What are the oldest insurance companies?

People always ask me about what are the oldest U.S. insurance companies? There are many companies that are older but I will tell you a few of them.

State farm

State Farm Insurance is a very old insurance company that initially insured farmers. While now it is an all around company that provides all sorts of services, it used to be mainly aimed at farmers. In fact, it was founded by retired farmer George J. Mecherle in 1922 as a company that provided auto insurance for farmers. As of November 2011, State Farm is ranked Number 34 out of the Fortune 500 companies. In 2008, it was named as one of the top employers in the Toronto, Canada metropolitan area by a local newspaper, the Toronto Star.

Allstate

Allstate has a good marketing campaign by saying that "You're In Good Hands with Allstate". Their marketing campaign is based on a security frame where you will feel safer (those hands can hold you and catch you!) if you buy their insurance. The motto "Are you in good hands?" is meant to make you feel insecure, and then you feel secure if you buy their insurance. I myself have never had Allstate insurance but they are an old comapny.

Blindspot commercials

Allstate recently launched a series of commercials whereby there is a person who is strapped to your car that is pretending to be a blindspot. The blindspot is the place on your car where you are unable to see easily, it is usually over one of your shoulders. If the field of view is a clock and you are driving an American car (where the steering wheel is on the lefthand side) then the blindspots will be at about 7:30 and 5:00. I usually think that the blindspot over my left shoulder is a bigger problem than the blindspot on my right shoulder because it is easier for me to do a shoulder check over that shoulder than it is for me to check over my left shoulder, since then I have to strain my neck all the way around even though I'm moving my spine as well.

That is the basis of the Allstate blindspot commercials: They are reminding people that everybody forgets to check their blindspot occasionally and as a result they get into car accidents. It is plausible to think that you'll get into one accident in your life because of blindspots but this is just a rule of thumb and it is not based off of any data. Furthermore, the blindspot commercials are funny which should help grab a lot of people's attention so that they buy insurance and understand the dangers of blindspots.

American Automobile Association

The American Automobile Association, or AAA, is a United States non-profit association of motorists that is primarily used by drivers to provide roadside assistance. Founded in 1902, this organization is not determined to make money like the other ones, which means that it is able to provide cheap insurance without refusing to pay you when you file a claim. However, Triple-A has lobbied against environmental regulations and has been accused of really standing up for car manufacturers instead of motorists. To help with their bad publicity, AAA has ran numerous battery clean up and similar environmental-related campaigns.

This is a guest post by Murray Newlands, the CEO and Founder of Influence People. Murray writes on many topics, such as how to monetize mobile apps.