70+ years of history in the US

How it all began

In 1836, six respected lawyers met in a London coffee house where life insurance was the topic of discussion. They decided to form an association, eventually named Legal & General Life Assurance Society. Those founders had the same attitudes toward innovation as those which characterize Legal & General Group (L&G) today. Those six lawyers laid the foundation for our worldwide business.

Legal & General Group leveraged its expertise and dependable record to expand overseas in the 1980s. Our US business has a long history, all on its own. 

Our US roots

Government Employees Life Insurance Company (GELICO), the company that became Banner Life Insurance Company, was chartered in 1949. GELICO was part of the Government Employees Group, which was founded by Leo Goodwin, a member of the Texas banking industry.

In 1966, the Government Employees Group was honored by the Newcomen Society, a nonprofit organization founded to study and recognize achievements in American business and the society it serves. GELICO ranked in the top 12 percent of US life companies at the time, issuing an average policy of $2,400 with an average annual premium of $50. 

By 1975, GELICO had assets of $124 million and $1.7 billion of insurance in force. In 1976, it was among a select group of companies to be rated A+ (superior) by A.M. Best, a rating we've maintained ever since.

Legal & General Group acquired GELICO as a wholly-owned subsidiary in 1981. The name officially changed to Banner Life Insurance Company in 1983, signifying its flagship position with Legal & General in the US.

Modern Life Insurance Company opened in 1963, offering individual life insurance to residents in the State of New York. The company changed its name in 1975 to William Penn Life Insurance Company of New York. In 1989, Banner Life Insurance Company purchased the William Penn Life Insurance Company of New York as a wholly-owned subsidiary.

In 1995, the company changed its distribution network changed to include independent brokerage agencies. It joined the National Association of Independent Life Brokerage Agencies (NAILBA), a nonprofit trade association promoting financial security and consumer choice.

In 2011, after operating for many years under the Banner Life and William Penn names, the companies consolidated into one unified US brand: Legal & General America. Banner Life Insurance Company and William Penn Insurance Company of New York operate as the twin engines of the Legal & General America machine, continuing to administer and deliver the highest level of products and customer service. Both companies have grown together with a shared success — today we are a national carrier and licensed in all 50 states plus the District of Columbia.

The company moved its headquarters from Rockville, MD to Frederick, MD into a building certified as a Silver LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) interiors building. Legal & General America also earned the EPA’s Energy Star Certification from 2013-2019, supporting a corporate pillar to improve customer lives through environmental sustainability.

Until May 2015, William Penn Life Insurance Company of New York maintained a physical office location in Garden City, New York. Today the staff works remotely, and all business processes merged to support both Banner Life and William Penn business as one under Legal & General America.

By 2020 Legal & General America had more than 1.5 million policyholders and was noted as a top-two provider of term life insurance in the US, issuing more than $57 billion in new coverage. Legal & General America has over $6.8 billion in assets and $782 billion of coverage in force as of 2020.

Legal & General America’s operating performance is backed by financial strength ratings from three of the world's influential rating agencies. Standard & Poor’s and Fitch Ratings reaffirmed an AA- financial strength rating LGA, assessing its operations as “core” to Legal & General Group. A.M. Best has also reaffirmed an A+ rating.