History
On March 2, 1857(167 years ago) (1857-03-02), Northwestern Mutual was founded as the Mutual Life Insurance Company of the State of Wisconsin. Originally located in Janesville, Wisconsin, the fledgling company relocated to Milwaukee in 1859. Shortly after, the company experienced its first two death claims, when an excursion train traveling from Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, to Chicago, Illinois derailed, killing 14 people, two of whom were policy owners. With losses amounting to US$3,500 (equivalent to $119,000in 2023), while the company possessed only US$2,000 in funds (equivalent to $68,000in 2023), company President Samuel Daggett and Treasurer Charles Nash personally lent the money to pay the claims immediately, making up the difference of US$1,500 (equivalent to $51,000in 2023). [7] [8]
In 1864, the company paid its first dividends to policy owners. [9] It again paid dividends at three-year intervals, in 1867 and 1870, and two years later, as of 1872, started doing so annually. [10] [11]
By 1865, the company was operating throughout the Midwest and had entered the market along the East Coast, and the board of trustees changed the company's name to The Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company. [12] [13]
Throughout the early years of the 20th century, Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company focused on life insurance. At the same time, the company worked to increase its accountability. In 1907, company leaders invited policy owners who were not trustees to probe into finances for accountability. This practice has continued to the present day; members of the Policy owners’ Examining Committee have unrestricted access to evaluate Northwestern Mutual's operations, management and strategic plans independently. [14]
In the mid-20th century, Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company invested in the iron and minerals industries on a large-scale basis, including the construction of a freighter, the first such investment by any American life insurance company. [15] In 1958, the company launched the lake freighter SS Edmund Fitzgerald, named for longtime executive and newly elected company chairman Edmund Fitzgerald. [16] At 729 feet (222 m) and 13,632 gross tons, the vessel was the largest ship, on the Great Lakes for thirteen years, until 1971. The Edmund Fitzgerald sank on November 10, 1975, in Lake Superior, killing all 29 men aboard. The disaster was immortalized the next year by songwriter Gordon Lightfoot in "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald". The sinking led to changes in Great Lakes and national shipping regulations and practices that included mandatory survival suits, depth finders, positioning systems, increased freeboard, and more frequent inspection of vessels. [17] [18] [19] [20]
In 1969, the company began offering disability insurance. Less than a decade later, a series of retirement annuities were introduced for the employee benefits market. In the 1990s, the company saw further growth with the introduction of its long-term care insurance. In 2000, to reflect this broadening of its product offerings, the company changed its name again, shortening it to simply Northwestern Mutual. [21]
By 2001, Northwestern Mutual was the leading individual life insurer in the United States, and in that year committed that it would not refuse life or disability insurance claims related to the September 11th attacks on the basis of an acts of war exclusion. [22] Also that year, the company launched a wholly owned subsidiary known today as Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Company (NMWMC), a federal savings bank and financial services provider. [4]
In 2015, Northwestern Mutual began construction of Northwestern Mutual Tower and Commons in downtown Milwaukee; the skyscraper opened in 2017. [23] [24] [25] [26]
Also in 2015, Northwestern Mutual bought financial planning company LearnVest for over $250 million. [27] In 2018, Northwestern Mutual reduced underwriting time and introduced an online digital platform for clients. [28] From 2015 to 2020, Northwestern Mutual served as the presenting sponsor of the Rose Bowl Game, an NCAA Division I college football bowl game played annually on New Year's Day. [29]
As of 2021, the company has $308.8 billion in assets, $31.1 billion in revenues, and $2 trillion worth of active life insurance protection. Through its wealth management and investment services businesses, the company manages $200 billion of investments owned by its 4.75 million clients. [30] [31] [32] [33]
Investment and innovation
Since launching in 2017, Northwestern Mutual Future Ventures, Northwestern Mutual's venture capital arm, has invested more than $50 million in 18 tech startups. [39]
In 2019, the company partnered with Accenture, Advocate Aurora Health, Johnson Controls, Kohl's and Rockwell Automation to form the MKE Tech Hub Coalition, an effort focused on attracting and retaining tech talent in the Milwaukee region. [40]
In June 2020, Northwestern Mutual also reported a $1.6 million pledge to All-In Milwaukee to finance the latest Talent of the Future initiative over the next four years, through its Foundation and in collaboration with the Diversity and Inclusion department. [41]
US$ 31.1 billion (2020) [2] 
