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Bankers Life history

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Bankers life & Casualty Company sign on side of historic building with columns

Our foundation

Our foundation

On January 17, 1879, Bankers Life and Casualty Company’s predecessor, the Hotel Men’s Mutual Benefit Association, began operations. Extraordinary growth followed. Today, Bankers Life helps meet the insurance needs of middle-income retirees as part of the nationwide subsidiaries of CNO Financial Group, Inc. These companies offer a broad portfolio of life and health insurance designed especially for those near and in retirement.

Our heritage

Company history

From the beginning, John D. MacArthur took tremendous interest in great American manufacturers. He studied how they branded and mass-marketed household goods and services. MacArthur reasoned that if he could reduce the high cost of selling insurance, he could make needed coverage more affordable for middle-income Americans. This idea spurred our company’s tremendous success through direct-mail marketing campaigns.


By 1956 Bankers Life and Casualty Company had become one of the nation’s largest individual health and accident insurance companies. In the 1960s we turned our attention to the nation’s growing senior population. Shortly after President Lyndon Johnson signed the Medicare bill into law, we entered the senior market, becoming one of the first insurers to develop and offer Medicare Supplement insurance.

Our future

Bankers Life Future

With strength, stability and service shaping our culture, Bankers Life remains focused on our chief vision: to become the leading provider of financial security products to retirees and their families. Our product portfolio includes long-term care insurance, life insurance, annuities, Medicare Supplement insurance and other types of supplemental health insurance. We continue to grow and innovate to meet the changing needs of our customers.