Transamerica Corporation

Transamerica Corporation
Private
Industry Insurance
Investments
Retirement planning
Founded 1928
Headquarters Baltimore, MD
Key people
 A.P. Giannini, founder
Mark W. Mullin, President & CEO
Products Life insurance, Investment & Retirement services
Number of employees
 11,377 (2013)
Parent Aegon
Website www.transamerica.com

The Transamerica Corporation is an American holding company for various life insurance companies and investment firms doing business primarily in the United States, offering life and supplemental health insurance, investments, and retirement services. The company’s main offices are in Baltimore, Maryland and Cedar Rapids, Iowa, with affiliated offices located throughout the United States. In 1999, it became a subsidiary of Aegon, a European financial services company headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands.[1]

Transamerica funds the Transamerica Institute, a nonprofit foundation which comprises the Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies and the Transamerica Center for Health Studies.[2]

History

The Transamerica Pyramid in San Francisco

In October 1904, A.P. Giannini founded the Bank of Italy in San Francisco, which later became known as Bank of America.[3][4] In 1928, Giannini put the banks into a holding company he named the Transamerica Corporation. In 1930, the company acquired Occidental Life Insurance Company, which had been founded in 1906, and renamed it Transamerica Occidental Life Insurance Company.[5] Gradually, the company became a more diversified conglomerate which included the film studio United Artists,[6] Transamerica Airlines, and Budget Rent A Car.[7]

In 1972, construction of the Transamerica Pyramid skyscraper in San Francisco was completed, which served as the company's headquarters for many years. Although the company currently retains only a small presence in the building, the building is still depicted in the company's logo and marketing materials.[8]

In the 1980s, Transamerica began to divest and focused exclusively on financial services.[9] It was eventually pared down to three main product divisions: insurance, investments, and retirement. In July 1999, with Frank C. Herringer as CEO, Transamerica Corporation was acquired by Aegon, an insurance company based in the Netherlands.[10] Transamerica Occidental was merged into Transamerica Life Insurance Company October 1, 2008.

Products and services

Transamerica primarily offers insurance and financial services. Types of life and health insurance policies offered include term life,[11] whole life, universal life, variable universal life,[12] accidental death, Medicare supplement,[13] and long term care.[14] Transamerica companies also offer a variety of mutual funds and annuities.[15][16]

Transamerica’s retirement division offers defined benefit pension plans and defined contribution retirement plans,[17] including 401(k) and 403(b),[18] 457, profit sharing, money purchase, cash balance, Taft-Hartley, multiple employer plans, nonqualified deferred compensation, and rollover individual retirement accounts. Other services include plan-level record keeping and administrative services, participant communications and education services, fiduciary risk mitigation services, open investment architecture, and compliance guidance and regulatory support.[19]

Sponsorships

Transamerica sponsors four professional golfers, two of whom are members of the PGA Tour, as well as one member each of the Champions Tour and LPGA Tour. These golfers are Zach Johnson, Tom Watson, Azahara Muñoz, and Kyle Stanley. Transamerica is also the jersey sponsor for the Colorado Rapids soccer team,[20] as well as the field sponsor for the Charlotte 49ers.[21] The Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award is also sponsored by Transamerica,[22] and is awarded to the best senior or fourth-year junior quarterback in college football in the United States. Winners include AJ McCarron, Collin Klein, and Andrew Luck.[23]

Transamerica sponsors numerous marathons and triathlons, including the Ironman,[24] Rock 'n' Roll Marathon,[25] and the Chicago Triathlon.[26] The company also sponsors USA Triathlon, the governing body for triathlon events in the United States.[27]

Foundations

Transamerica funds two foundations: the Aegon Transamerica Foundation and the Transamerica Institute. The Aegon Transamerica Foundation was created in 1994 and provides financial grants to community non-profit organizations. Transamerica employees also provide volunteering services to the organizations.[28] The foundation received the Corporate Citizenship Award in 2013 for creating the first urban farm in the state of Iowa.[29]

The Transamerica Institute consists of two divisions: the Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies and the Transamerica Center for Health Studies. The Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies researches and provides education on trends, issues, and opportunities related to saving and planning for retirement.[30] The Transamerica Center for Health Studies focuses on identifying, researching, and analyzing health care issues facing consumers and employers.[31] The Transamerica Institute is funded by contributions from Transamerica Life Insurance Company.[32]

See also

References

Notes
  1. ↑ TAGLIABUE, JOHN. "Big Dutch Insurer to Acquire Transamerica for $9.7 Billion". New York Times. The New York Times. Retrieved 20 August 2015.
  2. ↑ https://www.transamericacenter.org/about/about-transamerica-institute
  3. ↑ http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/theymadeamerica/whomade/giannini_hi.html
  4. ↑ "History". Transamerica. 2008-10-01. Retrieved 2014-02-27.
  5. ↑ https://interactive.web.insurance.ca.gov/companyprofile/companyprofile?event=companyProfile&doFunction=getCompanyProfile&eid=2710
  6. ↑ Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. History. International Directory of Company Histories. Vol. 25. St. James Press. 1999.
  7. ↑ http://www.budget.com/budgetWeb/html/en/aboutus/companyinfo/milestone.html
  8. ↑ http://www.pyramidcenter.com/tourism/pyramid-facts/
  9. ↑ http://articles.latimes.com/1986-01-31/business/fi-2822_1_transamerica-airlines
  10. ↑ http://money.cnn.com/1999/02/18/worldbiz/aegon/
  11. ↑ http://www.insurechance.com/transamerica-term-life-insurance-living-benefits/
  12. ↑ http://www.selectquote.com/carriers/transamerica-life-insurance-company.aspx
  13. ↑ http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/03/13/md-transamerica-idUSnBw135637a+100+BSW20140313
  14. ↑ http://www.transamerica.com/individual/products/insurance/
  15. ↑ http://www.transamerica.com/individual/products/annuities/
  16. ↑ http://www.transamerica.com/individual/products/mutual-funds/
  17. ↑ http://www.nasdaq.com/article/aegon-buys-mercers-us-defined-contribution-recordkeeping-business-20150925-00036
  18. ↑ https://www.whoi.edu/fileserver.do?id=170965&pt=10&p=44352
  19. ↑ http://www.transamerica.com/individual/products/retirement-solutions/
  20. ↑ http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/Daily/Issues/2015/03/19/Marketing-and-Sponsorship/Rapids.aspx
  21. ↑ http://www.charlotte49ers.com/ViewArticle.dbml?ATCLID=205424859
  22. ↑ http://www.goldenarmfoundation.com/sponsors.html
  23. ↑ http://www.goldenarmfoundation.com/past-winners.html
  24. ↑ http://www.wsj.com/articles/marathons-triathlons-allow-runners-to-resell-or-transfer-entry-bibs-1430150132?alg=y
  25. ↑ http://www.runrocknroll.com/san-francisco/
  26. ↑ http://www.chicagotriathlon.com/chicago/sponsors/
  27. ↑ http://www.usatriathlon.org/about-usat/corporate-partners.aspx
  28. ↑ https://www.transamerica.com/individual/about-us/who-we-are/aegon-transamerica-foundation/
  29. ↑ http://www.thegazette.com/2013/11/21/transamerica-wins-award-for-time-check-urban-farm
  30. ↑ http://ebn.benefitnews.com/news/retirement/few-employees-aware-of-retirement-transition-benefits-2747845-1.html
  31. ↑ http://www.shrm.org/hrdisciplines/benefits/articles/pages/spousal-carve-outs.aspx
  32. ↑ http://www.transamericainstitute.org/about-transamerica-institute
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