Explore Columbus Life's History

Columbus Life launches their most recent IUL product, Indexed Explorer Now™, Featuring the same core attributes that made our flagship IUL so popular with new enhancements for rapid underwriting to issue policies faster and easier than ever before.

Columbus Life moves into a wholly renovated office space in Western & Southern’s home office building. Columbus shares the space with fellow W&S subsidiary Lafayette Life where the companies are individually lead by President & CEO John Bultema. The shared space offers new opportunities to collaborate for inspiration and best practices and features a bright, modern aesthetic that utilizes new technology to improve both form and function of day to day work. Columbus Life enjoys hosting agency visits to strengthen partnerships.

Despite the global COVID-19 pandemic that emerged in Q1, Columbus Life remained fully functional and swiftly made adjustments to ensure business continuity. Thanks to our industry-leading financial strength, our product portfolio maintained a competitive position with pricing, rates and guarantees. In Q3, we celebrated the very successful and distinguished 50-year career of our President and CEO, J.J. Miller. J.J. built lasting relationships with both our associates and valued producers that will endure well beyond his retirement. Succeeding J.J. Miller is John H. Bultema III, who took over the helm as President and CEO of Columbus Life (in addition to being President and CEO of Lafayette Life).  

Fast and secure electronic policy delivery, via DocFast®, was implemented. In DocFast, agents can easily review policies and other business-related documents, send them to clients electronically, and have them accurately signed and sent back to Columbus Life. Additionally, accelerated underwriting was made available for qualified clients resulting in faster delivery of their policies (with an underwriting decision in as little as 72 hours). These enhancements allow for policies to go in force sooner, payments to be processed quicker and a dramatic reduction in the time from submission to commission.

Columbus Life introduced its first ever mobile application. Today, our secure CLIC Mobile app gives independent producers the access to product quoting functionality, the ability to seamlessly track the status of pending business, communicate directly with new business and underwriting and accept policy offers faster and easier than before. All of this is available in one easy-to-use mobile application – Anywhere, Anytime, Any Device!

Columbus Life introduced iGO®¹, an intuitive electronic application that helps ensure that every application is in good order and speeds up the issue process. Today, an average of 87% of Columbus Life’s applications are submitted via iGO eApp.

The U.S. government began to intervene in the U.S. financial system to avoid a crisis, as illustrated by the Federal Reserve's $200 billion loan program for the country's biggest banks. In a year of economic uncertainty, consumers sought financial products that featured stability and real guarantees. This flight to quality resulted in Columbus Life enjoying a near record in annuity sales with more than $74 million in new premium.

Columbus Life celebrated its 100th anniversary with the City of Cincinnati (home of the national headquarters in Ohio) proclaiming November 17, 2006, as "Columbus Life Insurance Company Day." At this point in time, Columbus Life is represented by more than 3,000 independent financial professionals.

Columbus Mutual doubled in size from 1968 to 1972, achieving $2 billion of insurance in force in 1972 and issuing its first individual life policy through the ALIS computer system in 1970. In 1980, Columbus Mutual doubled in size once again, achieving $4 billion of life insurance in force. Ranked in the top 8% of life insurance companies, Columbus Mutual celebrated its 75th anniversary in 1981 by achieving $1 billion in new sales.

The country experienced steady growth after World War II, and so too did Columbus Mutual — when a merger between Columbus Mutual and Ohio State Life Insurance Company was blocked in 1961, the two companies instead began a 19-year alliance. This marked a period of accelerated growth and modernization — we achieved a 17 percent compound growth rate in life insurance sales, and our first billion dollars of life insurance in force in the mid-1960s.

During Columbus Mutual's early days, our country experienced many struggles — World War I, several national epidemics and the Great Depression. The decision to start and maintain a life insurance company during those uncertain times was a bold one, but then, as now, life insurance companies were valued as a source of stability. So it was with Columbus Mutual — in 1927, we achieved our first $100 million of life insurance in force, and by the end of the Great Depression, in-force policies had increased by $10 million.

The company was founded on November 17, 1906. After meeting a strict State of Ohio requirement that $100,000 in "idle money" be set aside, Columbus Mutual Life Insurance Company was finally incorporated in Columbus, Ohio. Mr. Brandon began company operations with a whopping $49.60! Columbus Mutual finally sold its first coverage two years later — a $5,000 ordinary life insurance policy — and had three agents selling its products.

Displeased with "inequities" in the way policyowners and agents were being treated, Channing Webster Brandon began selling stock in a new life insurance company — the Columbus Mutual Life Insurance Company. Mr. Brandon (affectionately nicknamed "Pop"), started traveling all over Ohio, promoting his plans for life insurance that offered policyowners "the best insurance for the least money" and independent producers "a square deal" from the company.