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Assurant, Inc.

Specialty Insurance / Property & Casualty / Extended Warranties / Device ProtectionFounded 1892
Reviewed by Swet Parvadiya
Company data updated: September 2026

Founders

Who Founded Assurant?

Founders of La Crosse Mutual Aid Association · Founded 1892 · HQ today: Atlanta, Georgia

Who founded Assurant?

Assurant was founded by Founders of La Crosse Mutual Aid Association in 1892. It is now led by Keith W. Demmings.

Founders
Founders of La Crosse Mutual Aid Association
Founded
1892
Headquarters
Atlanta, Georgia
Number of founders
1
Current CEO
Keith W. Demmings (since 2022)
Where was Assurant founded?
Assurant was founded in New York City, New York in 1892.
When was Assurant founded?
Assurant was founded in 1892.
Who started Assurant?
Assurant was founded by Founders of La Crosse Mutual Aid Association.
How old is Assurant?
Assurant is 134 years old as of 2026.

Founding Story

Assurant dates itself to 1892, when the La Crosse Mutual Aid Association was formed in La Crosse, Wisconsin to sell disability insurance. Neither the company's own histories nor the standard references name a founder of that association. It was licensed as an insurer as Time Insurance Company in 1910 and grew into a Wisconsin health and disability underwriter. In 1978 the Dutch insurer N.V. AMEV bought Time Insurance through its US holding company, AMEV Holdings, which was renamed Fortis, Inc. in 1991 and went on to buy John Alden in 1998 and American Bankers Insurance in 1999. Fortis took the US business public on the New York Stock Exchange on February 5, 2004, raising $1.76 billion in the fourth-largest initial public offering of that year, and renamed it Assurant, Inc.

Founders of La Crosse Mutual Aid Association

Co-founder 1892

Background

The modern Assurant traces its origins to the La Crosse Mutual Aid Association, formed in La Crosse, Wisconsin in 1892 to sell disability insurance. The specific individual founders of this mutual aid society are not named in the company's official corporate history or standard historical references.

Role at Assurant, Inc.

The La Crosse Mutual Aid Association was established to provide disability insurance to consumers. It was later licensed as the Time Insurance Company in 1910 and evolved into a Wisconsin health and disability underwriter. This early mutual organization formed the foundation of the business that, after a century of acquisitions and mergers including being purchased by the Dutch insurer N.V. AMEV in 1978, was eventually spun off and taken public as Assurant, Inc. in 2004. (Exact birth year remains publicly undisclosed).

Assurant, Inc.: CEO & Leadership History

Full timeline →

Keith W. Demmings

President and Chief Executive Officer

2022 – Present

Has run Assurant as a two-segment protection company, pushing it further into device repair, trade-in and resale while growing the lender-placed housing book.

Alan B. Colberg

Former President and Chief Executive Officer

2015 – 2021

Took Assurant out of health insurance and employee benefits and rebuilt it around lifestyle and housing protection, then bought the scale to make that work.

Robert B. Pollock

Former President and Chief Executive Officer

2006 – 2014

Ran Assurant through its first decade as an independent specialty insurer, holding together a portfolio that spanned health, employee benefits, prearranged funeral insurance and lender-placed property.

J. Kerry Clayton

Former Chief Executive Officer

2004 – 2006

Led Fortis, Inc. through its February 2004 initial public offering and rebranding as Assurant, Inc. and ran the company for its first two years as an independent listed insurer.

Compare Assurant, Inc. Leadership With Competitors

Assurant, Inc. vs Markel Group Inc. Leadership →Overview

Keep researching Assurant

Who Founded Assurant? FAQ

How did Assurant originate from the La Crosse Mutual Aid Association in 1892?

Assurant traces its history to the La Crosse Mutual Aid Association, established in La Crosse, Wisconsin in 1892 to provide consumers with disability insurance. The company own histories do not name an individual founder of that association.

Is a founder of Assurant named in the public record?

No individual is identified as the founder in Assurant own published history, in its SEC filings or in the standard references. The company presents its origin as an institution, the La Crosse Mutual Aid Association of 1892, rather than as a founder story.

How did Time Insurance Company become part of the Assurant lineage?

The successor to the La Crosse Mutual Aid Association was licensed as an insurer as Time Insurance Company in 1910, according to Wisconsin insurance regulator filings, and grew into a Wisconsin life, accident and health underwriter.

What was Fortis, Inc. and how did it assemble the US business?

Dutch insurer N.V. AMEV acquired Time Insurance in 1978 through AMEV Holdings, Inc., which bought American Security Insurance, United Family, Western Insurance and Superior Insurance over the following 12 years. AMEV Holdings was renamed Fortis, Inc. in 1991 and added John Alden in 1998 and American Bankers Insurance in 1999.

When did Fortis spin off its US operations to create Assurant?

Fortis took Fortis, Inc. public on the New York Stock Exchange on February 5, 2004 at $1.76 billion, the fourth-largest initial public offering of that year, and renamed the newly independent company Assurant, Inc., trading as AIZ.

What happened to the businesses Assurant inherited from Fortis?

Fortis, Inc. sold its life insurance business to The Hartford in 2001. Assurant then exited health insurance and employee benefits in 2015 and 2016, sold Time Insurance in 2018, sold Global Preneed to CUNA Mutual Group in 2021 and sold its mainland China operations in 2024.

Where does Assurant operate from today?

Assurant is headquartered at 260 Interstate North Circle SE in Atlanta, Georgia, having moved from New York at the end of 2022. It operates in 21 countries across North America, Latin America, Europe and Asia Pacific, and the 10-K also identifies Miami as a significant employee base.

Why did Assurant leave its legacy health insurance roots?

After the Affordable Care Act restricted medical underwriting and mandated minimum loss ratios, Assurant could not price individual major medical profitably at its scale and took underwriting losses in 2014 and early 2015. It announced the exit on June 10, 2015 and wound down Assurant Health.

Who founded Assurant?

Assurant is essentially a massive corporate restructuring, originally operating as the US branch of the Dutch-Belgian financial services giant Fortis before going independent.

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Content is for informational purposes only. Not financial advice. Data sourced from SEC filings, annual reports, and public records. See our full disclaimer and methodology.