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Website: http://www.nationwide.com Nationwide is on your side. It is one of the largest insurance and financial services companies in the world, with more than $157 billion in statutory assets. Nationwide consists of three core businesses: domestic property and casualty insurance, life insurance and retirement savings, and asset management. It also owns companies providing health insurance and mortgages. Nationwide owns a public subsidiary, Nationwide Financial Services, but still remains a mutually held company. It has 16 million policies in force. Nationwide is the sixth-largest automobile insurer in the U.S. and fourth largest homeowner insurance based on policies written. Nationwide Financial Services reported 2007 revenues of $22.7 billion and net income of $1.9 billion. History The Ohio Farm Bureau Federation, a consumer group organized by Ohio farmers, started what would become Nationwide in 1925. Early Farm Bureau leaders felt that established insurers were overcharging for auto insurance. While they knew little about insurance, common sense told them that rural drivers should pay less for auto insurance if they had fewer accidents than city motorists. The Ohio Farm Bureau Federation incorporated the Farm Bureau Mutual Automobile Insurance Company on December 17, 1925. Working with a $10,000 loan, the company opened a one-room office in downtown Columbus staffed with three employees. Twenty part-time agents volunteered to sell auto insurance policies without commission to give the company a running start. As the company expanded to more states across the country, Farm Bureau Mutual changed its name to Nationwide Insurance in 1955 Benefits Nationwide offers comprehensive insurance options, a 401(k) plan and a pension plan, as well as other investment opportunities, educational assistance programs, generous paid time off, child care and elder care referral sources, and more. Updated April 6, 2008 |