National Life Group

National Life Group is an American life-insurance company based in Montpelier, Vermont. It is the trade name of National Life Insurance Company and its affiliates that offers life insurance and annuity products for individuals, families, and businesses. National Life Insurance Company was chartered in 1848 by the Vermont General Assembly.

History
National Life Insurance Company was chartered by the Vermont Legislature on November 13, 1848. It has been insuring people for 175 years and was one of the first mutual life insurance companies in the U.S. The company wrote its first policy on the life of Daniel Baldwin, a resident of Montpelier, on January 17, 1850. It also paid its first death claim only a few months after its founding at the death of Rowland Allen, who had bought two policies for face amounts of $500 each. Rowland died while traveling to California in 1850. Other past insurance customers have included passengers on the Titanic, as well as victims of the 1918 influenza epidemic.

The company became a member of the Vermont Chamber of Commerce in 1957. National Life offers a range of financial services, including life insurance, and annuities. The Group's customer base was more than 1,100,000 in 2021, life insurance in force totaled $252 billion.

The company is based in Montpelier, Vermont, with additional offices in Addison, Texas. Several member companies make up National Life Group, including National Life Insurance Company, Life Insurance Company of the Southwest, and Equity Services, Inc., a broker-dealer and registered investment adviser. In 2017, National Life sold Sentinel mutual funds to Touchstone Investments.

In 2018, The CEO Forum recognized National Life Group as one of “America’s Magnificent Eight Exceptional Companies.” In 2019, the company expanded its strategic partnership with NTT DATA to accelerate digital transformation. In 2019, It also expanded its partnership with Cognizant, an IT consulting corporation.

From 2008 to 2019, the company saw a 252% growth in life insurance sales. The national average was only about 6%.

In March 2020, the company's CEO, Mehran Assadi, was awarded the Transformative CEO Award for Customer Experience in the insurance category by The CEO Forum. In 2021, the company was ranked #1 in indexed life sales. Nimesh Mehta was named ORBIE CIO of the year. In 2022, National Life Group was named to the Inc. Best in Business list in the insurance category and under the Area of Impact: Black Entrepreneurship. National Life created BUILD (Blacks Uplifted in Leadership) to address the shortage of people of color in leadership positions.

During the coronavirus pandemic, the company made the decision to cover at-home antigen tests before a federal ruling required it of all self-insured and private health insurance companies.

Authors Jackie and Kevin Freiberg, who wrote ''NUTS! Southwest Airlines’ Crazy Recipe for Business and Personal Success, feature National Life Group in their book CAUSE!.''

Corporate Responsibility
Founded in 2006, the National Life Group Foundation, the company's charitable foundation, sponsors various charitable events and programs focused on ending childhood hunger and supporting youth mental health. The Foundation helps sponsor the LifeChanger of the Year Award. In 2019 The Foundation funded the report, “Evidence-Based Strategies to End Childhood Food Insecurity and Hunger in Vermont”. In 2023, the budget for the Foundation was $2.3 million.

Do Good Fest
Do Good Fest, the Foundation's benefit concert, has raised more than $300,000 as of 2022. The money benefits the Branches of Hope cancer patient fund at Central Vermont Medical Center. This fund helps patients with non-medical financial burdens, such as utility bills, and gas and food purchases. 

The Fest includes performances by national and local bands, food vendors, a Nonprofit Village with booths hosted by local nonprofits, and an area for kids. In 2022, the concert was expanded to include Beats for Good, a high school music competition for Vermont students.

In response to flooding that happened in Vermont in July 2023, National Life transformed the Do Good Fest in Vermont from an outdoor in-person event to a virtual one in support of flood relief. They brought in more than $1.7 million in relief funds.

Performing artists have included:

 * Alive! With Song (a chorus of cancer survivors and caregivers)
 * American Authors
 * Fastball
 * Forest Blakk
 * Michael Franti + Spearhead
 * Moxie
 * Noah Kahan
 * O.A.R.
 * Panama Wedding
 * Patti Casey & Colin McCaffrey
 * The Alternate Routes
 * X Ambassadors

Do Good Fest - Texas
In 2022, the Foundation held the first-ever Texas Do Good Fest.   The event raised over $70,220 for Parkland Health's Pediatric Behavioral Health Program, which provides mental health screenings and services to uninsured and underinsured kids. The Fest's benefit concert was headlined by Emmy-nominated Gangstagrass with opener Youngtones.

Just like the original Do Good Fest, the Texas concert includes food trucks in addition to music.

Do Good Heroes
In September 2023, the Atlantic Beach Fire Department was nominated for the Do Good Heroes Award. Members of the Fire and Rescue Department have been nominated do to their work in helping students in the Junior Life Guard Camp trainings.

LifeChanger of the Year
This award recognizes the best K-12 educators and school district employees across the United States who make a difference in the lives of students by “exemplifying excellence, positive influence, and leadership”. The Foundation presents numerous individual awards every year.

Share the Good
National Life matches employee charitable contributions under its Share the Good program. In 2019, a total of $500,000 was donated. In 2022, over $700,000 was given to more than 435 organizations.

National Life Group employees, directors and retirees donated $408,947 to more than 525 organizations across the globe through the annual Share the Good program. Also within the program, National Life Group's Foundation matches gifts up to $2,000 during the month of November, making the overall amount given more than $817,000.

Free Thanksgiving Dinners
In 2020, during the coronavirus pandemic, National Life Group and Sodexo partnered to give away free to-go Thanksgiving dinners. The tradition continued after that. Turkey and vegetarian meals can be either picked up or dropped off at home addresses. 1,320 meals were distributed in 2022.

In 2023, they were able to give out over 1,200 meals. These meals are prepared and either picked up or delivered. National Life Group and Sodexo also prepared additional meals that were given out to local law enforcement.