Primerica Financial Services
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Primerica Financial Services | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Type | Subsidiary |
| Founded | February 10, 1977 |
| Headquarters | 3120 Breckinridge Blvd. Duluth, GA 30099-0001 (770) 381-1000 |
| Key people | John Addison, Co-CEO Rick Williams, Co-CEO and COO Glenn Williams, President |
| Industry | Financial Services |
| Products | Life Insurance Mutual Funds Variable Annuities Loans Mortgages Long-Term Care Insurance Legal Services Car insurance Homeowners Insurance |
| Employees | 2,200 (2007) |
| Parent | Citigroup |
| Website | www.primerica.com |
Primerica Financial Services, a wholly owned subsidiary of Citigroup, is headquartered in Duluth, Georgia. It is the largest financial services organization in North America with more than 100,000 licensed independent representatives, 26,000 of whom are FINRA securities licensed through PFS Investments, Inc., Primerica's securities broker-dealer affiliate.[1] The company provides financial products and services through its affiliates that include term life insurance, mutual funds, variable annuities, loans, long-term care insurance and pre-paid legal services, to over 6 million clients.[1] Its mortgage lender Citicorp Trust Bank, fsb is one of a few major mortgage providers to offer Simple Daily Interest mortages through its $.M.A.R.T Loans,[2] which reduce the cost of a mortgage for people who regularly pre-pay or pay bi-weekly by recalculating interest based on the remaining balance everytime a payment is made. In August 2007 Primerica and Answer Financial introduced Primerica Secure, an auto and homeowner's insurance referral program to get today's most competitive quotes in the market among dozens of insurance carriers. Primerica conducts business principally in the US and Canada. In 2000 the company expanded overseas to begin operating in Spain as CitiSoluciones.[3] It is a former component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, having been replaced in 1991 by J.P. Morgan.[4]
Contents |
[edit] History
Founded in 1977 by Arthur L. Williams, Jr. as A. L. Williams & Associates, the company established a market niche by mass-marketing the concept of “Buy term and invest the difference.” With “BTID,” the company advised its mostly middle-income client base to purchase sufficient protection with term life insurance and systematically save and invest in separate investment vehicles, such as mutual fund IRAs. A.L. Williams was initially established as privately held general agency, at first selling term life insurance policies underwritten by Financial Assurance, Inc. (FIA)
The company expanded, outgrowing the capacity of FIA to process its business. In 1980, A.L. Williams entered into a contract with a larger underwriter of life insurance, Boston-based Massachusetts Indemnity and Life Insurance Company (MILICO), whose parent was PennCorp Financial Services, based in Santa Monica. To support A.L. Williams, headquartered in Atlanta, MILICO established a regional office in that city. In 1981, the company established First American National Corporation (later called The A.L. Williams Corporation) as a holding company for First American Life Insurance (later renamed A.L. Williams Life Insurance Company) and First American National Securities (later renamed PFS Investments, Inc). In 1982, The A.L. Williams Corporation (ALWC) underwrote a $27 million public stock offering, listed in the Over the Counter (OTC) market under the symbol ALWC. In 1983, the company became listed on the NASDAQ exchange under the same symbol.
[edit] Travelers & Citigroup
In November of 1989, Primerica purchased the remaining 30% of ALWC that it did not previously own, and also purchased the privately held General Agent, A.L. Williams, Inc. In 1991, Primerica Corporation changed the name of A.L. Williams to Primerica Financial Services. The following year MILICO, Primerica's life insurance underwriter, changed its name to Primerica Life Insurance Company, and its broker-dealer FANS changed to PFS Investments, Inc.
Primerica Corporation, in December of 1993, acquired the remaining 73% of Travelers Insurance Corporation and adopted the name, Travelers Inc., which was changed to Travelers Group the following year. Travelers Group included Primerica Financial Services, Smith Barney, Travelers Life and Annuity, Travelers Property/Casualty, Commercial Credit and other financial businesses.
In December 1997, Primerica announced it was going to begin offering pre-paid legal through Pre-Paid Legal Services, Inc., at the time both subsidiaries of Travelers Group, Inc.[5]
In 1998, the US Securities and Exchange Commission censured and fined PFS Investments Inc., the securities arm for Primerica, for failure to properly supervise a group of registered representatives in Dearborn, Michigan. PFS Investments Inc. failed to have in place effective policies and procedures to follow up adequately on three complaints received about the Dearborn registered representatives' "selling away" activities. Prior to the ruling of the SEC, PFS Investments Inc. voluntarily hired an independent consultant to review their supervisory, compliance, policies and procedures, to prevent and detect violations of the federal securities laws. By the date of the ruling, PFS Investments had complied with the final recommendations made by the independent consultant.[6]
In 1998, Travelers Group and banking giant Citicorp Trust Bank, fsb merged creating Citigroup (NYSE:C). Primerica and its affiliates continue to operate as subsidiaries of Citigroup, although the Travelers insurance business was spun off in 2002. Along with Primerica, other major brand names under Citigroup include Citibank, CitiFinancial, Citicorp Trust Bank, Smith Barney, and Banamex.
[edit] Ratings and Awards
Primerica's life insurance underwriter Primerica Life Insurance Company and its subsidiary National Benefit Life, based in the state of New York, have been rated A+ as "Superior" by A. M. Best as of November 2006.[7] Standard & Poor's has the company rated AA as "Very Strong."[8] Recently the Insurance Marketplace Standards Association, a non-profit organization based out of Bethesda, MD with the intent to create ethical standards for the insurance industry, has renewed qualification for Primerica Life and National Benefit Life for high standards and quality business, "continuing dedication to ethical business practices."[9]
In 2007, Primerica received its fourth Dalbar Service Award from Dalbar, Inc., a client service rating organization focused on raising the standards of customer satisfaction and quality in the financial services industry, for Primerica's excellent customer service in mutual funds.[10]
[edit] External links
- Primerica Financial Services
- Citigroup Parent Company
- Citigroup Family Tree History
- Primerica at Rip Off Report
[edit] Sources
- Primerica Financial Services Citigroup.com, viewed August 1, 2007
- New Georgia Encyclopedia NGE, viewed November 7, 2006
- Citigroup Corporate History Citigroup.com, viewed August 1, 2007
- News Blaze article: IMSA rates Primerica Life Insurance company for ethical and excellent service, viewed August 20, 2007
[edit] References
- ^ a b Primerica's History, http://www.primerica.com/public/history.html
- ^ "The $.M.A.R.T. Solution", Citicorp Trust Bank, fsb. Retrieved on 2008-01-29.
- ^ Hann, Leslie Werstein. "Spain Is First Stop in Primerica's Overseas Expansion", Best's Review, 2000. Retrieved on 2007-08-31.
- ^ History of DJIA, globalfinancialdata.com
- ^ "Primerica Financial Services to Offer Legal Plans Through Pre-paid Legal Services, Inc", Business Wire, 1997-12-19. Retrieved on 2007-08-20.
- ^ http://www.sec.gov/litigation/admin/3440269.txt
- ^ "A.M. Best Affirms Ratings of Primerica Life", Business Wire, 2006-11-02. Retrieved on 2007-08-31.
- ^ "Top Marks for Primerica Life", 2006. Retrieved on 2007-08-31.
- ^ "Primerica Life, National Benefit Life Renew Qualification in IMSA, Ethical Standards Organization", News Blaze, 2007. Retrieved on 2007-08-20.
- ^ Whalen, Kathleen. "DALBAR Announces Its 2006 Customer Service Award Winners in Financial Services", Dalbar, 2007-01-17. Retrieved on 2007-08-31.
|
||||||||||||||||||||
