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Our History

November 6, 1886

November 6, 1886

Charles M. Turner founds the Security Mutual Life Association. The fundamental objective of the entity—to sell a high quality product at a competitive price. The Company was established as a “mutual” life association not as a stock company so that policyholders, not private investors, would share in profit.

January 3, 1887

January 3, 1887

Security Mutual Life Association opens its doors for business, located in two small offices in downtown Binghamton, New York. On this day the first policy was sold. It was a policy that today would be recognized as a one-year renewable term policy. The death benefit was $1,000.

In The Year 1889

In The Year 1889

Security Mutual Life becomes the first company in the nation to offer disability benefits. This helped to establish the Company as an innovator in the industry.

April 22, 1898

Security Mutual changes its name from the Security Mutual Association to Security Mutual Life Insurance Company.

September 7, 1900

Once again, Security Mutual Life lives up to its reputation of being a competitive spark in the industry by establishing the “Total Abstinence League,” offering a “preferred class” to its members if they agreed not to sell, use or manufacture intoxicating liquors. The offering was a smash hit.

January 31, 1903

Security Mutual Life announces plans for building its own 10-story headquarters.

March 12, 1904

March 12, 1904

Construction of the headquarters begins. The main entrance way was designed after the stone bridge depicted in the Company’s emblem.

As Security Mutual Life turns 50

The creation of the Social Security system enables families, for the first time, to actually plan for their insurance needs. Security Mutual Life adapts itself to the Country’s new vision of life insurance and the widely accepted need for it as a supplement to government and private benefits.

In The Year 1940

Being an innovator in the industry, Security Mutual Life is among the first life insurance companies to create a separate health department. Within weeks Security Mutual Life offers accident and health coverage in addition to traditional life insurance.

In The Year 1944

Security Mutual Life pioneers another line of business: Group Coverage. Soon thereafter Security Mutual Life establishes a contributory plan for life insurance and hospital coverage for Security Mutual Life employees.

Early 1950s

Security Mutual Life becomes a leader once again by adding a new line of pension coverage and offering guaranteed issue coverage long before the industry even had a name for such practices. Becomes the first company to issue Jumping Juvenile policies. Face amount is $1,000 until age 21 and then jumps to $5,000. Becomes the first company to offer non-cancelable disability income coverage to age 65.

In The Year 1960

Security Mutual Life adds “of New York” to its name.

In The Year 1962

75 years old—$125 million in assets and $565 million of life insurance in force. Security Mutual Life joins with 7 other companies to give New York State residents a nonprofit hospital-medical and major medical insurance program for the elderly. The plan, called the New York 65, was set up on a tax-exempt, nonprofit basis.

In The Year 1969

Security Mutual Life joins with 152 other companies in pledging to divert $1 billion from normal investment channels to help finance the rebuilding of center cities.

In The Year 1977

Security Mutual Life introduces its nonsmoker premium discount, an echo of the Total Abstinence League (discounts to non-drinkers).

In The Year 1981

In The Year 1981

Security Mutual Life dedicates a new 3-floor, 95,000-square-feet, addition to accommodate the Company’s growth.

In The Year 1983

Security Mutual expands into the worksite market by offering employees of participating employers the opportunity to purchase life insurance through the convenience of premium payment by payroll deduction.

In The Year 1986

In The Year 1986

100 Years Old—$13.1 billion of life insurance in force; $582 million in assets; $11.5 million in dividend payments.

In The Year 1992

In The Year 1992

In The Year 1997

Security Mutual’s subsidiary, Security Administrators, Inc., established in 1983, opens its Syracuse office. SAI provides plan design and administrative services to sponsors of retirement plans nationwide.

In The Year 1998

Security Mutual expands into the credit union market by offering credit union members the opportunity to purchase life insurance with premiums deducted from their credit union accounts.

In The Year 2002

Security Mutual Life creates a Benefits Division to provide targeted products and services—both group/employer-paid products and voluntary/employee-paid products—to the benefits management market.

In The Year 2006

In The Year 2006

In The Year 2011

In The Year 2011

Security Mutual Life achieves its 125th anniversary and its 119th consecutive year of paying dividends.

In The Year 2022

In The Year 2022

December 31, 2022: $21.35 million in dividend payments.*  131st consecutive year of paying dividends.

*The payment of dividends is not guaranteed, and the amount credited, if any, may rise and fall depending on experience factors such as investment income, taxes, mortality and expenses.

For More Information, Contact Your Security Mutual Representative.

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