Beneficial Financial Group

Not to be confused with Beneficial Finance or Beneficial Corporation.
Beneficial Financial Group
Private
Industry Insurance & Finance
Founded 1905
Headquarters Salt Lake City, Utah, United States
Key people
 Kent Cannon, CEO
Products Whole and Universal Life, Annuities, and Disability Insurance
Revenue Increase$600 million USD (2005)
Increase$42.5 million USD (2005)
Owner Deseret Management Corporation
Website www.beneficialfinancialgroup.com

Beneficial Financial Group is an insurance and financial services company based in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is a subsidiary of Deseret Management Corporation, the for-profit arm of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). The company was founded in 1905[1] and as of its 2013 fiscal year end had assets of $3.0 billion.[2] The insurance side of the company was known for many years as the Beneficial Life Insurance Company.

Beneficial is certified by the Insurance Marketplace Standards Association for ethical business practices. It is a subsidiary of Deseret Management Corporation (DMC),[3] a for-profit management company of assets for the LDS Church. Beneficial held an "A+" (stable) rating from Standard & Poor's for financial strength,[4] when S&P downgraded the rating to "A" due to exposure to MBS, and warned of further possible devaluations unless DMC replenished some of Beneficial's capital as it deteriorates "from its currently strong level."[5]

On June 16, 2009, it was announced that Beneficial would stop writing new policies at the end of August. DMC reiterated its commitment to back existing policies, but said that in the current environment, Beneficial was too small to compete with larger insurers.[6]

Location

The company headquarters for many years was in the Beneficial Life Tower, directly above the ZCMI Center Mall. This office tower had the company name in large letters along the side, lit in blue at the top of the structure. The words Beneficial Life could be seen from quite a distance as the tower had an entirely unimpeded view of the Salt Lake Valley along the main artery known as State Street.

During the mid-1980s the Beneficial Life tower achieved notoriety when a rare breeding pair of peregrine falcons decided to take residence on the company letters on the north side of the building.

Around 2006, Beneficial moved to the former Kennecott building on an opposite corner of the same block. Both buildings remained while almost the entirety of the block was torn down, along with neighboring blocks of downtown Salt Lake City, and turned into a new development called the City Creek Center.

References

  1. ↑ Mission, Vision, and Values. beneficialfinancialgroup.com. Beneficial Financial Group. Retrieved on 2006-01-25.
  2. ↑ March 2014 President's Letter. beneficialfinancialgroup.com. Beneficial Financial Group.
  3. ↑ Beneficial Role. beneficialfinancialgroup.com. Beneficial Financial Group. Retrieved on 2006-01-25.
  4. ↑ Insurance Ratings. standardandpoors.com. Standard and Poor's. Retrieved on 2006-01-25.
  5. ↑ "S&P: Beneficial Life Insurance Co. Ratings Lowered To 'A' And Placed on CreditWatch," October 12, 2007, Market News Publishing (S&P Press release)
  6. ↑ Beneficial Financial Group cuts 150 of its 214 Utah jobs. Deseret News. Retrieved on 2009-09-29.
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