Jefferson Standard

Jefferson Standard Life Insurance Company emerged from the early 1900s boom in Southern insurance formation. NCpedia recounts that, during the first decade of the twentieth century, several insurers were incorporated in North Carolina and that Jefferson Standard was founded in Raleigh; by 1912, after financial strain, the Raleigh firm was acquired by Security Life and the merged company retained the Jefferson Standard name. [1]

Leadership and product adaptation defined the next era. Under Julian W. Price, NCpedia notes that the company doubled its capital stock to $1 million by 1926 and survived the Great Depression by issuing policies designed to "meet the times," using a graduated payment scale that helped people keep coverage. [1] The account also describes the company continuing to pay dividends and continuing its bond purchases and lending, reinforcing its reputation for stability during a national crisis. [1]

By mid-century, Jefferson Standard had grown substantially, and its lineage became part of a broader corporate structure. NCpedia states that the company became Jefferson-Pilot Corporation in 1968 when a holding company was formed out of Jefferson Standard Life Insurance Company, Pilot Life Insurance Co., and Jefferson Standard Broadcasting Co. [1] The same source says the Jefferson-Pilot era ended in 2006 when Lincoln National Corporation purchased the company and created Lincoln Financial Group. [1] Viewed across a century, Jefferson Standard's opportunity was to match regional expansion with product and payment flexibility during hard times, and to leverage that foundation into a larger, diversified financial-services organization. [1]

Sources: [1] https://www.ncpedia.org/jefferson-pilot-corporation