are credited to the cash value of the policy...

, Term life insurance
Term life insurance
Term life insurance or term assurance is life insurance which provides coverage at a fixed rate of payments for a limited period of time, the relevant term. After that period expires coverage at the previous rate of premiums is no longer guaranteed and the client must either forgo coverage or...

, Permanent life insurance
Permanent life insurance
Permanent life insurance is a form of life insurance such as whole life or endowment, where the policy is for the life of the insured, the payout is assured at the end of the policy and the policy accrues cash value....

 and Critical illness insurance
Critical illness insurance
Critical illness insurance or critical illness cover is an insurance product, where the insurer is contracted to typically make a lump sum cash payment if the policyholder is diagnosed with one of the critical illnesses listed in the insurance policy....



Wealth Management

Segregated fund
Segregated fund
A Segregated Fund is a type of investment fund administered by Canadian insurance companies in the form of individual, variable life insurance contracts offering certain guarantees to the policyholder such as reimbursement of capital upon death. As required by law, these funds are fully...

s, Portfolio funds
Fund of funds
A "fund of funds" is an investment strategy of holding a portfolio of other investment funds rather than investing directly in shares, bonds or other securities. This type of investing is often referred to as multi-manager investment...

, Guaranteed Interest Options (GIOs), Registered Retirement Income Fund
Registered Retirement Income Fund
A Registered Retirement Income Fund or RRIF is a tax-deferred retirement plan under Canadian tax law. Individuals use an RRIF to generate income from the savings accumulated under their Registered Retirement Savings Plan...

 including a Guaranteed Minimum Withdrawal Benefit (GMWB) product, Group Registered Retirement Savings Plan
Registered Retirement Savings Plan
A Registered Retirement Savings Plan or RRSP is a type of Canadian account for holding savings and investment assets. Introduced in 1957, the RRSP's purpose is to promote savings for retirement by employees. It must comply with a variety of restrictions stipulated in the Canadian Income Tax Act...



Group Benefits

Small business group life and health insurance
Group Insurance
Group insurance is an insurance that covers a group of people, usually who are the members of societies, employees of a common employer, or professionals in a common group....

 plans, group life and health insurance plans for 20+ employees, Administrative Services Only (ASO) contracts, cost plus arrangements and disability management

Sponsorships and Philanthropy

  • An Imagine Caring Company since 1989, Empire Life invests at least 1% of annual pre-tax profits in communities across the country through charitable donations, employee volunteer hours, in-kind contributions and community sponsorships.

  • Empire Life boosts Sports & Entertainment Centre Fund

  • The Kingston Kids Triathlon

Corporate management

Les Herr, MBA, CFP, CLU, CH.F.C., President and Chief Executive Officer
Chief executive officer
A chief executive officer , managing director , Executive Director for non-profit organizations, or chief executive is the highest-ranking corporate officer or administrator in charge of total management of an organization...



Drew Wallace, CFP, CLU, CH.F.C., Executive Vice-President, Retail

Gary McCabe, CA
Chartered Accountant
Chartered Accountants were the first accountants to form a professional body, initially established in Britain in 1854. The Edinburgh Society of Accountants , the Glasgow Institute of Accountants and Actuaries and the Aberdeen Society of Accountants were each granted a royal charter almost from...

, Senior Vice-President & Chief Financial Officer
Chief financial officer
The chief financial officer or Chief financial and operating officer is a corporate officer primarily responsible for managing the financial risks of the corporation. This officer is also responsible for financial planning and record-keeping, as well as financial reporting to higher management...



Richard Cleaver, Senior Vice-President, Information Technology
Information technology
Information technology is the acquisition, processing, storage and dissemination of vocal, pictorial, textual and numerical information by a microelectronics-based combination of computing and telecommunications...



Timo Hytonen, MBA, CHRP, FCIP, CRM, Senior Vice-President, Strategy
Strategy
Strategy, a word of military origin, refers to a plan of action designed to achieve a particular goal. In military usage strategy is distinct from tactics, which are concerned with the conduct of an engagement, while strategy is concerned with how different engagements are linked...

, Human Resources
Human resources
Human resources is a term used to describe the individuals who make up the workforce of an organization, although it is also applied in labor economics to, for example, business sectors or even whole nations...

 and Corporate Initiatives

Steve Pong, B.A.Sc., Senior Vice-President, Group Products

Anne Butler, BA
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...

, LLB, Senior Vice-President and General Counsel
General Counsel
A general counsel is the chief lawyer of a legal department, usually in a corporation or government department. The term is most used in the United States...



Edward Gibson, FSA, FCIA, Senior Vice-President and Chief Actuary

Gaelen Morphet, CFA, Senior Vice-President and Chief Investment Officer

Board of directors

Chairman of the Board
Chairman of the Board
The Chairman of the Board is a seat of office in an organization, especially of corporations.Chairman of the Board may also refer to:*Chairman of the Board , a 1998 film*Chairmen of the Board , a 1970s American soul music group...

:
Duncan N.R. Jackman

Directors
Board of directors
A board of directors is a body of elected or appointed members who jointly oversee the activities of a company or organization. Other names include board of governors, board of managers, board of regents, board of trustees, and board of visitors...

:
Leslie C. Herr, Mark J. Fuller, Robert G. Long, James W. McCutcheon, Richard E. Rooney, Deanna Rosenswig, Clive P. Rowe, Stephen J.R. Smith, Mark M. Taylor, Douglas C. Townsend, Manon R. Vennat, Paul R. Weiss

Honorary Chairman: The Honourable Henry N. R. Jackman

Honorary Director: Rt. Hon John N. Turner
John Turner
John Napier Wyndham Turner, PC, CC, QC is an English Canadian lawyer and retired politician, who served as the 17th Prime Minister of Canada from June 30 to September 17, 1984....



Director Designate: Edward M. Iacobucci

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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