Mutual of Omaha was founded in 1909 by a medical student at Omaha's Creighton University and his wife,
Dr. C.C. Criss and Mabel Criss. It has grown into a Fortune 500 company offering insurance and financial solutions for individuals, businesses and groups throughout the United States. In 1927,
V. J. Skutt joined their team and was named president in 1949. With a license to sell insurance in all 48 states, an abbreviated name and distinctive Native American symbol, the company gained nationwide prominence in the 1950s. In 1963, the company began sponsoring ''
Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom'', a wildlife program hosted by
Marlin Perkins and
Jim Fowler that remained on television for more than 20 years. The company was one of the first companies to provide disability insurance to non-professional workers, and in 1966 was among the first companies to provide supplementary coverage for people enrolled in
Medicare. • 1920 – Premium income exceeded $1 million for the year. • 1924 – Mutual of Omaha ranked 8th in comparison to other insurance companies. • 1926 – The subsidiary, United Benefit Life Insurance Company, was founded. • 1941 – The company founded its Group Insurance department. • 1950 – Mutual Benefit Health & Accident Association changed its name to Mutual of Omaha Insurance Company. • January 6, 1963 – ''
Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom'' premiered on network television. The original show was hosted by
Marlin Perkins,
Jim Fowler, and Peter Gros, and ran until 1988. • 1974 - Slogan changed from "People who pay" to "People you can count on", through 2020. • 1981 – United Benefit Life Insurance Company became United of Omaha. • 2001 – The company revitalized its brand and began sponsoring
USA Swimming. • 2002 – A new
Wild Kingdom series premiered on
Animal Planet. • 2005 – Daniel P. Neary is named chairman and chief executive officer. • 2007 – Omaha Financial Holdings, Inc. was created as the parent company of Mutual of Omaha's banking initiatives. • 2009 – Mutual of Omaha celebrates their 100th anniversary. • 2015 – James T. Blackledge is named chief executive officer and elected to the board. • 2016 – The company reaches $3 billion in policyholder surplus. • 2018 – James T. Blackledge replaces Dan Neary as chairman of the board. • 2019 – Agreed to sell Mutual of Omaha Bank to CIT's banking subsidiary, CIT Bank, N.A., for a purchase price of $1 billion. • 2020 – The logo was changed from the Indian to a lion. The new slogan was: "Protect your kingdom". • 2022 − Mutual of Omaha announced they would build their
new headquarters in downtown Omaha on the site of the
W. Dale Clark Library, with the under construction height making it the
new tallest building in Omaha. As of 2020, Mutual of Omaha holds the 300th rank on Fortune 500's top companies. The current CEO is James T. Blackledge. The company and its affiliates have more than 5,000 employees plus a network of sales advisors. The home office remains in Omaha, NE, with satellite or sales offices in most states. The company holds an A+ rating from A.M. Best and AA− rating from Standard & Poor's. == Company governance ==