- COUNTRY Financial
Infobox_Company
company_name = COUNTRY Financial
company_
company_type = Mutual,Stock
foundation = 1925
location =Bloomington, Illinois
key_people =John Blackburn , CEO
num_employees = 5,600
industry = Insurance & Financial Services
products = Insurance & Investing
revenue = $3.101 billion USD (2006) [Fortune 1000 (2006)]
homepage = [http://www.countryfinancial.com/ www.countryfinancial.com]COUNTRY Financial is a group of US
insurance andfinancial services companies. Its corporate headquarters are inBloomington, Illinois .History
COUNTRY was founded in 1925 when a group of
Illinois Agricultural Association members developed an organization to provide fire and lightning insurance. The farmers created COUNTRY because insurance salesmen rarely traveled the dirt and gravel roads to their homes and they were being charged the same rates as city dwellers. In the company's first year of operation, more than 385 Illinois farmers worked part-time, offering insurance services to their friends and neighbors.Crop insurance became available in 1926,auto insurance in 1927, andlife insurance in 1929. Financial services, includingretirement planning ,estate planning ,investment management , andannuities have been available for more than 35 years.COUNTRY has grown exponentially since its founding. In more than 80 years of operation, the insurance and financial services provider grew from a small Illinois company serving only Illinois customers to having agents in 14 states and offering products and services in 40 states.
COUNTRY Financial and its alliances now serve about 1 million households and businesses and insure more than 1 million vehicles and a half a million homes throughout the United States. The organization currently has 3,600 employees and more than 2,000 agents [ [http://www.countryfinancial.com/SiteController?url=/aboutCountry/whoWeAre/primaryCompanies "Primary Companies"] ] .
Rankings
COUNTRY ranked No. 1 for the seventh time in eight years with the lowest ratio of complaints in Illinois [2005 annual Department of Financial and Professional Regulation] .
COUNTRY earned an A+ rating for life/health business and an A rating for property/casualty business from
Weiss Ratings [Ratings reflect year end 2005 performance] .A.M. Best Company, Inc. has affirmed the A+ Superior for the property and casualty and primary life and health companies within COUNTRY Financial. COUNTRY Mutual Insurance Company has been included in Best’s highest rating category for more than 65 consecutive years, and COUNTRY Life Insurance Company has received the highest rating for more than 70 consecutive years [ [http://www.countryfinancial.com/SiteController?url=/aboutCountry/newsroom/countryNews/generalNews/@gn_030606 "Industry Analyst Confirms Superior Ratings For COUNTRY"] ] .
Financial security
COUNTRY specializes in helping families become financially secure by helping people protect what they have today and save for a comfortable tomorrow.
The [http://www.countryfinancialsecurityindex.com COUNTRY Financial Security Index] is a bi-monthly measure of Americans' sentiments towards their overall financial security. Based on a national telephone survey of 3,000 Americans, the "Index" tracks how secure Americans feel about their own financial situation in relation to their stage in life. Survey questions range from taking care of short-term needs and protecting current assets to planning for the future.
CEOs
Revenue
2006 Revenue: 3.101 billion USD
References
External links
* [http://www.countryfinancial.com/ COUNTRY official website]
* [http://www.countryinvestment.com/ COUNTRY official website]
* [http://www.countryfinancialsecurityindex.com/ COUNTRY Financial Security Index]
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