Samuel A. Markel

Samuel A. Markel founded the Mutual Casualty Association and Mutual Casualty Company in Norfolk, Virginia, in 1930 to insure jitney buses. That focus on transportation risks other carriers avoided became the basis of Markel's specialty insurance business.

Samuel A. Markel started Markel in Norfolk, Virginia, in 1930. He formed the Mutual Casualty Association and the Mutual Casualty Company to cover jitney buses, a hard-to-insure class of early shared passenger vehicles. His sons Lewis, Irvin, Stanley and Milton joined during the 1930s, and the family built Markel Service, Inc. around insurance for transportation operators. The family's later generations, including Steven Markel, stayed involved as the company expanded into broader specialty lines and went public in 1986.