Combined Insurance is a global provider of supplemental insurance, including accident insurance,

life insurance Life insurance (or life assurance, especially in the Commonwealth of Nations) is a contract between an insurance policy holder and an insurer or assurer, where the insurer promises to pay a designated beneficiary a sum of money upon the death ...

and critical care coverage. Combined Insurance operates in North America, Latin America, Europe and the Pacific. The company is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois.

History

In 1922,

W. Clement Stone William Clement Stone (May 4, 1902 – September 3, 2002) was an American businessman, philanthropist and New Thought self-help book author. Biography Stone was born in Chicago, Illinois on May 4, 1902. His father died in 1905 leaving his family ...

, with a borrowed $100, started Combined Registry Company in Chicago. During the difficulty of the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

, Stone in 1929 cut his field force to just 135 agents – from more than 1,000 agents – to increase efficiency. In 1939, after weathering the Depression, Stone created the Combined Mutual Casualty Company, which was established when Combined Registry Company purchased the American Casualty Company in Texas. In 1947 the company changed its name to Combined Insurance Company of America. In 1956, Combined Insurance expanded to cover Canada. Between 1959 and 1963 the company expanded into

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, then Puerto Rico and the Bahamas, then into Europe with the addition of England and Northern Ireland. In 1962 Stone authored the self-help book ''The Success System That Never Fails''. () In 1971, the Combined Life Insurance Company of New York was established. In 1980, shareholders of Combined Insurance Company of America approved the formation of a holding company, Combined International Corporation, which traded publicly on the New York Stock Exchange under the call letters PMA (standing for "

Positive Mental Attitude Positive mental attitude (PMA) is a concept first introduced in 1937 by Napoleon Hill in the book ''Think and Grow Rich''. The book never actually uses the term, but discusses about the importance of positive thinking as a contributing factor of s ...

", a Stone catchphrase). Two years later the company merged with Ryan Insurance Group, with Stone becoming Chairman of the new company and Patrick Ryan becoming President and

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

. The new company was renamed

Aon Aon or AON may refer to: * Aon (mythology), son of Poseidon in Greek mythology * ''Aon'' (moth), a genus of moths in the family Erebidae * Aon (trigraph), a Latin trigraph * "Aon", a composition by jazz pianist Harold Mabern, 1968 Business an ...

– a

Gaelic Gaelic is an adjective that means "pertaining to the Gaels". As a noun it refers to the group of languages spoken by the Gaels, or to any one of the languages individually. Gaelic languages are spoken in Ireland, Scotland, the Isle of Man, and Ca ...

word signifying oneness and unity – in 1987. Stone stepped down from day-to-day operations in the early 1990s and took the title Chairman Emeritus. In 2008, Aon sold Combined Insurance to

ACE Limited An ace is a playing card, die or domino with a single pip. In the standard French deck, an ace has a single suit symbol (a heart, diamond, spade, or club) located in the middle of the card, sometimes large and decorated, especially in the ca ...

for $2.56 billion which resulted in the closure of the UK employee benefits arm. Closure of Combined Benefit Services

Business

Combined Insurance offers several types of insurance policies – which vary by market and customer need – including accident, accident and sickness, critical care, cancer, life and

Medicare supplement Medigap (also called Medicare supplement insurance or Medicare supplemental insurance) refers to various private health insurance plans sold to supplement Medicare in the United States. Medigap insurance provides coverage for many of the co-pays ...

coverage. Combined Insurance also includes Combined Insurance Worksite Solutions, which offers supplemental insurance to complement existing employer benefits programs and Combined Insurance Select Programs, which provides niche insurance products including student accident and

health insurance Health insurance or medical insurance (also known as medical aid in South Africa) is a type of insurance that covers the whole or a part of the risk of a person incurring medical expenses. As with other types of insurance, risk is shared among ma ...

, employer group

vision insurance Vision, Visions, or The Vision may refer to: Perception Optical perception * Visual perception, the sense of sight * Visual system, the physical mechanism of eyesight * Computer vision, a field dealing with how computers can be made to gain und ...

and other group accident and health products.

Notes

{{reflist Financial services companies established in 1922 Companies based in Cook County, Illinois Insurance companies of Canada Insurance companies of Australia Insurance companies of Ireland Insurance companies of Portugal Insurance companies of Spain Insurance companies of the United Kingdom Insurance companies of New Zealand Insurance companies of Puerto Rico Insurance companies of the Bahamas